THE GARDEN 63 



Moisture in Soil. The soil in a garden should always 

 be moist and always well aired. Only a soil which is 

 very fine and quite deep will always be both moist and 

 well aired. The method of getting the soil into just the 

 right condition, and keeping it so, depends on the season. 

 In dry weather the soil must lose as little moisture as 

 possible; therefore, in the dry season the plots must not 

 be made any higher than the paths between them, and the 

 surface must always be kept very fine and level, so that 

 the water will not run off but will sink into the ground. 



FIG. 42. Hoe and rake 



In wet weather, however, the paths may be made some- 

 what lower than the plots; but if the plots are much 

 higher than the paths, the soil will wash away badly in 

 hard rains. Very wet soil can be broken or hoed up in 

 great clods and left until partly dry. It will dry thus 

 more rapidly than if untouched or made fine. But if 

 these clods are left too long, they will harden and cannot 

 easily be broken. 



Plots in which seeds are to be planted should them- 

 selves be flat in all seasons. In dry weather flat ground, 

 as we have seen, will lose the least possible moisture. 



Planting the Seed. In wet weather, if the seeds are 

 planted in furrows, rain is likely to. wash the soil over 

 them and bury them so deeply that they will rot, or even 



