Mare a 12, 1833. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
209 
No vegetables object to a ro>t ran of 2 feet, neither does the fact of 
their being known to run down 4 feet or more prove they are benefited 
thereby. They may thus be enabled to draw moisture when perhaps other 
crop3 rooting near the surface are suffering by want of if, but all seem to 
forget that the great complaint in this country is generally about the dull¬ 
ness and coldness of our summers. A. 11 admit that warmth at the roots is 
absolutely necessary in the production of profitable crops, and yet we 
prepare the ground in such a manner as to entice the roots well below the 
depth ever materially affected by sunshine and warmth. Where is the 
soundness of this practice ? 
Mr. Temple even goes the length of trenching three spades deep. Did 
he ever calculate the cost of this experiment ? He also gives the names of 
several notable gardeners who strongly advocate or advocated deep trench¬ 
ing, and the number might be added to at pleasure. But if it should 
eventually be found that all these great men are radically wrong, would it 
be the first time that a number of clever men have been proved to have 
gone too far in their action ? I think not. Both Mr. W. Thomson and Mr. 
D. Thomson are men respected by gardeners throughout Great Britain, 
and I yield to ns one in my admiration for their good qualities, but still 
prefer to think for myself. Supposing Mr. Thomson went in for market 
gardening on a large scale, would he adopt wholesale trenching, including 
the burying trimmings of turf, decayed garden refuse, &c. ? 1 prefer as 
my guides in the matter of trenching numerous market growers near 
Lon ion, unknown to fame, but who are remarkably practical, and have 
contrived to amass good fortunes in the business. “A Thinker” hints 
that those among them who practise deep trenching (these being princi¬ 
pally on the south and west side of London) are the most thriving, and 
can afford to pay heavier rents. I have had fair opportunities of con¬ 
trasting the practices of the growers about Fulham and neighbourhood, 
and which I presume were alluded to, with the methods adopted by the 
Essex farmers and gardeners, among whom I lived four years, and I am 
therefore in a position to offer an opinion in the matter. It is not because 
the market growers at the west side of the metropolis secure so much the 
heaviest crops that they can afford to pay heavy rents, but it is simply 
because their nearness to the markets enables them to run their produce 
in cheaply, and to load back with very superior manure, which they 
obtain at a cheap rate—almost for the carriage, in fact. In Essex, where 
immense quantities of vegetables are grown for the markets, trenching is 
very rarely resorted to, and but little ordinary digging done, the plough 
being the principal implement in use. On some of the large farms steam 
ploughs and deep culture is resorted to, but I could point to two holders 
of these large farms that blame the steam ploughs for the state of bank¬ 
ruptcy in which they now are. On horse-ploughed land Potatoes crop not 
unfrequently grown at the rate of 13 to 14 tons per acre, and other crops 
are equally as heavy and good. The ground is generally well manured 
and in a very firm state, and as a consequence the top growth is sturdy 
and hardy, and the produce all that could be wished for by the farmers, 
if not by private girdeners. The former, unfortunately for themselves, 
grow many more vegetables than they can sell at a fair price, this state of 
affairs, strange to say, being partly owing to trade depression in the mid¬ 
lands and northern counties, to which at one time great quantities of green 
vegetables were sent. Only recently I availed myself of an opportunity 
to walk through a large market garden or farm rented by a friend in 
Essex, and finer crops of Coleworts, Brussels Sprouts, Savoys, Broccoli, 
and Kales could not well be found. 
Has it never struck private gardeners as being rather odd that a 
fair supply of Broccoli can be seen in the markets, when, perhaps, theirs 
are either destroyed by frosts or refuse to form heads ? It is severe frosty 
weather that market growers long for, well knowing that their sturdy 
crops will withstand an ordinarily severe winter, and realise high prices 
owing to the scarcity ia private gardens. I have known Broccoli t> 
realise £75 per acre, Brussels Sprouts £50 to £60 per acre, and corre¬ 
spondingly high sums f >r other green crops. Besides being hardier, 
they are also earlier on firm ground, and, altogether, I think I have made 
out a case against the admirers of a deep root run. 
But what about the fruit trees ? Mr. Temple and “ W. P. B.” omit 
all mention of this, and I suppose we must take it for granted that these, 
too, require a deep root run ; at any rate, “ A Thinker ” is confident that 
they do, while “ J. L. B.” remains neutral, and Mr. S. Chinery agrees 
that they should not root deeply, but trenches for Strawberry crops, 
considering this a good preparation for other vegetable crops later on. 
It may be so in his case, but on mo3t heavy soils it would be the worst 
preparation imaginable, as Strawberry crop3 usually leave the ground 
in a much-trampled unkindly stite, from which they do not readily 
recover. Market growers, as a rule, neither trench for Strawberries nor 
fruit trees, not only because it is too expensive, but also because on all 
good fruit-growing soils the tree makes a more profitable progress on 
untrenched ground. On the farm in Eisex above alluded t >, the progress 
of the thousands of fruit trees and bushes planted about four years ago 
and since is really astonishing, and yet they were planted on ploughed 
land only. The standard trees on Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries, 
many of them now about seven years old, are in splendid bearing order, 
some of the sorts having heads fully 7 feet through, and the majority 
yield good crops of fruit, which, if thinning had been resorted to, would 
have been fit for anything. Before they were planted I should have 
given but little for them, so scrubby did they appear. Adjoining these new 
plantations, forming part of one large field in fact, are about seven acres 
of fruit trees, which were planted about fourteen years ago. In this 
case the ground was trenched, but this great outlay, and the unsatisfactory 
progress of the trees, was too much for the proprietor, and he became 
bankrupt. Many of the trees have since died, and I should say the re¬ 
mainder will soon be surpassed by the much younger trees planted on 
ploughed ground. The latter, when I firmly swayed them to and fro, 
disturbed for a good distance the ground around them, and afforded 
unmistakeable proof they were rooted near the surface. 
The progress of all kinds of trees planted on trenched ground may be 
more rapid, but what is the nature of the growth ? Is it hardy, short- 
jointed, or fruitful, as the case may be, or is it not rather the reverse of 
this—not calculated to form durable timber, or requiring judicious treat¬ 
ment and root-pruning to render it fruitful? It is not the rapidly grown 
timber that realises good prices, nor the rapid'y gr own Conifers, ever¬ 
greens, and shrubs that withstand a severe frost. It may be argued that 
our forest trees are naturally deep-rooting, the tap root striking straight 
downwards. It is quite certain that many of our noble Oaks and other 
trees send down one or more strong roots, and it is equally c rtain that 
these are the first to decay, this decay, unless anticipated by felling, being 
gradually communicated to the heart of the tree. Surface-rooting trees 
form the hardiest and most fruitful growth, and with few exceptions the 
same may be said of vegetables. Expend a little more labour on and add 
the various materials, such as Mr. Temple and others find it advisable to 
use on trenched land, to the surface, and there will be less cause to com¬ 
plain of the productiveness of much untrenched land. 
Since the foregoing was written, “Yisitator” has contributed a re¬ 
markably able and lucid paper, which will have been fully appreciated by 
all who are interested in this subject. He will perhaps be surprised to 
learn that I consider he has advanced several opinions which strongly 
support some of my arguments, but he certainly does, as I shall attempt 
to prove. As he courteously pointed out, some of my opening sentences 
were worded in such a manner as to confuse my meaning, and for this I 
must apologise. In the instance he quoted I meant to imply that in some 
cases trenching may perhaps be advantageously resorted to, but there are 
more instances where it would be better let alone. I ask if trenching is 
always judicious, and plainly rep’ied, Certainly nob With this my friendly 
critic fully agrees, as witness the following :—“ Stiff marly subsoils re¬ 
quire even more care in trenching than clays, while those composed of 
chalk and gravel are better left undisturbed.” Subsoils composed of clay 
must be judiciously trenched, marls very carefully so, and chalk and 
gravel not at all. No other opponent has admitted half so much as this, 
and this should convince my readers that I put no idle question, or ques¬ 
tioned the wisdom of trenching unadvisedly. 
I am aware authorities and figures are against me in this matter of 
deep culture, but facts, as I try to present them, are stubborn things, and 
with me have more weight than the theories propounded by eminent 
experts. If I with 4 acres of garden ground am able, without resorting 
to trenching, to more than supply one and very frequently two fairly 
large establishments with all kinds of vegetables, including Potatoes, as 
well as abundance of small fruit and Apples and Pears all the year round, 
surely I am justified in doubting the wisdom of or the necessity for deep 
culture. The position and nature of the soil further prevents anything 
like a systematic rotation of crops, and as a consequence everything 
depends upon the surface culture. No complaint is ever heard of the 
smallness of the various vegetables. On the contrary, the cock would be 
better pleased if all the roots, as well as Broccoli, Cauliflowers, and 
Brussels Sprouts, were on the whole much smaller than those sent to him. 
Our garden costs comparatively little in manual labour, and no manure is 
wasted—that is to say, buried too deeply. 
“Vitisator” admits “there is no doubt it is near the surface that the 
majority of the roots of the plants we cultivate thrive best,” but spoils the 
admission by the very doubtful assertion that it is impossible t > keep thun 
rooting near the surface by shallow cultivation. Farther on he hints that 
roots will form any quantity of roots at any depth providing some sort of 
resistance is offered to them. Exactly so, that is what I also contend. A 
great depth of loose soil offers no resistance to the downward tendency of 
the roots, but the case is very different with the freely manured and firm 
ordinarily dug or ploughed ground. Given the required solidity and plenty 
of manure close at hand, and both the top and bottom growth may easily 
be satisfactory to all but those who measure results by the vigour of the 
top growth and the great size of the produce. 
“ Vitisator ” evidently is a great believer in the value of a deep root 
run for fruit trees, but has scarcely well weighed his remarks upon this 
portion of the subject. He has advanced too much, in fact. He remarks 
that “ In thoroughly drained, judiciously trenched, well cultivated soil, 
the roots of vegetables cannot and will not grow too deeply, nor will those 
of fruit trees. It is not the depth they penetrate that does the mischief, 
but it is the wrong kind of muck an l half-hearted cultivation that is at 
fault.” Then comes the, to me, the very pleasing assertion that for 
trenching to be profitable it must be “judiciously and gradually per¬ 
formed.” Did it occur to him that the “ gradual improvement of the sub¬ 
soil would in the case, say, of a quarter planted with fruit trees, be rather 
a difficult undertaking, or does he recommend that land be trenched and 
retrenched for several seasons prior to planting with fruit trees? What 
would our market growers and the designers of new gardens say to that ? 
He plainly shows one liberal admixture of vegetable matter to the subsoil 
will not materially affect its character either for good or ill. On the con¬ 
trary, he well knows that in many cases it took ages to render the surface soil 
fertile by a natural process, and man and Nature combined will not quickly 
change the character of the subsoil. In our case were we to bring a thin 
layer of the subsoil to the surface it would quickly assume the consistency 
of birdlime, and instead of proving beneficial when mixed with the 
surface soil, would undoubtedly act most prejudicially. With regard to 
the suspension of moisture by newly trenched ground, about which^ I 
complained, instead of this being an “ index of good rath r than ill, 1 
