8 buist's family kitchen gardener. 



least eigliteen inches deep : good vegetables can never be pro- 

 duced on sour soil, nor on thin soil of only a few inches depth. 

 Care and attention are necessary in trenching^ as on the pro- 

 per disposition at first the after good will follow. I most de- 

 cidedly condemn the mode of trenching ground generally 

 recommended ; that is, to bury the top spit, and turn up the 

 cold, sour subsoil. Experience has taught me another lesson : 

 Open the first trench two feet wide, by putting aside the top 

 spit spade deep ; then turn up the bottom, where it lies, at 

 least the full depth of the spade, in the same manner as in 

 digging ; throw the top of the next trench on the top of the 

 first subsoil, and so on, till the whole is finished. The gene- 

 ral method of trenching is to turn the top soil down and the 

 subsoil up. This is attended with evil consequences, as many 

 years will elapse before the bad soil, which has been turned 

 up, can be made equal to the good soil, which has been turned 

 down. 



Another point we call attention to — the inclination of the 

 soil. Some authors in this country merely publish the ideas 

 of those of Europe, without regard to their applicability to 

 this climate, and have recommended an inclination of one foot 

 in from fifteen to twenty feet. Such a declivity would, during 

 our heavy rains, sweep soil, manure, seeds, &c., to the lowest 

 ground. An inclination of one foot in forty, or merely sufii- 

 cient to carry off the water, is all that is requisite. However, 

 the means have frequently to be adapted to the ends. If the 

 situation be necessarily on the side of a rising ground, throw 

 it at once into terraces of any required breadth. Let the 

 steeps be covered with turf, to prevent the washing away of the 

 soil, and arrange the planes into sub-divisions for culture. 



The shape or figure of a Garden is a point of little conse- 

 quence, though the square, or any form approaching it, is the 

 best and most convenient. The boundary lines may be of any 

 form, but the interior sub-divisions work to the bes.t advantage 

 in even lines. AVitli regard to size, that, of course, must de- 



