GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 
OF AMERICA 
THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF 
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS 
Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture. 
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS. 
Devoted to Park Development and Recreational Facilities. 
Vol. XX. 
JANUARY, 1916. 
No. 1. 
Things and Thoughts of the Garden 
By The Onlooker 
IF we have not done any trenching" in the autumn 
we cannot do it now unless we have a garden or 
gardens in some of the more favored parts of the 
South. There has always been a difference of opin- 
ion among good gardeners as to the real advisability 
of trenching in the fall. With us, of course, it is almost 
a necessity to get our trenching done before hard freezing 
occurs in the earlv winter, since the frost lies in the 
ground so late in the spring that it makes it next to im- 
possible to get through the work in the two or three weeks 
between the tenth of April and the time when most of 
the sowing or planting has to be done. As early as the 
middle of October one may see trenching undertaken, 
especially if it is the desire of the grower to make sure 
that all is ready for some pet crop upon which he is 
"sweet." The theory — I do not know if it is anything 
more than a theory — in regard to trenching in the spring 
rather than in the fall, is that the land remains drier, 
gets just as well and deeply frosted, and because it is 
drier is therefore the more quickly fit to be worked. To 
be able to get on the land to fork it or spade it or rake it, 
and to find it in that good crumbling condition that is so 
desirable, is surely a great gain. By trenching in the fall 
it is contended that the land, being loose, acts like a 
sponge and holds the water, causing it to be cold and 
resistive to the genial rays of the sun in the earlier months 
of the year, just when all the warmth and stimulating in- 
fluences are most to be desired. At one time there was a 
keen contest of wits in the Old Country between the fall 
trenchers and the spring advocates of that job, and very 
likely the contest will go on until the crack of doom, for 
as the elders pass away their disciples on either side take 
up the fight. It is a very significant fact, however, that 
the best vegetable grower in England today, bar none, to 
wit. Edwin lleckett, whose soil is a heavy clav, does not 
hesitate to dig or trench in the fall. Of course there the 
frosts are lighter than with us, but when all is said and 
done, most of us will always prefer to see our land turned 
over at the earliest possible moment after the crops are 
cleared in October or November. 
I '.ut whether we dig in the late part of the season or as 
soon as practicable when the weather opens up. let the 
digging be deep. It is really painful, it is certainly sur- 
prising, to observe the slipshod work that passes both in 
the nurseries, or many of them, in this country. It better 
deserves the name scratching. There is a great outcry 
for potash at the present time because the German supply 
is not available. Yes, but is it not possible to utilize some 
more of the unexhausted store in the soil by digging for 
it? We all recall the story of the old man who, feeling 
the sands of time were running low and that soon he 
would pass to that bourne from which no traveler returns, 
called his sons to his bedside and said that in the land he 
was bequeathing to them they would find a treasure 
hidden. When their father was gone the sons deter- 
mined to search for the hidden treasure and dug the 
land in all parts deep and thoroughly, but never a piece 
of gold or other quickly realizible object of value did 
they find. It was not long before they saw the meaning 
of their parent's words, however, since never previously 
had such crops rewarded their toil. In this simple tale 
there is a very valuable moral for all those who shirk 
deep digging. 
Possibly an excellent and useful story could be writ- 
ten on the subject of "balance" in the garden. I am not 
the one to attempt much of an exposition of the mat- 
ter. I have sat through a course of lectures on landscape 
gardening (not landscape "engineering," if you please) 
and took copious notes of what was said, besides having 
given some attention to the not inconsiderable literature 
of the art, but the discussion of what pertains to laying- 
out a garden is one not to be entered upon lightly. Yet 
this term "balance" has always had a certain fascination 
for the present writer. It would be easier to describe the 
term in a garden, where balance was either in good evi- 
dence or lacking, than to try to define it in the 
Gardeners' Chronicle of America. Balance is the 
opposite of lopsidedness. Balance means supplying 
something in the lay-out of planting scheme that is 
necessary to the completion of a good composition. 
This does not imply that for every tree or group 
you plant on the right hand you must also plant 
a tree or similar group on the left. But if you have a 
thick wood or eminence on the right of your property, 
and a straggling slope on the left, one that cannot be 
graded or brought anywhere near level, vet which leads 
to interesting objects on that side, the place would be 
"out of balance" if nothing were done to mend matters. 
In such a case I have seen balance restored by the addi- 
tion of a large, broad, substantial pergola, supported by 
a suitable amount of planting. In other instances it 
might even be necessary to erect something still more 
imposing than a pergola. Balance is only one of the very 
many questions that the garden designer has to consider 
— or which, in some cases, he omits to consider, and one 
which we can ponder these winter nights. 
