SOIL CONSOLIDATION 33 



the soil is loosened to the depth recommended, surface 

 treading will only do real good in the top 9 inches or 

 thereabouts, whereas the consolidation should be carried 

 far deeper than this. The greatest care must be exercised 

 in this matter, no attempt at treading being made when 

 the land is soddened ; while to start to do it when it is 

 as dry as dust is tantamount to wasting time, for it will 

 not have the slightest effect. Choose the happy medium 

 between the two, preferably when the condition is just 

 on the dry side, and the full value of the process will be 

 secured. 



In all cases, whether the soil is heavy, medium, or light 

 in texture, mechanical operations in connection with it 

 must be completed by the earliest possible date in March, 

 so that sufficient time may elapse between the final digging 

 over and the sowing of seeds or the planting of plants as 

 the case may be. Thus with roughly dug surface soil which 

 has weathered through the winter, the forking over to pro- 

 vide the necessary smooth and friable tilth must be done 

 in February and March, and especially so when the sowing 

 is in the open, for only by getting the seeds in by or before 

 the end of the latter month can the cultivator hope to obtain 

 perfect flowers at the middle of July, rather earlier or later 

 according to the season. There should be a depth of 10 

 inches of perfectly friable soil, as this will favour the satis- 

 factory growth of the young roots. With light soils let it 



