222 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Peeping in at the window. 



improved by treatment. Poor or bad soil 

 is a drawback easily remedied if expense be 

 no obstacle, as it can then be removed to a 

 depth of 2 feet or more, and good soil brought 

 in and substituted for it. But this means 

 spending more money than most people 

 would be prepared or willing to afford. 

 If the natural soil be largely clay it is a good 

 thing to burn as much of it as possible, 

 burnt clay and burnt earth improve garden 

 soil immensely. Lime or chalk should be 

 added to heavy soil every two or three years. 

 The top soil from a meadow is splendid 

 material, and when building work is in 

 progress it can often be 

 obtained at a reasonable 

 cost. 



Light land can be im- 

 proved by the addition 

 of clay or heavy soil. 

 The top soil in an old 

 garden is generally pretty 

 good material through 

 long digging and manur- 

 ing, but it generally badly 

 needs lime to sweeten it 

 and to kill insects. 

 Freshly burnt, newly 

 slaked lime is the best 

 for this purpose. 



In preparing the Rose 

 garden it is best to dig 

 down at least two spits, 



and, if possible, the third spit 

 should be well broken up at least. 

 Most Rose growers add manure to 

 the third spit, but we are doubtful 

 of the wisdom of this, as we do 

 not want to encourage the roots of 

 the Roses to go down for their food, 

 but to obtain what they need in the 

 better soil nearer the surface. 



How to Trench. For the sake 

 of beginners we may say that the 

 best way to do this trenching or 

 digging is to commence at one side 

 or end of the plot of land to be 

 dealt with and dig a trench about 

 a yard wide, putting this soil as it 

 is dug into a barrow, and then to 

 wheel it away to the side or end 

 where the digging will be finished. 

 It will be needed there for the pur- 

 pose of filling up the last trench. If it be 

 intended to double dig only, the second 

 spit should now be dug over, well broken up 

 and manure added. The best kind of manure 

 we will deal with a little further on. Having 

 broken up and manured the second spit, the 

 top soil from the next yard width is thrown 

 upon it, thus exposing another yard of 

 second spit, which is broken up and manured 

 as was the first, and on top of which the top 

 soil from the third yard of land is then thrown, 

 and so on until we come to the far side of the 

 plot ; there the soil that will become the 

 top spit of the last yard is ready for use. 



Rose Tea Rambler trained on an arch. 



