SOILS, DRAINAGE, AND PBEPABATION. 27 



best time to begin operations is in September, October, or 

 November. If draining is necessary, that should be first 

 completed. Before the sod is plowed, it would greatly 

 assist its rotting, if horse manure can be obtained, to spread 

 it over the surface, to the depth of two or three inches. In 

 plowing the sod under, care should be taken to have it laid 

 as flat as possible ; this can be best done by plowing shal- 

 low, and at this time there is no particular necessity for 

 deep plowing. After plowing, we find it advantageous to 

 flatten down the furrows, by running over with the bacTc 

 of the harrow ; this mellows the soil so that it fills up the 

 crevices left between the furrows, and hastens the de- 

 composition of the sod. If the plowing has been done 

 early enough in the fall, so that the sod has had time to 

 rot the same season, it will facilitate the operations of 

 next spring to cross plow and thoroughly harrow ; but if 

 too late, this had better be deferred until spring. After 

 the ground has been well broken up by this second plow- 

 ing and harrowing, it should again be manured over the 

 whole surface with rough stable manure, as much as can 

 well be procured ; there is rarely danger of getting too 

 , much, and the third plowing takes place, followed this 

 time by the subsoiler. I have always found it best, in 

 breaking in new ground, to crop with Potatoes, Corn, or 

 late Cabbages the first season, it rarely indeed happens 

 that any amount of labor or manuring can so prepare the 

 ground, the first season, as to bring it to that high degree 

 of tilth necessary for growing garden vegetables as the} 

 should be grown, and any attempt to do so, will result in 

 a meagre crop, which will not pay at least in such dis 

 tricts as New York, where there is always abundance ol 



