BASEMENT STORY. 23 



When the drains are completed, the soil should 

 be thoroughly plowed and sub-soiled. It is said 

 that the latter operation is a master key to under- 

 draining, and there is no doubt, in my mind, of 

 the truth of it. The usual method is: first, sur- 

 face plow, following in the bottom of the furrow 

 with a sub-soil plow, drawn by one or two pairs 

 of oxen or horsss. The former are considered 

 best, if the ground is very hard or stony. To 

 make the operation very thorough, the field 

 should have the same treatment crosswise, and by 

 this the whole of the sub-soil will be loosened, so 

 that rain and dew can easily percolate to a great 

 depth. As a matter of course, this method will, 

 with the addition of some fertilizer, render the 

 " basement story of the farm " congenial to the roots 

 of growing trees. In the garden, the manipulation 

 of the surface and sub-soil will have to be done with 

 the digging fork and spade, but the space of ground 

 sufficient to supply a family with fruit, is so small, 

 that the expense of disturbing it to the depth of 

 fourteen to eighteen inches will be only a trifle, con- 

 sidering the influence it will have on the growth 

 and vigor of the tree. 



A neighbor, who has had considerable experience 

 in draining, instead of tiles, makes use of common 

 hemlock boards, six inches wide, nailed together in 



