SMALL HOLDINGS 101 



although greedy for manure, is sometimes 

 invaluable for given crops; but soils of all 

 kinds, and especially chalks and gravels, 

 which have a thin surface, should be ignored. 

 The farmer, and, still less, the small holder, 

 cannot afford to till soil which may fail him 

 in a dry summer, unless he follows the modern 

 system af market gardening. For this reason 

 all types of soil which suffer from drought 

 should be regarded as useless, and to those 

 we have already mentioned may be added 

 heavy clay. 



It is important that there should be nine 

 to twelve inches of surface soil, and that 

 the subsoil should be deep. A good subsoil, 

 although of little use in its primitive condition, 

 may, by deep cultivation, be gradually 

 added to the surface soil, tlie depth of which 

 is consequently increased. By the term 

 'subsoil' we mean that portion of the soil 

 which lies below that which has been culti- 

 vated and which has been practically un- 

 touched by farm tools or implements. Thus 

 if, when ploughing to the bottom of the 

 surface soil, a subsoiler is drawn behind the 

 plough, the upper portion of the subsoil will 

 be stirred or broken up and submitted to 

 both light and air, with the result that as 



