30 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



time of doing it ; and here again much must depend 

 upon circumstances which the individual alone can know. 

 As a general rule, medium to strong soils should be 

 thoroughly cultivated in the autumn and early winter, and 

 the surface ought to be left in as rough a condition as pos- 

 sible, to encourage the free passage of water and ensure the 

 utmost advantage from the action of frosts. In a climate 

 where the rainfall is heavy and winter frosts are not severe, 

 this system might be followed by a state of affairs that 

 would be the reverse of satisfactory instead of the lumps 

 being freely penetrated by frost, which by expanding the 

 water into ice would force the lumps apart and produce a 

 fine tilth, the mould would remain in a close, pasty condi- 

 tion, that would require weeks, or even months, before it 

 would be possible to do much with it. 



It will, therefore, be readily seen that the grower must 

 largely draw upon his own experience and knowledge in 

 the matter of soil working, especially where the land is 

 heavy, since advice from one who has no real acquaintance 

 with all the circumstances of the case may easily lead to 

 disaster. Let such soils as are apt to close down after 

 autumn working stand over until the spring, and then put 

 the work in hand immediately the ground is in a fit condition. 

 The cultivator must exercise discretion in this direction, 

 since it is far wiser to defer the commencement of opera- 

 tions than it is to go on the land when it is sodden with 



