TWO WAYS OF DIGGING, 



19 



under spade culture, because a more extended area of operations 

 would be opened up for the bacteria. 



Is trenching equally as good for light as for heavy soiU It is 

 better. You must trench a heavy soil to render it more pervious to 

 air, and you must trench a light soil in order to enable it to hold more 

 moisture. 



In trenching, is it wasteful to put the manure underneath the top 

 spit ? Decidedly it is not. In light-land districts people are often 

 afraid to put their manure down because it will all be washed into 

 the subsoil." That is the very best place for it. Manure is not 

 wanted near the surface of soil that has been under tillage for some 

 years ; it is wanted down below, where, from want of tillage, the soil 

 is lacking in fertility. 



Manure should not be worked into the top soil for two prime 

 reasons : (1) The upper layer of earth is already relatively fertile, and 

 may be made too fat ; (2) because it renders the upper soil drier than 

 it would otherwise be. The great thing for the top layer of soil is 

 tillage — trenching in autumn, followed by a light digging in spring. 

 Tillage means pulverisation, pulverisation means plenty of air-cells, 

 plenty of air-cells means food and moisture for the plant. 



When should ground be trenched ? Decidedly in autumn if it be 



PICTORIAL PRACTICE — 

 PLAIN HINTS IN FEW WORDS. 



FIG. 4.-TW0 WAYS OF 

 DIGGING. 



There are two ways of start- 

 ing to dig a piece of ground : 

 (1) To take out a spit of 

 soil along the whole piece, 

 wheel it to the other end, 

 and there deposit it, so 

 that it may be ready to fiU 

 in the last space when the 

 plot, begun from the other 

 end, is finished ; (2) to 

 divide the plot through 

 the centre. A, take out a 

 trench half-way across, «, ^, 

 and deposit it at c?, then 

 work up to /, fill the last 

 trench there with soil from 

 the opposite side, ^, work 

 hack to A, and fill in with 

 soil d. This is a very good 

 plan, and will apply to 

 trenching also. 



