156 THE SPADE A FERTILIZER, 



the richest of soils by the mixture of the strata. 

 The solid matters brought down from the distant 

 hills by the flood-waters, and deposited in the val- 

 leys where the waters rested, formed, by the mixture 

 of the different strata, the rich alluvial soils of the 

 old and new worlds." 



The character of the subsoil must be considered 

 before a mixture is allowed. A writer says : " By 

 spade husbandry, extensive districts of blowing sand 

 have been brought into cultivation in Flanders ; 

 while in various parts of England it has been equally 

 successful ; witness, as an example, the gardens of 

 the cottages of the black, hungry sands of Bagshot- 

 heath, the poor chalks of Beachy Head, in Sussex, 

 and the deep, trembling bogs of Lancashire. By 

 many agriculturists the spade is considered the best 

 instrument of fertilization, not only for gardens, but 

 also for fields. The mere moving of the soil pro- 

 duces incalculable benefit. By the spade, and it 

 only, some of the poorest, thinnest-skinned lands of 

 Surrey have, by the deep trenching of the cottagers, 

 been made to produce all the common vegetables. 

 ' No gardener,' observed the late Dr. Fellowly, 

 ' would think of planting potatoes, cabbages, or 

 carrots in ploughed land if he could get it dug ; 

 for the difference of produce would far more than 

 compensate him for the increased cost.' " 



The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder once performed 

 an experiment for the purpose of determining the 



