TIIK FOIlMATIuN OF THE 
summer, and occasionally of lightly forking 
up the surface, materially assist in the process 
of amelioration. Such soils, that is, heavy 
soils, should never be allowed to get at all 
consolidated for want of trenching, forking up, 
and deep hoeing ; and another very essential 
point is to avoid trampling on the ground, or 
working it, when in a wet and adhesive state. 
"Whenever the surface of the soil is wet 
enough to become pasty by trampling on it, 
digging and trenching, and other operations 
connected with its improvement, should be 
postponed; for if, while in this state, the earth 
is turned over, and the pasty surface placed 
underneath, or if any of these operations are 
then continued, any previous advance that 
may have been made towards improvement 
will be set aside, and the condition of the soil 
rendered equally bad as at first. The addi- 
tion of manure, too, assists greatly in im- 
proving the mechanical texture of heavy soils, 
but for this purpose it should be applied in a. 
long littery state, and before it is too much 
decayed. Deep draining, trenching, the addi- 
tion of porous materials, and the proper appli- 
cation of the various operations of culture 
above mentioned, will, in a short time, com- 
plete the amelioration and improvement of 
the most stubborn soils ; and such soils when 
so improved will be found to produce excel- 
lent culinary crops. 
The improvement of sandy soils is a very 
different matter, as regards the details ; for 
though, in their case, thorough drainage and 
deep trenching are indispensable, yet instead 
of adding porous materials, those of an adhe- 
sive quality are required. Neither do any 
injurious results follow from operating on soils 
of this class when in a wet state, or rather 
soon after they have been wetted, for the 
ready passage they afford for the water soon 
renders them comparatively dry. To improve 
the texture of such soils, what is known as 
stiff or heavy loam, and marl, should be 
applied, and in quantity just proportioned to 
the degree of sandiness of the original soil. 
To such soils, long littery dung should never 
be applied, as it would tend only to make 
them still more porous, from which cause 
they are at all times liable to suffer during 
the hot dry weather of summer. They are 
much benefited in summer, during continuous 
drought, by the occasional use of various saline 
manures, diluted and applied in a liquid state, 
for these have a material influence in keeping 
them in a moistened condition. It will thus 
be seen, that the improvement both of heavy 
and light soils for gardening purposes, consists 
in assimilating them as near as possible to the 
free open loamy soils, already stated to be the 
best natural soils for the purpose. 
Disposition of the surface. — The more simple 
the arrangement of a kitchen garden, the more 
convenient will it be found in the subsequent 
cropping of the ground. The exact disposi- 
tion of the surface, that is, the position and 
number of walks, borders, vegetable quarters, 
&c. must depend on the form and size of the 
area. If it be a square or a parallelogram, 
(the two most convenient forms,) a walk should 
extend round it at a distance from the wall, 
proportionate to the size of the garden ; and 
if the garden be of considerable size, another 
should lead through the centre, and may be 
once or twice intersected, if the space is ex- 
tensive enough to render these means of com- 
munication necessary. The borders next the 
fence extending all round, should be at least as 
wide as the height of the fence, or they may 
be wider ; thus, if the wall is ten feet high, 
the border may be twelve or fifteen feet wide : 
and even if the fence be a low one, it should 
not, if there is space, be less than from six to 
ten feet wide. These borders according to 
their aspect are exceedingly convenient for 
accelerating or retarding particular crops. The 
walks should never be less than three feet 
wide in small gardens, and are better six or 
eight feet wide, if there is room. 
The border all round next the fence, and 
the walk next to it, being set off, the size of 
the central portion of the garden must deter- 
mine the necessity of having a central walk. 
If, after the central walk is set out, there 
would remain about forty feet in width on 
each side between it and the boundary walk 
already spoken of, it would be convenient to 
have one formed ; but if the space would be 
much less than this, it would not be necessary 
on the ground of convenience, and would only 
be wasting some of the best part of the ground. 
This, therefore, it will be seen, is a mere point 
of taste and convenience ; but generally it will 
be found that a central walk is not necessary. 
The area of a kitchen garden thus becomes 
divided into four parts : — the wall border, the 
gravel walks, the vegetable quarters, and the 
narrow borders between these and the walks. 
The wall borders should slope slightly towards 
the walk, from what is to be the ground level 
at the base of the wall; they should never be 
occupied with heavy or deeply-rooting crops, 
that draw much nourishment, as this would 
impoverish the roots of the fruit trees, which 
are frequently the most valuable part of the 
garden stock. It is not desirable to dig very 
deeply, for fear of injuring the roots of the 
trees ; and whatever crops are planted, should 
be placed at more than the ordinary distance 
apart, so that they may not shade the ground 
too much. A slip of a foot wide, next the wall, 
forms a capital situation for planting a row 
of cauliflower plants for preservation through 
the winter, and a row of lettuce plants in front 
