192 HOME AND GARDEN 



would have plants of different sizes, and sometimes 

 a space of bare earth where their seed might 

 fall and grow. And I would allow the finest 

 grasses to grow between ; and if the height and 

 spread of the Heath overcame the grass let it do 

 so, as does the Calluna of our wild heaths. 



In extremely poor soils such as I have to deal 

 with, and of which there are large tracts in the 

 South of England, it is useless to attempt to grow 

 shrubs or the stronger garden plants without a 

 thorough cultivation. If the soil cannot be arti- 

 ficially made — I make all mine nearly three 'feet 

 deep — let it be broken up or trenched to nearly 

 this depth. It is the only other alternative ; 

 indeed it is quite remarkable how things will grow 

 in the poorest soil if only it is deeply stirred, 

 especially in the first year or two. A bank twenty 

 feet deep of pure sand wheeled out of a quarry 

 will grow Birches and Scotch Firs. And with suit- 

 able manuring and constant working I have seen 

 such depths of lately-moved sand converted into 

 productive vegetable ground. In extra deep trench- 

 ing of poor soil, of course the precious top spit 

 must not be buried at the bottom as is done in 

 simple trenching. A system I find to work admir- 

 ably in my own ground is to open a trench nearly 

 three feet wide and deep, lapng aside the top spit 

 and some of the sand close at hand, and wheeling 

 most of the sand from below right away. Two- 



