THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 9, 1904. 
the following way : If the plots of ground are 25 ft. wide or 
more and only two or three men, are to do tire work, the best 
method will be to lay a line down the centre, and with the 
spade cut a. mark from end to end. By thus halving the plots 
a good deal of time and labour are saved in wheeling the soil 
about from the opening trenches. Next skim all the weeds 
off the' end you begin at, the whole width of the plot, at least 
4 ft. from the edge of the walk, throwing them towards the 
centre. This finished, lay a, line down 3 ft. from the edge of 
the walk, then take the soil from this space a foot or so deep, 
placing it on the opposite side for the filling in of the last 
trend” Shovel out the crumbs’, placing them also on the 
same side; then,, if the subsoil is. good enough to be brought 
to the top', take out another foot and the crumb's, putting this 
with the former soil. Dig up the bottom of this trench 
another spit deep with the fork, leaving it in the bottom. In 
this way the ground will have been, trenched to a depth of 
3 ft., Which I consider is deep enough for all vegetable crops. 
If the subsoil is not fit to be brought' to the top, then (after 
taking the first foot off and shovelling out the crumbs') dig it. 
up a foot deep and leave it in the bottom ; with this treat¬ 
ment-, the two soils are retained in the same position,, or nearly 
so, as before. Now measure- off another 2 ft., setting the line 
to'this measurement and keening to this width throughout the 
whole piece, with the exception of the first trench on the 
other half, which must be 3 ft. fro-m the edge of the walk. 
The' reason. I advise a 3-ft. -space, to be taken out for the first, 
trench is that there will not be enough soil to fill in the last 
trench with if onlv a 2-ft. space is taken out. 
Again,, when- the latter space is begun with, the prcurd wdl 
hp much too high at the beginning and much too low at the- 
fini=hiug, wherefore, if the former plan) is adopted, you wdl 
find your ground eciual throughout when finished. 
The second trench being measured off, commence, to turn 
the top- spit into, the first- trench, well breaking up each spit 
a-s it is turned into the trench ; and if you are using manure, 
put a good coating on the ton of this spit. Then shovel out- the 
crumbs on, to the manure, dig up- the bottom a foot deep, well 
breaking these spits: also, and on the top of this you can put 
any kind of garden- refuse you may have, excepting weeds 
that will appear again and cause you trouble here after.. 
Treat the next- trench and all the succeeding ones m like 
manner until the entire p-lo-t is- completed. I may mention 
that before taking the top spit off the second and succeeding 
trenches it- is a, go-od plan, to- skim off about 3 in. of the top 
soil throwing it into -the trench, thus increasing the depth of 
the trenching, and at- the siaine time- placing all weeds- and 
their seeds- which this; 'soil may contain to a, depth winch will 
prevent theiir reappearing in the future. _ 
Although trenching is good work t<5 do in, frosty weather, 
still I do not advocate its being don© when the frosts are very 
hard and severe-, for the simple reason you cannot; break the 
soil up- so well as it- ought to be. More,over,. it is- a had practice 
to put hard frozen, soil so deep 1 , a,s it remains in. that state so 
Ion^ before, thawing and keeps so wet and cold, whereas other¬ 
wise it. would be dry and warm. Should frosty weather occur 
while this work is. in progress, it is a good plan, to- -spread a 
thick coat of the refuse o-r long manure or leave® over the 
ground, which will ward off the frost, a, good deal, and enable 
the work to proceed without delay. 
The advantages of trenching are- many, and are enumerated 
below The soil i-s made more loose and friable to, a- greater 
dent-h' feus giving the roots of all plants greater freedom to 
penetrate it, in, search of food. It also admits, the atmospheric 
air with all its beneficial gases, much more freely and deeply 
and likewise admit® at the same tune: the warm showers ol 
spring and summer, which prove of immense benefit to the 
plants The plants also will be lees affected in, dry weather, 
and the soil will be drier and warmer in, winter -and early 
spring by the surplus water descending to a lower lev© . 1 ie 
soil also will be deepened by the addition of the refuse and 
also ‘enriched by its use, and the crop® grown, thereon; will be 
heSy i* prolific. Further it will place a. good 
amount of insect life to a- depth which will ensure- it® utt-ei 
destruction. The writer has adopted the above plan of trench¬ 
ing hi® ground for over thirty years, and has always met with 
good results. H, Bowles. 
O 
Large Onions. 
The -cultivation of large specimens of this most useful 
vegetable ha® now become fairly general, not- only with a view 
to exhibition purposes, but particularly for household consump¬ 
tion, and I have l-ong advocated the culture-of these on a mo-re 
extensive scale for market purposes. The large importations 
of these from foreign countries annually goes to pro-ve the 
demand there i's for them, and there is not the- slightest reason 
Single Chrysanthemum Winnie Wells. (See p. 29.) 
why these should not be produced at home and yie-ld good 
profits. 
The chief secret of success is allowing .them a long season of 
growth and harvesting them early and carefully. Many are 
under the. impression that these- will not keep as well as smaller 
bulbs, which is quite true, unless more care is exercised in 
finishing them off than, is generally adopted. And in support 
of this, 1 may mention that -our largest and best .specimens on 
the last day of December are as sound as the day they were 
lifted, and ia, more disastrous season than, the past- for ripening 
them can hardly be imagined. 
Sowing.—January is the, best month for raising the young 
plants ; from the, 10th to the 15th I have f-o-und to be the most 
satisfactory. A suitable compost should be, prepared, which 
should consist of two parts good fibrous loam, one, part each 
of leaf .soil and horse droppings, with sufficient road grit added 
to allow the water to pass away freely. Pass the whole 
through a J-in. sieve. Ordinary boxes which are generally 
used fo-r seed sowing should he well drained and jna.de ready. 
The .mixture, which should be in a moderately dry condition, 
should be made firm, the seed sown thinly, and just covered 
with some of the finest off the soil. Thoroughly water in and 
raise under glass in -a gentle heat, either an early vinery or 
orchard house'being the most suitable place. As the young 
plants make their appearance a-bove the soil, assign to, them 
the lightest possible position. Never attempt- to unduly force 
them, o-r the plants will become weak and drawn, from which 
