100 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



labour, in a regular and systematic way, to the depth of two feet over all, 

 taking the measure on the solid or old land-side. In doing the work, 

 special care must be taken to bury the top spit of each trench upside 

 down in the bottom of the one last opened, and to lay all the others, 

 also xipside down, regularly and successively above this, till the bottom 

 spit of the trench which is being excavated is laid on the top of the one 

 being filled. As the trenching proceeds, all stones down to the size of 

 two inches diameter, as well as all roots, &c., should be thrown out on the 

 old land-side never on the trenched land ; and every spadeful of soil, 

 as it is laid on the new trench, should be well broken with the spade, so 

 as to separate all its parts into an ordinarily fine condition of earth. No 

 attempt should be made to level the tops of the trenches as they are 

 finished, because the more surface that is presented to the action of the 

 weather during winter, the greater will be the degree of pulverisation in 

 the new soil in the spring, when it falls to be worked for the seed. As 

 the trenching proceeds, all stones, &c. &c., thrown out on the untrenched 

 side, should be removed at once, and never left to interfere with the 

 work of opening the next trench as the last is finished. No heavy ani- 

 mal nor cart should be allowed to pass over the new surface thrown 

 up, as the more open it is left the more decided will be the action of the 

 weather to penetrate and ameliorate it in all its parts during winter. 

 Where the fork is employed, the top spit is first taken off by the spade, 

 and the underlying soil thoroughly broken up with the fork ; all stones 

 and roots being also removed at the same time. 



5th. As the trenching goes on, all spare manure, of whatever kind, 

 should be collected and applied to the lower half of the newly-turned- 

 over land. This should be done regularly, in alternate courses, with the 

 lower spits as they are laid on in each trench. The more manure that 

 can be applied in this way, the more fertile will the land afterwards be 

 found for the rearing of all kinds of crops ; inasmuch as the manure not 

 only of itself enriches the lower half of the depth of land now made 

 available for the roots of the plants to be cultivated, but preserves its 

 openness for a greater length of time, and thereby insures water, air, 

 and heat passing readily into it. 



6th. Besides the manuring referred to under the last head, the land 

 should be regularly and deeply manured in the spring following, as a 

 preparation for green crop. By attending to this in a proper and thor- 

 ough way, the land will then have been manured throughout its whole 

 available depth of two feet, and will in this condition be found in the 

 highest possible state of fertility for the growth of any kind of crop 

 suitable to the climate. 



7th. In ploughing the land for crops after it has been trenched, it 



