TRENCHING 19 



is to be continued until the opposite end of the plot is 

 reached, when the middle and top spit, which have been 

 wheeled to that end, are used for filling in the last two 

 trenches. It will be noticed that the top spit remains 

 the top spit throughout, the middle spit remains the 

 middle spit, and the bottom soil and subsoil, although 

 broken up, are never removed from their position. In 

 the case of shallow soils what is known as bastard 

 trenching is sometimes preferred to the process just 

 described. The principle is the same, but the soil is 

 disturbed to a depth of two spades instead of three. 

 The soil to a depth of one spade and a width of two 

 feet is wheeled from one end of the patch and deposited 

 in a heap at the other end. The subjacent soil is then 

 broken up to a depth of one spade, manure added, and 

 the top soil from the next two feet thrown on top of it. 

 This process is continued until the whole plot is dealt 

 with. 



