74 GARDEN PLANNING 



and thereby contribute their quota to enriching 

 the soil. 



Although the primary object of trenching 

 is to produce a workable soil of sufficient 

 depth, incidentally assisting drainage and 

 effecting aeration, it affords a good opportunity 

 for enriching the soil by incorporating with it 

 a proportion of manure. In the making of 

 beds and borders in a new garden this oppor- 

 tunity should not be neglected. Therefore 

 the gardener should have at hand a heap of 

 good manure, and as the work proceeds he 

 should add it to the soil at a regular rate, until 

 the whole contents of the border has been 

 treated. This must be done in a manner 

 which ensures that the manure be well dis- 

 tributed in depth, not merely added to the 

 surface layer, so that when the plants send down 

 their roots they will find a reserve of food 

 awaiting them. 



Once made in this way, the border will not 

 need trenching again for some years. The an- 

 nual digging and manuring will serve to keep 

 it in efficient condition for a period dependent 

 upon the demands made upon it. 



It should be remembered that when we have 



