The Soil and its Treatment. 13 



and the whole thoroughly sweetened ; in addition the surface 

 soil is kept dry, and when the ridges are pulled down in the 

 spring after one or two drying days a kindly working bed is at 

 once secured either for seeding or planting. 



There are various methods of ridging, but one of the best is 

 the following, which completes bastard trenching and ridging 

 in one operation : 



Plan showing method of Bastard Trenching and Ridging in one operation. 



Mark out a strip 2ft. wide, running north and south, along 

 one side of the plot (A) then take off the top spit from this strip 

 and wheel it to the opposite side of the plot (B) ; now turn 

 over the subsoil at (A) first removing enough from (c) to (D) to 

 admit of easy working, returning the removed portion when the 

 end of the trench is reached; now cover the worked subsoil 

 with a layer of manure (the manure should be arranged in 

 several convenient rows running across the plot from east to 

 west) ; now remove the top spit from the next 2ft. strip (E) 

 laying it ridge shaped (A) on (A), and the first strip will be 

 completed. Repeat the operations on each strip across the 

 plot, using the soil which was wheeled to (B) to cover the 

 manure in the trench at (F). The work is then completed, 

 the whole plot being laid in alternate ridge and furrow, 

 running north and south. 



Texture. The third essential to soil fertility is freedom of 

 texture and the extent to which its mechanical condition is 

 made free-working or friable. All soils must be made friable 

 before they can become fertile. But this condition of friability 

 must not be in excess ; it is quite possible for a soil to be too 

 open. Soils containing a large proportion of sand, gravel, or 

 chalk are easy to cultivate, but through being too open in 



