AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
161 
keep up a display. The culture of flowers 
along borders and among trees is never suc¬ 
cessful or satisfactory. They must have a 
place allotted to themselves, where they can 
be tastefully grouped and receive proper at¬ 
tention. A very important point is the se¬ 
lection of suitable trees for small gardens. 
We very often see trees of the largest class 
planted where there is no room for them, 
simply because such trees are planted in 
every garden. The little front gardens of 
street houses in some of the English towns 
delight every one who sees them, by the ap¬ 
propriateness of their arrangement and or¬ 
naments. A spot of bright green lawn, gar¬ 
nished with two or three Laurels or Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, and some climbing Roses and 
Honeysuckles around the windows, and 
these all glittering with high polish, like a 
new coin from the mint—no cutting up into 
all manner of misshaped beds and borders, 
no entangled masses of trees and plants.— 
Horticulturist. 
“WHAT IS TRENCHING ?” • 
Asked an intelligent merchant who has 
just moved into the country. Our first 
thought was, why, he ought to understand 
so simple an operation. Our second thought 
was, why, or how should he I and our third 
was, we’ll describe the operation for his ben¬ 
efit and that of others in like circumstances. 
The word trenching is often used indefi¬ 
nitely to signify any method of stirring the 
soil deeply, either with the spade or plow. 
Trenching, as used by gardeners, implies 
digging the ground deeper than a single 
Jength of the spade, and is termed “ true" or 
“ bastard ” trenching, according to the method 
jn which it is performed. True trenching con¬ 
sists in inverting the soil, placing the surface 
below the sub-soil. The following figure 
will illustrate the process. 
t 
b 
d 
f 
a 
c 
e 
g 
Fig. 1. 
a, b, c, and d severallyrepresent the ends of long trenches 
extending acrossthe garden. 
In the plot of ground represented by fig. 
1, dig out the earth two “ spits” or spades 
deep from t and a, and carry it over to the 
right side of the plot. Next take out the 
depth and width of the spade from b and put 
it in the place before occupied by a. Then 
take up another spit from c and place it in t, 
over b, in the new position. Continue the 
process in the same manner, putting d in 
place of c ; e in place of b ; / in e ; g in d, &c. 
The last trench upon the right side can be 
filled with the soil carried over from t and a. 
Bastard trenching consists in stirring the 
soil two or more spits deep, without sinking 
the surface soil, and is performed as follows : 
Take out the plot t and and set it aside 
to the right, as before described. Then loos¬ 
en the soil in a without removing it. Next 
set b over upon a and loosen up c. Continue 
the process in the same manner, putting d 
over c, loosening e, placing/upon it, and so 
on across the plot. 
During the spading process, whether by 
the first or second method, manure may, and 
should be worked into both the surface and 
sub-soil. It is always advisable in bastard 
trenching to bury as deeply as possible a 
little of the surface soil, including weeds 
&c. 
Few soils, not before worked deeply, are 
in a proper condition to admit of truetreneh- 
ing at first, since the sub-soil in a, c and e is 
not so well fitted for plants as the air-expo¬ 
sed surface soil. On this account we advise 
to practice bastard trenching first, for a year 
or two, or else to make the trenches a, c and 
e, only one-fourth or one-half a spit deep 
the first year, so as not to bring up too much 
of the “ raw soil” at a time. 
While oil this subject we will illustrate 
briefly, the method of stirring the soil as 
deep as three lengths of the spade. 
t 
V 
d 
g 
u 
b 
e 
h 
a 
c 
f 
i 
Fig. 2. 
For true trenching, three spits deep, dig out 
t, u and a , and carry them to the right, as 
above. Then put v in place of a, b in place 
of u, and c in place of t, and so on, moving 
d to c, e to b, f to v, &c. 
For bastard trenching, three spits deep, 
carry away t, u and v ; then loosen a, work¬ 
ing manure into it if need be. This done, 
set b in u, and Jin t. We now have d, v and 
b vacant, and can continue the process by 
stirring c, putting e in b, and g in v , &c. 
True and bastard trenching may be com¬ 
bined in three spits deep, thus : Remove t 
and u ; loosen a ; put v in u, and b in t. Then 
loosen c, and put d in b, e in v, loosen f, and 
so on. 
The process is very simple, is readily per¬ 
formed by the mosl unskillful workman after 
a little showing, and it is an effectual method 
of treating all garden soils. What sub¬ 
soiling is to the field, trenching is to the gar¬ 
den, only that, the latter is more thorough 
and effectual, and gives an opportunity of 
applying manures to any part, either of the 
surface or sub-soil. 
Few who have not tried it have any ade¬ 
quate idea of the productiveness and value 
of a soil thoroughly trenched. Such beets, 
and currants ai;d parsnips, as will grow upon 
a soil worked and manured two to three feet 
deep, must be seen to be appreciated ; and 
the same may be said of all other vegetables, 
although they be not usually ranked as deep- 
rooted. 
Give the roots of any plant a chance to 
grow downward, and they will go where they 
will always find moisture, no matter how 
hot or how long the sun may shine upon and 
parch a few inches of the surface. 
Our advice in all cases would be, trench 
every foot of ground devoted to garden cul¬ 
ture, at least two, if not three, or four spits 
deep. It will -pay — it will pay well.—Ed. 
Pretty cold out There. —Some one re¬ 
siding near, informed the Cleveland Herald, 
that it was so cold on January 9th, that the 
cows had to be driven to the house to thaw 
their bags before milking. Ugh ! 
ARE YOU GOING TO TRY AN ASPARAGUS 
BED THIS SPRING P 
If so it must be attended to this month. 
The ground should have been prepared last 
fall, but probably it was not. We’ll say it 
was not, and see now how it is to be done. 
In the first place choose the location, which 
of course must be where it will not be dis¬ 
turbed for years to come, nor liable to be 
washed by heavy rains. Alongside of a 
garden walk or fence will furnish a conve¬ 
nient place. Any moderately good soil will 
do to begin operations with. 
First lay off a bed as long as may be de¬ 
sirable, but not to exceed four feet in width. 
Dig up the soil 18 to 24 inches in depth, 
mixing it with say one-eighth of its bulk of 
well rotted manure of any kind. (This 
much should have been done last autumn.) 
Let the ground thus prepared be left to settle 
six or eight days. On one or both sides of 
this bed it is convenient to have an alley 
eighteen inches wide, and three or four inch¬ 
es deep at first. 
When the bed has settled, remove the 
surface soil to a depth of nine inches, piling 
the removed soil into the alleys on each side, 
and level off the new surface of the bed. 
Next mark out the rows lengthwise of the 
bed, one foot from each other, the outer rows 
being six inches from the alley®. If the 
ground be coated with sand or sifted ashes, 
and the marking done on this, it is more 
convenient. The ashes will also be good 
lor the plants. 
Now take the roots and lay them on the 
marked surface of the prepared bed, nine 
inches from each other in the rows, and 
spread their fine roots out well, keeping the 
crowns or buds on the line. 
When the plants are all laid down careful¬ 
ly, cover them with the whole of the soil 
previously removed. A stock of roots can 
be obtained of any good gardener, or through 
a seedsman, and cost in the neighborhood of 
$6 to $7 a thousand. Two year-old roots 
only should be purchased. 
Nothing needs to be done with the bed 
during the first season after planting 
but to keep it clear of weeds. In autumn 
cover it with a dressing of manure two to 
three inches deep. In the following spring 
as soon as the frost is out, fork this manure 
into the ground, being careful not to injure 
the plants. A few days after the surface of 
the bed should be raked off so as to leave a 
fine and even surface. If good two year-old 
plants were procured at first, they can be 
cut somewhat during the second season. In 
a warm location, with a warm soil, the cut¬ 
ting may begin about the first of June, ear¬ 
lier or later, according to the season. A 
bed well prepared at first, will last from five 
to ten years, with no very great care. A 
top-dressing of manure, forked in carefully, 
once in a year or two, will be beneficial.— 
Ed. 
The prize crop of Indian corn in the State 
of Ohio, for 1855, was 162 bushels per acre. 
