SOILS, AND HOW TO CULTIVATE THEM 45 



pletely over, beginning at the top, and throwing the soil into the 

 bottom of the first trench or hole, bringing the lower layer to the 

 top, so that what was formerly three feet below now becomes 

 the surface soil. So the process of trenching goes on until the 

 last subsection to be operated upon is reached, and if the work 

 has been carried out systematically it will be found that the soil 

 removed from the first hole made will be just sufficient to fill the 

 final trench after it has been excavated to the proper depth. 



BASTARD TRENCHING. This is practised when the subsoil is 

 of such inferior quality that it would be to court disaster to bring 

 it immediately to the surface. In this case it is necessary to 

 leave the lower spit of soil in its original position, and merely to 

 break it up thoroughly before returning the top spit to its original 

 position. In bastard trenching it is usual to work to a depth 

 of two feet or two " spits." The necessity is to take out a trench 

 to a depth of two feet, and wheel it back, as in the case of double 

 trenching, to the other extremity of the section of ground to be 

 operated upon. The next subsection should now be tackled, and 

 in this case only the top spit should be removed. This also 

 must be taken back to the extreme end of the section, and placed 

 beside the original heap. At this stage the situation is that we 

 have one hole two feet deep and another hole, immediately next 

 to it, only a foot in depth. The next operation consists in moving 

 the soil at the bottom of Hole 2 into the bottom of Hole 1, 

 meantime thoroughly breaking it up if it be hard, and at the same 

 time incorporating with it a forkful or two of well-decayed 

 farmyard or stable manure. The top spit of the third subsection 

 is now dug out, and becomes the surface soil of Subsection 1, 

 and these operations are repeated until the whole piece of ground 

 has been trenched. 



Digging and trenching are both best accomplished in autumn 

 or early winter, but where circumstances prevent them from being 

 completed before spring it will be advisable to allow the land 

 thus treated to remain undisturbed for at least a month before 

 'seed-sowing or planting is attemj 



