160 
DIGGING, TRENCHING, ETC. 
is of moderate size, be wheeled to the opposite 
end or side, and there deposited on a ridge, for 
the purpose of filling up the trench when the 
digging is completed. If, however, the plot be 
a large one, much labour in wheeling may be 
saved, by dividing it into two parts of equal 
width ; the soil of the trench taken out from 
one part being deposited as above, along the 
contiguous end of the other part. In this 
latter case, the one part is dug first, and its 
trench is filled up by soil obtained in opening 
a trench at the contiguous end of the other 
part, which is then dug, and the trench finally 
filled up by the soil first taken out. If the 
space is not large enough to render this plan 
necessary, the trench is opened at one end, and 
the soil thus obtained removed to the other ; 
the digging proceeds regularly over the piece, 
and the trench is filled up at last by the soil 
taken out at first, and removed for the purpose 
to the opposite end. In working, this trench 
should always be kept straight across the 
ground, because if it be allowed to get crooked 
by irregular advances in the digging, its length 
will be increased, and in the same ratio its 
capacity will be diminished ; or if not diminish- 
ed, the soil provided for filling up the trench 
w r ill not be sufficient. In either case, the sur- 
face will become uneven, which has a slovenly 
appearance ; and besides, in this case, extra 
labour is involved in rectifying the error. 
When the trench is taken out, a row of spade- 
fuls taken from the undisturbed part of the 
soil is to be cast to the farther side of the open 
trench, each spadeful being reversed as it is 
cast from the spade ; that is, the bottom is to 
become the top, and vice versa. Another row 
of spadefuls is then to be cast against, or rather 
on these, so as to form a line or ridge of turned- 
up soil, the top of which must range with the 
ordinary level of the ground. Some care 
should be taken to get this point properly 
secured at starting, as the levelness of the 
work depends a good deal upon it. The 
ground will now present a clear, open, straight 
furrow between the undug and the dug por- 
tions of soil ; and this furrow is to be kept 
clear and straight during the progress of the 
work. The blade of the spade should be in- 
serted each time nearly in a perpendicular 
position, and should be forced down to its full 
depth, both the hands of the digger being then 
at the top end of the lever or handle. The 
spade is forced down by pressing the hollow 
part of one foot on the upper edge of the blade, 
which is called the tread ; and if the ground 
is hard, the operator's shoe should be protected 
by what is called a digging iron, or foot iron, 
which is a plate of iron fastening by means of 
a strap to the hollow part beneath the shoe. 
In lifting up the spade (supposing the operator 
to work right-handed), the left hand retains 
firm hold of the top of the handle, while the 
right is passed downwards about half way, 
and by it chiefly the spadeful of earth is lifted 
up. The spade is now turned (chiefly by the 
left hand) over from the operator, and the 
earth thus cast in a reversed form against the 
former row of spadefuls, on the other side of 
the open trench. The workman thus proceeds 
across the piece of ground, moving backwards 
and forwards from end to end until the whole 
is dug. The work is better performed when 
moderate sized spadefuls are moved, than 
when these are much larger ; the pulverisa- 
tion and intermixing of the particles being in 
the former case more complete than in the 
latter. Where pulverisation is the object, the 
soil should be comminuted and broken with 
the spade as it is turned over ; but if the 
aeration of the soil is the object, each spadeful 
should be preserved as entire, and laid as open 
and isolated as possible, the surface being left 
rough, and not at all comminuted. When 
manure is added, it should be mixed as regu- 
larly as possible throughout ; and the roots 
of all perennial weeds, where they exist, should 
be carefully picked out as the work proceeds. 
None of these things can be properly done 
unless there is a clear open furrow. 
The principal varieties of digging are called 
ridge-digging and fiat-digging. The former 
consists in laying the surface in parallel ridges. 
A section of ground so dug would show the 
appearance of a series of equal-sided triangles 
having been placed together to form the sur- 
face ; under such circumstances, about two- 
thirds more of the surface is exposed to the 
atmosphere, than when the surface is level. 
Flat-digging is chiefly adopted when the object 
is merely to present a fresh surface of clean 
earth. It is done by thrusting in the spade 
in a very slanting direction, as shallow as cir- 
cumstances will permit, and simply turning 
over the soil so taken up in the same place, 
without having any open trench or furrow of 
any consequence. The object is, in general, 
just to bury w'eeds and such rubbish as will 
speedily decompose. 
Forking is an operation very similar to 
digging in its nature and object, only instead 
of being performed with a spade, a digging- 
fork is employed. An ordinary digging-fork 
differs from a spade in consisting of three or 
four flattened prongs, instead of being a plain 
sheet of metal. The object of this operation 
is the lightening and pulverising of the surface. 
It is often resorted to before planting light 
crops ; and where ground has been ridge- 
trenched, or ridge-dug for the winter, it is 
usual to fork it down level in the spring when 
required for cropping. Sometimes the soil is 
forked up during the progress of the growing 
crops, with a view to their benefit ; and there 
