CULTIVATION 7 



seeds, and thus economy in seeds. If, on the other hand, 

 the soil is chalk, sand, or marl, it is better to dig it in 

 that is, place it grass side downwards between the first 

 and second spits, if it is possible to move the soil two 

 spits deep, but if only moved one spit deep, skim off the 

 turf about 3 inches thick and place it in the bottom of 

 the trench (which should be 18 inches wide and 12 

 inches deep) grass side downwards, chop it up well and 

 cover it with a thin layer of quicklime, then dig up the 

 soil which was under the turf one spit deep and place 

 it on the chopped turves, in this way another trench is 

 ready for the next set of turves. 



If the soil is a good loam the turves taken off should 

 be stacked in layers, grass side down, one above another. 

 The stacks should not exceed 4 feet on each side and 

 4 feet in height. 



A layer of powdered quicklime should be spread for 

 the first layer of turf to rest on, and the stack should be 

 covered with quicklime 2 inches in thickness. The 

 decayed turf makes excellent potting mould. 



Most people understand how to dig, but relatively few 

 do it well. When digging, put the spade or fork well into 

 the ground, holding it upright, and having made a good 

 open trench, 12 inches wide, right across the ground, as 

 deep as the blade of the spade (known as a ' spit '), then 

 dig a second trench by the side of the first turning the 

 soil well over and placing it in the first trench. 



If the plot of ground is five or more yards wide it will 

 save labour to divide it lengthways in halves, and then it 

 will only be necessary to move the earth from the first 

 trench a short distance to fill in the last trench. Begin 

 working from the lowest part of the plot. 



Trenching or deep digging, two spits deep or more, 



