20 STIRRING THE SOIL. [chap. i. 
is thrown out of a pit a foot or eighteen 
inches deep, and about the same in diameter, 
and its place supplied by peat, or whatever 
other kind of earth may be required. In 
removing a young tree or shrub, the ground 
is generally first dug out on one side, so as to 
form a small trench, and then the spade is 
driven perpendicularly into the ground, be¬ 
low the depth to which the roots descend, 
and the whole mass is raised like a spade 
full of earth. Small plants are raised by the 
spade at once without making any trench; 
and large trees require all the skill of a pro¬ 
fessed gardener. 
Forking . — A broad-pronged garden fork 
may be defined as an implement consisting 
of a number of small sharply pointed spades, 
united by a shoulder or hilt, to which is fixed 
the handle; and forking differs from digging 
principally in its being used merely to stir 
the soil, and not to turn it over. In shrub¬ 
beries, and among perennial herbaceous 
plants, which are not to be taken and re¬ 
planted, forking is very useful; as it loosens 
the hard dry surface of the soil, and admits 
the warm air and rain to the roots of the 
