THE OPENING YEAR 



ground ready, alike for sowing and planting. Let us 

 see how he can do this. 



Improving and Preparing Soil. — It is almost always 

 found that when a sunny spell follows frost, the soil, 

 erstwhile in stiff lumps, crumbles on being moved. A 

 crumbly soil is a thousand times better than a lumpy 

 one. It is amazing how quickly some soils become 

 crumbly. When the frost leaves the ground, the soil 

 appears to be a mass of grease and putty which will 

 remain messy until the end of time. In forty-eight hours, 

 after sunshine, it may be dry enough to fall readily into 

 small particles. All 

 soils are not alike in ^^ d 

 this; some need more 

 time than others, and 

 it is the business of 

 the gardener to find 

 out how his own soil 

 behaves under given 

 conditions of weather. 

 Stiff, clay soil will 

 often crumble in 

 January or February 

 after frost, although, 

 should the weather be wet and the sky dull throughout 

 those months, March may arrive before it is workable. 

 Let every garden lover remember that for flowers, fruit, 

 and vegetables alike, winter working in dry, sunny 

 weather after frost is highly beneficial to the soil. A 

 handy labourer will neatly bastard-trench and manure 

 the soil simultaneously, taking off the top coating to the 

 depth of his spade, breaking up the under layer to an 

 equal depth, and laying on a dressing of manure two or 

 three inches thick before replacing the top layer. He 

 43 



Jan. 

 16-31 



Fig. 18.— Trenching Soil. 

 a. Space from which soil has been taken to 

 place at b. 



d. Space to be filled with soil from c, 



e. Lower soil loosened and manured. 



