47 



are filled, and only the superfluous water that can not be taken up passes 

 through the drains. 



Draining is only the first step towards improvement. The soil must 

 be deeply loosened and pulverized, either by subsoiling or trenching. 

 Either process will be beneficial, and circumstances will decide as to 

 which is to be adopted. Trenching involves a thorough reversion of the 

 soil of more or less depth, according to its nature and the purposes for 

 which it is to be used. Subsoiling is merely a loosening or stirring up of 

 the immediate subsoil without reversing its position. When the ground 

 is intended for a permanent crop, such as fruit trees, grapevines, etc., 

 trenching may be adopted. The top surface of good soil will then be 

 placed where the roots will be immediately benefited by it and the crude 

 subsoil brought to the surface, where it can be enriched by the aid of 

 manures and the ameliorating processes of cultivation. 



On the other hand, if the ground is to be immediately cropped with 

 small seeds, as in some portions of a vegetable garden, a finely pulver- 

 ized surface is necessary, and few subsoils can be made available or be 

 reduced to that condition while in their crude state. Subsoiling will, 

 in such cases, be most advisable, and trenching can be executed as 

 crops will admit of the operation. 



The first process, then, towards securing a profitable depth of soil is 

 draining; next, breaking into the subsoil, taking into consideration 

 whether, in vie^ of the crops to be cultivated, it will be most immedi- 

 ately profitable (of ultimate profit there is no uncertainty) to trench it 

 at once or merely break up and loosen the subsoil, admitting water and 

 other fertilizing agencies to penetrate, and by a gradual trenching im- 

 prove to the required depth. When all this has been satisfactorily 

 accomplished manures can be applied to the greatest advantage and 

 failures from droughts almost entirely obviated. 



MULCHING. 



This is an auxiliary operation in cultivation that would be more gener- 

 ally practiced if its beneficial effects were better understood. 



The objects to be obtained by mulching are twofold, viz, to preserve 

 a uniform degree of moisture in the soil during summer, and to protect 

 the roots of plants from severe frosts during winter. These conditions 

 are obviously important to vegetation, and they can be very efficiently 

 secured by covering the surface with a stratum of porous materials, 

 such as tan bark, charcoal dust, leaves, or strawy manure, which will 

 prevent the surface soil from becoming compact or hard, and at the same 

 time assist in maintaining a uniformity in its mechanical texture favor- 

 able to the retention of moisture. Air is the best nonconductor, and 

 bodies are represented as good or bad conductors just as they are solid 

 or porous. Iron is a better conductor than wood, granite stone a better 

 conductor than brick, hard-pressed soil is a better conductor than soil 



