18 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



soon become unsightly and a constant source of 

 trouble, besides harbouring wirewonns and other 

 pests. The ground should be worked two spades 

 deep on the lines described under double digging, but 

 with this in addition that the turf should be pared 

 from the first trench in commencing the work, and 

 be laid in a heap along with, but separate from, the 

 surface soil. After turning over the subsoil pare ofi 

 the turf from the next trench in each case, and turn 

 it grass side down above the stirred subsoil, chopping 

 the turf well up with the spade before throwing for- 

 ward the surface soil on the top of it. In this way 



FIG. 5. 



1. 2nd spade depth turned over in position. 



2. Turf from 2nd trench, chopped up. 



3. Top soil from second trench. 



the turf becomes sandwiched in between the first and 

 second spade depths of soil (see Fig. 5), where it 

 decays and in after years is turned up and becomes 

 mixed with the surface soil. The turf should be 

 pared off very thinly, so as to bring into imme- 

 diate service the good surface soil directly under- 

 neath it. 



Surface Cultivation. This should in all cases 

 follow thorough winter cultivation, and should be 

 regularly practised all through the growing season 

 the more frequently during periods of dry weather. 

 Summer cultivation, or regular hoeing between the 

 rows of crops, is too often neglected ; and this is to be 



