15 



frequently sees the fruit-tree patch located in a mere sump, 

 where in winter the water will weep into a hole made but 

 one spit deep,* and that without the least effort being made 

 to lower the water-table permanently by drainage, so that 

 it shall never reach the level of the average depth of the 

 roots. The locality then should be on a gentle slope to 

 ensure the best water conditions, so as to fulfil the pro- 

 verbial saying " soon on and soon off," which concentrates 

 in itself a good deal of gardening wisdom. In another 

 place other conditions of selection, particularly that of 

 aspect and shelter will be dealt with. 



16. By far the most thorough and satisfactory method of 

 inducing the desirable spongy condition of the soil, is the 

 simple yet expensive and laborious operation of trenching. 

 Much has been done by the implement-maker to effectively 

 break up raw earth and let vital air into it; but for 

 the most part these mechanical appliances, however 

 successfully they deal with such tilth as may suit cereals 

 or even root crops, do not go deep enough for the best 

 orchard preparation, except at an expense for steam-gear 

 which brings their work pretty close to the cost of the much 

 more effective hand labour of trenching. At least this is 

 the case with the imported appliances available here. The 

 great thing to be wished for in this regard is that the fruit- 

 grower shall deal as handsomely by his orchard as he has, 

 through long custom and prescription, habitually dealt by 

 his vineyard. The depth to which the trenching should 

 penetrate depends greatly upon the nature of the soil. It 

 must be remembered that if in clay-land it penetrates only 

 two feet, the drainage of the winter rains and much of the 

 irrigation -water in spring and summer will creep along that 

 two-feet level. The deeper therefore, under such circum- 

 stances, the cultivator pushes such trenching, by so much 

 does he lower the water-table, and gives his trees immunity 

 against water-logging of their roots. Should the soil be 

 sandy and naturally open, rapidly relieving itself of surplus 

 water by percolation downwards as well as along its natural 

 slope, the necessity for deep trenching is not so absolute, 

 and limits itself more particularly to the aeration of the 



* In gardt net's English a spit is the amount of earth^taken out by one effort of 

 the spade. 



