10 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Simple Ways of Levelling Ground 



WHILE the average amateur does not 

 need to have a technical knowledge 

 of the principles of levelling, yet he 

 may sometimes wish to know how to bring 

 certain raised or low portions of ground 

 to a uniform level. The work is not at 

 all difficult, but some idea of the methods 

 whereby it may be carried out satisfac- 

 torily is necessary. When it is a case 

 merely of bringing roughly dug ground to 

 an even surface, the worker will find that 

 the garden rake is the best and handiest 



readily obtained ; the base of the house is 

 often taken as the starting point, or, if any 

 building be near, the level is generally taken 

 from it. Another peg is now hammered into 

 the ground 6 feet distant from the first and 

 across the top is laid a long plank of wood 

 (a piece of straight fencing material will 

 do) on edge, and a spirit level on top of this 

 will soon determine whether the two tops 

 are on a dead level or not ; if not, it is a 

 simple matter so to hammer the pegs that 

 the desired level is obtained. Another peg 



Pegs are inserted in the ground about 6 feet apart. A "straight-edge" 

 is placed on top and tested by means of a spirit level. 



instrument to use, but this is a hazardous 

 method to employ when the area is at all 

 large or where the ground is very uneven 

 to begin with. 



The Use of Pegs. Pegs offer a handy 

 means of obtaining a uniform surface 

 throughout areas which are not too extensive 

 and such as are likely to be met with in 

 gardening. A peg about 1 foot or 15 inches 

 in length is hammered into the soil for three- 

 quarters of its length at some place where 

 the required position of the surface can be 



is now driven into the ground some 6 feet 

 from No. 2, and the process is again re- 

 peated with numbers 2 and 3. In this 

 way a series of pegs is driven into the 

 border at regular intervals, and at such a 

 depth that their tops are on a dead level ; 

 the soil, previously dug up to a suitable 

 depth, is then raked until the pegs have 

 uniform parts exposed above the ground. 

 Say, for instance, that the first is found to 

 be 4 inches above the soil, then a mark 

 will ensure that the others are in a like 



A method of levelling a border, by using pegs and crossbars. A l and A 2 are fixed 

 gauges, B is a movable gauge. 



