LECT. ii THE SOIL 33 



for supporting growth that languishes by the want of 

 it in dry weather ; nor, on the other hand, can an 

 excess, as during continuous rains, pass freely down- 

 wards, Thus the roots of trees and crops may at 

 one period be " standing in water," while at another 

 they may be searching in vain for the moisture they 

 imperatively need, and all through the want of know- 

 ledge or intelligent labour. By this thin working 

 of land, amenable to deep culture, only a small 

 portion of the soil is utilized, while a much greater 

 bulk is wasted. 



By spade culture (2) the depth of good food-holding 

 soil is increased,. and the (until then) practically use- 

 less under layer reduced in bulk. This is a distinct 

 gain, because the food store is doubled, tree growth 

 extends, and crop growth, of vegetables or flowers, 

 increases correspondingly when cultivators do their 

 duty. 



Digging, then, is an advance on ploughing, and 

 trenching (3) rightly conducted, an advance on dig- 

 ging. The right hand side of the figure makes this 

 clear. The soil is made good to the depth of two feet 

 not only well broken up to that depth, but stored 

 with fertility, or, in other words, the food store is 

 enlarged and adequately furnished with the essentials 

 for tree and plant growth. The result of this is root 

 extension and ramification, and just as is the cha- 

 racter of the growth roots within the ground, so is 

 that of the parts above ground stems and branches. 

 If the roots are cramped or starved, the growth of trees 

 and crops is stunted and the produce poor ; but with 

 free and healthy root action in fertile soil the growth 

 is free and the produce abundant, so far as it can be 

 made so by the aid of the cultivator. 



Much land that is systematically worked by the 

 plough can be improved by the subsoiler following 



