PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 57 



mate mixture of the two. This is best accomplished 

 by opening a very wide trench say from four to 

 six feet wide. Then throw the top spit off a bank of 

 the same width into the bottom of the trench so as to 

 insure the burial of all insects, seeds, and weeds ; cut a 

 width of from six to fifteen inches of the remaining por 

 tion of the bank completely down to the bottom, and 

 spread the soil so obtained in a thin layer over the 

 spit formerly thrown in. Then cut down another six 

 to fifteen inches in the same manner, proceeding thus 

 until the whole bank has been cut down and used to 

 fill up the trench. It will now be found that, with 

 the exception of the extreme top spit which is placed 

 at the bottom for very good reasons, the whole soil is 

 sufficiently mixed for all practical purposes. 



Another mode of trenching called bastard trench 

 ing is thus described by a writer in the &quot; Gardener s 

 Chronicle :&quot; &quot; Open a trench two feet and a half, or 

 a yard wide, one full spit and the shovelling deep, 

 and wheel the soil from it to where it is intended to 

 finish the piece ; then put in the dung and dig it in 

 with the bottom spit in the trench ; then fill up this 

 trench with the top spit, etc., of the second, treating 

 it in like manner, and so on. The advantages of this 

 plan of working the soil are, the good soil is retained 

 at the top an important consideration where the 



soil is poor or bad ; the bottom soil is enriched and 



3* 



