THE SOIL, AND ITS PKEPAEATION. 25 



the furrows may all be laid one way ; the work 

 will be more than enough better to pay for the 

 additional labor. The work will be easier at 

 the start, if both plows are run a second time 

 in the first furrow, and the soil thrown out with 

 spades ; the plows will move easier in the sub 

 sequent furrows, as there will be less resistance 

 to overcome. A common mistake in trench 

 plowing, (and in all plowing, in fact,) is cutting 

 the furrow slice too wide. It is true, that by 

 cutting the furrow slice twelve inches wide we 

 can get over the ground about twice as fast as 

 when it is cut six inches wide ; but in the lat 

 ter case the work is more than twice as well 

 done ; and since we can not do it but once, let 

 us do it well. Let the furrow slices, therefore, 

 be narrow, and the furrows deep. The work 

 will be all the better if the lot is cross-plowed 

 in the same way. The plowing may be repeat 

 ed with advantage as many times as can be 

 afforded. This would very well meet our idea 

 of thorough preparation with the plow. The 

 manures used may be spread on the surface, 

 and plowed in. The effect of trench plowing 

 is not only to deepen the soil, but to mix the 

 surface soil and subsoil together pretty 

 thoroughly, and thus afford a deeper bed for 



