18 
STIRRING THE SOIL. [chap.i. 
digging the ground for the purpose of bury¬ 
ing manure: according to the first method., 
the manure is spread evenly over the whole 
bed, and then the gardener proceeds to dig as 
though the manure were in fact a portion of 
the surface of the soil; and according to the 
second method, the manure having been first 
brought to the spot and thrown into a heap, 
is deposited, a small portion at a time, at the 
bottom of each furrow as it is formed, and 
the earth from the next furrow thrown over 
it. In both cases, the manure should be 
buried as speedily as possible; as if left long 
exposed in small quantities to the air in hot 
dry weather, it loses a great part of its nutri¬ 
tious qualities by evaporation. 
Digging for the purpose of exposing the 
soil to the action of the weather, trenching, 
and ridging on a large scale, are operations 
too laborious to be performed by any one 
but a gardener’s labourer. To be done well, 
the earth in all these cases should be mixed 
in large spitfuls at a time, and turned over 
without breaking, on which account they are 
best performed in moist weather, when the 
earth is in an adhesive state. Ridging on a 
