232 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



the cheapest plan to have the operations of trenching, fencing, draining, 

 and road-making going on at one time, as in that case 

 the materials can be taken and put into their place at 

 once, without having to remove them again. The trench- 

 ing should be set by contract to one or more workmen 

 at so much per rood or acre, having written conditions 

 describing the manner in which the work must be done. 

 The following are some of the conditions under which 

 stony ground should be trenched : 



1. The land to be trenched to a depth of two feet at 

 least, where the subsoil is retentive. 



2. In trenching, the stones taken from the land to be 

 all taken out to the depth trenched, and thrown over the 

 land dug up. 



3. The surface to be made level in proceeding with the 

 work. 



4. The trenching is to be done at the price of s. d. per acre. 



The expense of trenching stony ground eighteen inches deep has cost 

 me about 7 per acre. This may appear a large sum to many ; but 

 when it is considered that the land was converted out of a rough stony 

 waste into a field fit for growing crops, the expense is not so heavy as 

 to make it too formidable in most cases. Trenching by hand-labour is 

 not the cheapest way of reclaiming land, but it is nevertheless the most 

 satisfactory in the end. 



In trenching land that has at one time been under a crop of trees, the 

 draining of it should be left until the trenching has been finished, as 

 then all the old roots will have been got out, and this lessens the expense 

 of the drainage. The common mattock is the best implement for cutting 

 the roots of trees in the soil, as an axe very soon gets out of working 

 order under such circumstances. In the case of very large roots, they 

 are quickest got out by a long tough ash pole being employed to act as a 

 lever upon them. The roots must first be cut, and then turned out by 

 the lever. For this purpose, and indeed for any trenching where there are 

 roots or large stones, it is better to have several workmen together, as 

 they can then unite and assist in taking out more than usually heavy 

 roots or stones. 



In trenching bog or moss land, it should first be drained before 

 making any attempt at other improvements, as the drainage, by taking 

 the water away from the peat, causes it to subside ; and in draining such 

 land it is necessary to proceed slowly with the work. In drains which 

 are meant to be afterwards covered, they should be made with a slope on 

 the sides to prevent them from falling in say to a depth of from two to 



