MANURING AND PREPARING THE SOIL 



corner, and spade in a straight line to the 

 southwest corner, then from the southwest 

 corner back to the southeast corner and 

 so on until the garden is thoroughly spaded. 



When placing the spade in the ground, 

 do not have it perfectly straight. Have 

 it slightly sloping so the point of the spade 

 is a little in advance of the back. Remove 

 the soil, allow it to drop off close to the 

 position from which it was taken, and drop 

 the spade on this soil so that the lumps 

 are crushed somewhat. Be sure to leave 

 a ditch or dead furrow between the portion 

 of the soil which is unbroken and the 

 broken soil. 



The spading may be done, in the case 

 of fresh manure, in the fall, leaving the 

 garden rough at that time, and not prepar- 

 ing further until springtime. If the manure 

 is older, the spading can be carried on in 

 the early spring just previous to the time 

 of planting the garden. Just before plant- 

 ing, the spaded surface should be thoroughly 

 smooth. 



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