302 YARD AND GARDEN 



ter to bring it to the fittest condition by careful 

 cultivation than to remove it entirely and sub- 

 stitute a better soil, perhaps, but one which, 

 after all, must be considerably modified to meet 

 the demands of various plants. But, whether 

 the soil is new or old, it must be well worked. 

 Plow it or spade it and in either case make sure 

 that the cultivation is deep and thorough. 



There is no better method of preparing the 

 soil than that which the English gardener 

 terms "bastard trenching." It is effective 

 and not difficult to execute. The top soil to 

 the depth of one foot is removed,- pulverized 

 as it is thrown to one side, and the underlying 

 soil is spaded to the depth of a foot. The sur- 

 face earth is then replaced in its original po- 

 sition. It is at once apparent that this method 

 of digging garden beds and borders permits 

 not only a thorough tillage of the soil but the 

 addition of fertilizer and its complete incor- 

 poration with the earth. It affords, too, a sim- 

 ple means for the preparation of the soil for 

 plants which may require special rooting me- 

 diums; humus may be added while the opera- 

 tion is in progress or sand or heavy soil may 

 replace that which is not of proper physical 

 condition. The process, moreover, insures the 



