PREPARING THE SOIL 



251 



There are two ways of doing it. One consists in simply lift- 

 ing the earth with the spade or fork, and dropping it again, 

 turned over, on the spot from which it was taken. The other 

 consists in moving the whole top "spit" (that is, the top 

 soil to the depth % 

 of your spade) of 

 the garden six 

 inches or a foot 

 in one direction, 

 at the same time 

 turning it over. 

 This is the best 

 method, as I shall 

 presently show. 



But before we 

 study the exact 

 method, just a 

 word or two 

 about the use of 

 the tools . A 

 spade or a fork 

 will take up more 

 or less earth ac- 

 cording to the 

 angle at which 

 it is thrust into 



FIG. 140. Thrusting in the spade, 

 weight do the work. 



Let your 



the earth. Com- 

 pare a boy who 



is thrusting his spade straight down, with one who is push- 

 ing his at an angle away from him. The first is digging 

 deeper. Yet he does not have to lift any heavier load of 

 earth at a time than the other : that depends on the thick- 

 ness of the slice of earth that he makes. And again, when 



