358 THE COTTAGE 
GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, February 24, 1857. 
3. The Tender-shelled. 
4. The Thick-shelled, for long keeping. 
5. Highflier of Thetford, said to he the best variety 
known. 
To preserve these varieties distinct and true they must 
be increased either by inarching, budding, or by layers. 
T. Appleby. 
TRENCHING GROUND FOR FARMING 
PURPOSES. 
“ A Gentleman,” anxious to improve the husbandry of 
his neighbourhood, has inquired through The Cottage 
Gardener the cheapest and best way by which laud 
can be trenched so as to increase its fertility, and, in 
the end, afford a fair remuneration for the labour and 
expense incurred. This subject is, perhaps, one which 
more especially concerns the farmer than the horti¬ 
culturist ; still, the means to be adopted are the same 
in both cases, and the one is often as much wanted as 
the other; we may, therefore, treat the subject as being 
applicable on a large scale, to which the gentleman’s 
inquiry would seem to tend. 
Most travellers will have noticed that in the suburbs 
of large towns, London for instance, vast breadths of 
land are under spade culture, for the growth of vegetables, 
small fruits, and other things required at that place. 
This land, often letting at from three to fifteen pounds 
per acre, is rendered as productive as skill and capital 
can make it. Dung, by scores of cart-loads, is added 
to each acre yearly; and, when necessary, trenching 
and other modes of culture are put in requisition; in 
I fact, everything except letting it lie idle or fallow, which 
the heavy rents and other charges against it preclude its 
being allowed to do. Thus crop succeeds crop with a 
rapidity which can only be understood by those who 
have witnessed the process, and the promptness with 
which every little mishap is met renders a failure a rare 
thing except in such cases as the Potato murrain. 
This hard-working system is not likely to be carried into 
effect generally in other places, although some speculators 
prophesy a time when such will be the case. At present 
it is certainly increasing; but, as what is being done 
has been accomplished gradually, it is only necessary to 
regard the attempts to improve the culture of a district 
as a first step in that direction, and one deserving every 
encouragement and assistance. 
Our correspondent says the soil he is anxious to im¬ 
prove by trenching is what is locally termed a “stone 
rash ” soil, with here and there stones of a kind necessary 
to quarry, so that he expects to get about 150 cart-loads of 
stones per acre. He also wants it trenched two feet 
deep, and would like to know the probable expense, and 
what is paid for such work in different counties, as he 
has several acres he would like to do, with the laudable 
view of introducing such an improvement into general 
use in his neighbourhood. This is a fair case, and 
deserving attention. 
As this involves a considerable amount of labour 
and the presence of rocky stones, which must be re¬ 
moved, it is not easy to calculate what the expense 
might be, especially in the absence of all knowledge of 
| the value of such stones after they have been carted off. 
Local circumstances regulating these things, I can only 
explain the usual practice adopted in this neighbour¬ 
hood (Kent), where there are many acres of a kind 
somewhat resembling the one in question, trenched and 
operated upon for Hops, fruit, and other things, and 
where spade culture is carried on to a greater extent 
than in any other district in the kingdom ; so much so 
that I believe one-twentieth of the whole acreage within 
some miles of where I write (Staplehurst) is under spade 
culture, and probably as much more has been so at a 
former time, and has since been laid down in grass, or 
passed into other modes of cultivation. Possibly I may 
be wrong in using the term “ spade,” as that tool is but 
little used, the digging being mostly or all but wholly 
done by a strong tbree-tined fork, termed here a “ spud,” 
which in make and appearance differs much from that 
used in other counties. The tines are long and broader, 
and flatter at the point than at the heel, where they are 
square. The socket which unites it to the handle is 
longer than usual, the wooden part being short; and a 
long crane-necked curve unites the iron part of the 
socket with the cross-bar of the fork or spud, which is 
altogether a much heavier tool than strangers would think 
necessary, and is better adapted for shallow digging than 
deep, the points projecting forward having what workmen 
call a good deal of “ anchor-come,” and a host of other 
local names to indicate the angle at which it stands to 
its work. Such is the Kentish spud, heavy, and certainly 
uninviting to a stranger, but in the hands of an ac¬ 
customed workman an excellent tool, and one which it 
is improper to condemn until a better be found, as it 
has done its work for several generations, somewhat 
altered, old people tell us, in some of its parts, but 
much the same in general outline; and, though I have 
often thought a lighter tool would do as well, and have 
reasoned the case too with the men, still I am far from 
certain of being in the right; and, as many hundreds 
of workmen find their own tools of this kind, and have 
them made by their own directions, we must allow them 
to be the best judges; for, though custom and some¬ 
times prejudice will maintain the use of an implement 
against the introduction of another, few workmen are 
opposed to any scheme for making their tools more 
handy; and I confess being not a little puzzled in the 
jnatter of heavy and light implements competing with 
each other by the result of a trial of ploughs in this 
country, where, amongst a number of kinds, the heavy 
Kentish-turn-wrest plough did its work lightest as tested 
by the dyanometer. On like principle, perhaps, a heavy 
digging spud may be preferable to a lighter one. Cer¬ 
tainly the ground they have to turn over requires 
strength at times ; and, though most of the digging in 
Hop and fruit gardens is shallow, the length of the 
tines is such as to allow of its being done deep if 
required. 
Now, though this may seem apart from trenching, yet 
with such a tool our correspondent will see what is best 
to begin with, as trenching is done with it by the assist¬ 
ance of a shovel at times, and, whether the soil be 
hardened by dry weather or soddened by wet, a spud 
will be found the best thing to enter it, and after turning 
it up to clear itself again. In fact, spades are but little 
used in the extensive orchard and Flop-garden diggiug 
here, and their strength renders them equally applicable 
to loosen the stones and under surface in the process of 
trenching, of which a mention of one or two methods 
will convey some idea. 
Presuming the field, which it is intended to partially 
trench, be already in tillage and under the plough, it is 
not unusual to commence at one side, and turn up a 
furrow as deep as possible. A gang of men are then set to 
work with spuds, as above, to dig and turn up the bottom 
of the furrow, a part of each spit mixing with the top soil, 
the other remaining in a broken-up condition at the 
bottom, the plough returning up another furrow. Another 
set of men in like manner follow it, and, being evenly 
distributed over the ground, as many are set to work as 
will keep the plough going. Generally from twelve to 
sixteen men will do this, and this is a ready way of 
doing such work; but, of course, where there are many 
stones it could not be done, but it is much preferable 
to subsoil ploughing, which leaves a hard bottom un¬ 
suitable for vegetation. 
Where stones abound the above course cannot well be 
