Soil — Composition and Preparation 37 



few times in my life have I seen it properly done. 

 Trenching for dahlias differs from that for most 

 flowers in that drainage at the bottom is un- 

 necessary and sometimes harmful, excepting 

 where the beds are liable to be flooded in the 

 springtime. Where roses are grown, the lowest 

 strata of subsoil should either be blasted, or 

 broken stones placed there, to allow the water 

 to flow away. For dahlias that stored-up mois- 

 ture is precious and must be saved. The sub- 

 soil in my own garden is the hardest of hard 

 pan — ^red clay. 



Trenching is really digging a series of tren- 

 ches — ^lengthwise or crosswise of the bed as we 

 find most convenient. The first trench should 

 be completely dug out, about the width of two 

 spades — or wide enough to get into while work- 

 ing. The sod and topsoil should be piled to 

 one side in a convenient place, for it is destined 

 to go into the bottom of the last trench. In the 

 average garden there is about a foot of this. 

 Dig down about three feet, placing the subsoil 

 somewhere quite apart from the other. In the 

 bottom of the trench lay at least eighteen 

 inches of garden trash — old dahlia stalks, to- 

 mato vines, cabbage leaves — even kitchen re- 

 fuse, potato peelings, pea pods, egg shells, etc. 

 Over this sprinkle a little wood ashes, lime, or 



