94 THE PRACTICAL PLANTER. 



thereby be meliorated and divested of any 

 crude particles it may contain. The up- 

 per soil is to be carefully turned down to 

 the bottom, provided it be the best of the 

 two, (for instances are not wanting of a bet- 

 ter under than upper stratum, wtiere the soil 

 is pretty deep,) that it may more effectually 

 act to the advantage of the plant, in the early 

 period of its change of situation, a most im- 

 portant one for its future welfare. 



The size of the pit is here also to be re- 

 gulated by that of the tree, paying particu- 

 lar attention to the bottom part, or that 

 which lies under the reach of the plough. 

 Indeed, in all cases, the pit should be made 

 rather widest at the bottom, which is the 

 safer side to err on. 



And here I cannot help observing, that 

 where least trouble of making the pit is re- 

 quisite there it is frequently worst performed : 

 because, from the loose texture of the upper 

 soil, in the case of the ground having been 

 previously ploughed, die margins of the pits 

 stand not as first marked out, but crumble 

 down, and the workman imagines he hath 

 made a larger pit than he was instructed to 



