14 STIRRING TH3 SOIL. [CHAP. L 



and the surface even, depend on skill more than 

 strength, the art of digging well may be ac- 

 quired by any one who thinks it worth while to 

 take the trouble. Very little strength will, in- 

 deed, be necessary, if the rule of thrusting in 

 the spade obliquely, and aiding it by the mo- 

 mentum of the body, be always attended to. 



Pointing, as it is called by gardeners, is in 

 fact shallow digging, and it consists in merely 

 turning over the ground to the depth of two or 

 three inches. In spring, or in the beginning of 

 summer, when the sun has only warmed the 

 soil to the depth of a few inches, and when the 

 seeds to be sown (as of annual flowers for ex- 

 ample) are wanted to germinate as quickly as 

 possible, pointing is preferable to digging ; be- 

 cause the latter operation would bury the warm 

 soil, and bring that up to the surface which is 

 still as cold as in winter. Pointing is also used 

 in stirring the ground among trees and other 

 plants, in order that the spade may not go so 

 deeply into the ground as to injure their roots. 



Burying Manure. — There are two ways of 

 digging the ground for the purpose of burying 

 manure. According to the first method, the 

 manure is spread evenly over the whole bed, 

 and then the gardener proceeds to dig as 

 though the manure were in fact a portion of 

 the surface of the soil ; and, according to the 

 second method, the manure, having been first 

 brought to the spot, and thrown into a heap, is 

 deposited, a small portion at a time, at the 

 bottom of each furrow as it is formed, and the 

 earth from the next furrow thrown over it. In 

 both cases, the manure should be buried as 



