34 



HORTICULTURE 



LECT. II 



in each furrow, smashing up the hard and then 

 inert subsoil as deeply as possible, and leaving it 

 in position. This is imperative to most, if not all, 

 soils that are to support fruit trees and bushes. 

 The air, rain, and manurial virtues permeate the, 

 hitherto almost impervious subsoil, and it is gradu- 

 ally improved as a rooting medium for the crops. 



In digging a small unlevel plot the workman 

 should commence at the lowest part by opening a 

 trench there and wheeling the soil to the highest, 

 where he should finish. No matter whether his 

 trench is straight or curved, that is the easiest and 

 best method of levelling the ground. A broad open 

 trench should always be kept and every spit of soil 

 taken clean out and turned over in its new position. 

 There must be no "shuffling" or 'rolling it over in 

 a half-closed trench. 



FIG. 3. DIGGING. 



In digging a large level plot labour is saved by 

 marking it through the centre, or in cross sections, and 

 digging up one side and down the other, as shown in 



