LEVELLING. 



300 



LEVELLING. 



from a to w. The mode of procedure 

 would be precisely the same if the surface 

 AP were inclined or undulating. 



One of the chief things to be attended to 

 in levelling is to retain all the best soil for 

 the surface : this increases the labour and 

 expense, but is of the iirst importance in 



of from 2 to 3 feet of good soil, fit foi 

 cultural purposes. 



all 



Levelling, Simple Mode of. 



The following mode of determining the 

 level of a line such as that which is in- 

 tended for the edging of a walk is simple 



FIG. 2 OUTLINE OF ARTIFICIAL ELEVATION WITH STAKES AND CORD. 



all garden operations. However, if judg- 

 ment is exercised in the performance of 

 the work, the surface soil can generally 

 be passed over to the new level without 

 the intervention of carts or barrows. This 

 will be obvious from the section shown in 

 Fig. 3, in which AB is the desired level, c 

 an open trench from which the worthless 

 subsoil below the line AB has been removed, 

 and D the section of the next ground to be 

 levelled. Of course, the surface soil would 

 be thrown from D into the trench c, up to 

 the level of the line AB, the fresh soil thus 

 transferred assuming the form indicated by ' 



and merits attention. It is taken from 

 Thompson's " Gardener's Assistant." 

 The writer says : " Prepare a lozenge- 

 shaped piece of wood (as shown in the 

 accompanying illustration), about 6 inches 

 broad ; paint it white, with the exception 

 of an inch all round the margin, which 

 should be black ; also a strong black line 

 across from angle to angle. A square hole 

 cut on the upper side of the cross line 

 admits of anything against which it is 

 placed being marked exactly at the height 

 of that line. If the length of the edging 

 intended to be levelled do not exceed 600 



FIG. 3 MODE OF REMOVING SUBSOIL AND RETAINING SURFACE SOIL IN LEVELLING. 



the dotted lines, being thrown^ against the \ 

 soil already placed in position at A. The 

 subsoil under D would then be carted or 

 wheeled where it was wanted, forming a 

 new trench at E, and the same process 

 DC repeated throughout the entire section, 

 as shown by the dotted lines indicating the 

 successive trenches from A to B. The new 

 vel would then be furnished with a depth 



feet, let a rod be placed at each end, and 

 the instrument (that is to say, a spirit level) 

 half way between these. Lst an assistant 

 hold the lozenge-shaped tnark against the 

 rod at one extremity of the line, while the 

 person at the instrument directs him to 

 slide it up or down till the line across its 

 centre coincides with the line of sight from 

 the instrument when the bubble is in the 



