CHAPTER XXXIV 



Preparing the Soil 



We have wisely settled the position of the garden without 

 taking into account the present condition of its soil. If it 

 is too wet or too dry, too sandy or too clayey, we will 

 change all that. Still less ought we to be afraid of a good 

 soil that appears to be full of weeds, witch-grass, or stones, 

 or which just now happens to be covered with rubbish. 

 These are much easier to change than the nature of the soil 

 itself. 



First we set to work to clear the surface of all loose things. 

 We divide them into two classes. Tin cans, old wood, stones, 

 and rubbish of all kinds, should be put forever out of the way. 

 If there is a stone wall near by, chink it with the stones. 

 Wheel all the rest to the rubbish heap. In case there are 

 no such conveniences as wall and rubbish heap, dig a deep 

 hole in the garden itself, and pack the rubbish into it. To do 

 so, break all glass and earthenware, and flatten the tins. 

 Pack the rubbish carefully, and stamp it down as compactly 

 as possible. The top of the rubbish should be eighteen 

 inches underground. 



The second class consists of those things which will easily 

 and quickly rot. Leaves, dead grass, vines, anything of the 

 sort, should be carried to some out-of-the-way place, prefer- 

 ably a shady one, and there piled. At the end of a year these 

 dead and now useless things will begin to form the best of 

 soil. Call the heap the compost heap, and on it put every- 



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