TRENCHING IN THE GARDEN. 



73 



civilized globe. Although I have left its mention to the 

 last, this will probably be the first method of utilizing 

 any of the products of the plantation. 



During the past year a factory has been erected at 

 Miami, having such capacity and so constructed that it 

 may be readily adapted to any of the above uses that 



come within the range of possibly commercially success- 

 ful enterprises ; doubtless the near future will now see 

 the complete fruition of an enterprise that has added one 

 more, and that a most unique one, to our great American 

 industries. 



Ohio. James Knapp Reeve. 



; TRENCHING IN THE GARDEN. 



HOW TO SAVE HALF THE LABOR. 



ET US till the garden 

 so thoroughly as to 

 derive the greatest 

 possible benefit from 

 our efforts. A right 

 start on all hard and 

 heavy soils may be 

 made by trenching, 

 particularly in the 

 borders and where 

 trees are to be planted. By "trenching " is meant 

 increasing the depth of the soil, breaking it up i6 or 

 20 inches below the surface, instead of about half 

 that depth, according to the more ordinary plan. 

 Trenching is to the garden or flower-bed what sub- 

 soil plowing is to the larger area. Of course, it is 

 useless on light land. The advantages of trenching 

 are the opening up of larger stores of plant-food, 

 and providing a reserve of moisture for times of 

 drought. A lawn on trenched land will retain its 

 beauty in dry weather incomparably better than one 

 on untrenched soil. The extreme end of a large 

 lawn on the writer's grounds was slighted in 

 the matter of subsoiling. But a main drain 

 from an adjoining plat was carried across r-->-~ 

 this end of the grounds the winter before the 

 lawn was planted. In putting in the drain, 

 a ditch about three feet deep was dug, and 

 later filled in. Along the line of that ditch, 

 the soil having been "trenched" in effect, 

 not only did the grass seed catch much better, 

 though the season was dry, but ever since there 

 has been here a beautiful line of lawn, even in the 

 driest weather, while on both sides the grass con- 

 tinues inferior. It affords a striking object-lesson 



on the advantage of trenching for lawns, in its 

 excellent effect on the grass. 



The old way of trenching in Europe is shown to 

 the left in the annexed engraving. First, a strip of 

 soil about three feet wide across the garden is thrown 

 out, as a from space b, to a depth of about eight or ten 

 inches. This lays bare the subsoil, c, which is newly 

 turned over to a good spade's depth, some manure being 

 incorporated with it. Next, the surface soil of another 

 strip across the garden, of the same width as the first 

 (shown at t/), is dug up and thrown in the space, /', ex- 

 posing the subsoil, e, which in turn is worked over as 

 c was. This course is followed across the area, the soil, 

 (7, being wheeled into the last open strip at /. 



The writer has adopted what he considers a great 

 improvement on the old way above described, which 

 necessitates that all the soil be thrown about three feet 

 on an average. This plan is shown at the right of the 

 illustration. The surface soil is [turned over a good 

 spade's depth in the ordinary way, but the furrow, a, is 

 kept rather wider (say ten inches in all) than usual. 

 Then as each furrow is in turn formed, some manure is 

 scattered in the bottom, and this lower or subsoil stratum 

 is dug over a full spade's depth, the workman standing 



LhUl 



e g 



Two Methods of Trenching. 



in the furrow and working backwards. By this means 

 every purpose of the European method is gained, with 

 hardly half the labor. Trenching may be practiced at 

 any season when the soil is fit to work. The preferable 

 time is in the fall, for then the freshly-turned earth is 

 exposed to freezing, with some advantages. 



