l6 GARDEN PLANNING 



A good criterion of the relative warmth of 

 soils is available in winter when snow has 

 fallen. That ground from which the snow 

 soonest disappears is obviously the warmest. 

 Information on this particular point generally 

 may be obtained from local people well ac- 

 quainted with the site. 



A stiff clay subsoil is to be avoided, as it is 

 not amenable to effective drainage. Sand, 

 gravel, and light loams are preferable to clay 

 soils, but where clay and sand are found in 

 admixture, as in some of the clay loam types 

 the condition would not preclude good garden- 

 ing; indeed, the rose grower would find a soil 

 of this description one of the best for his 

 particular purpose. 



The dryness of a site depends mainly upon 

 the facility with which the rain-water can 

 percolate through the soil, and the distance 

 from the surface of the subsoil Water. Clay 

 is relatively impervious to water; consequently, 

 when a layer of this material is found near 

 the surface, the surface soil will be either 

 water-logged or baked to dryness, according 

 to weather and rainfall. 



A gravelly soil of considerable depth on a 



