CHAP. I VILLA GARDENING 387 



the bottom of the trench is broken iq) with a pick, and the top 

 soil from the next space measured off (which will, of com-se, be the 

 same size), and cast into the bottom. Trenching is best done by 

 men working in pairs. One man digs off the top, and the other 

 shovels np the crumbs or loose mould. The first man follows on 

 with the second spit, and the second clears up again, as before. But 

 the second spit, when the subsoil is bad, may be only a shallow one, 

 to avoid casting too much of the bad soil on the top where the seeds 

 have to be sown or the plants dibbled in, as the case may be. If 

 too much of the bad soil is placed on the top, this danger arises, 

 that the seedbed for years to come may be made ungenial by 

 injudicious trenching. 



Artificial Manure. — The question, " What is manure 1 " may 

 be met by the further question, "What is not manure?" The 

 truth is, that all things which decay have some manurial value ; 

 and some things which do not decay — such as sand, for instance — 

 may, from their mechanical action in lightening heavy land, be as 

 valuable as manure. Artificial manures, or manufactm-ed manures, 

 are very largely used by farmers. Their value has long been recog- 

 nised for pushing on a crop in a difficult time. In this respect it 

 seems to me that farmers have stolen a march on gardeners, though 

 this reproach, if it be one, is being gradually removed. It often 

 happens that there is a greater need for economy in gardens than is 

 generally practised by farmers. Everything in the shape of waste 

 is gathered up and converted into maniu-e, and by careful manage- 

 ment and foresight it is possible to gather together annually a very 

 large heap of manure from the waste matters which are daily 

 accumvdating. I need not enumerate them, as all are familiar 

 with the constant accumulations of what are called rubbish about 

 a house and garden in the country and in the suburbs of towns ; 

 and in the manipulation of the rubbish heap the careful gardener 

 very often secm-es an equivalent for the farmer's artificial manure. 

 I have often foimd the advantage of freely using the compost 

 which has been manufactured out of rubbish in covering all kinds 

 of small seeds in a wet cold spring. However, with all the aids 

 which economical management can obtain from home products, 

 there is still room for the use of artificials, both phosphatic and 

 nitrogenous ; but there is a science in manuring. Knowledge is 

 rec^uired to guide us in "what to apply, how to apply, and when 

 to apply." Sometimes phosphates are required, at others nitrogen 

 is essential. Often a mixture of the two is more beneficial than 

 either alone, and there is a wide field here for experimental research ; 

 in fact, a series of carefully conducted experiments with various 

 artificial manures upon difierent soils would have considerable value. 



