CHAP. I.] DIGGING. 13 



another, so that the surface of the ground, whet 

 finished, may be perfectly even. To keep the 

 furrows straight, the first ought to be marked 

 out with the rod and line, and every succeeding 

 line should be frequently and carefully e?* 

 amined. It is more difficult to keep these line* 

 straight than can be at first sight imagined 

 and in proportion as the furrow is allowed to 

 become crooked, it will become narrower, and 

 be in danger of being choked up; or, if kept 

 as wide as before, the surface of the ground 

 will be rendered uneven, and the last furrow 

 left without earth enough to fill it up. In 

 di£2;in£ each furrow also, care must be taken 

 to carry it quite up to the line of demarcation ; 

 as, otherwise, what the gardeners call a baulk 

 or piece of firm land would be left there, and, 

 of course, the bed would neither look well, 

 nor would the object for which it was dug be 

 fullv attained. Great care must also be taken 

 to keep the surface of the bed even, and this it 

 is extremely difficult for a novice to do. It is, 

 indeed, very provoking, after watching the ease 

 with which a gardener digs a bed, and looking 

 at the perfectly smooth and even surface that 

 he leaves, to find how very hard it is to imitate 

 him : and yet it is absolutely necessary to be 

 done ; for, if there are any irregularities in 

 the surface, the hollow places will collect the 

 moisture, and the plants in them will grow 

 vigorously, while those in the raised places will 

 be speedily dried by the sun and wind, and wil" 

 look poor and withered. Practice is certainty 

 required to render digging easy; but, as the 

 principal points, of keeping the furrows straight 



