. Manual of gardening : a practical guide to the making of home grounds and the growing of flowers, fruits, and vegetables for home use . Gardening. 88 MANUAL OF GARDENING the closing season. These are the months when I work hardest and when I am nearest the soil. To feel the thrust of the spade, to smell the sweet earth, to prepare for the young plants and then to prepare for the closing year, to handle the tools with discrimination, to guard against frost, to be close with the rain and wind, to see the young things start into life and then to see them go down into winter, — these are some of
. Manual of gardening : a practical guide to the making of home grounds and the growing of flowers, fruits, and vegetables for home use . Gardening. 88 MANUAL OF GARDENING the closing season. These are the months when I work hardest and when I am nearest the soil. To feel the thrust of the spade, to smell the sweet earth, to prepare for the young plants and then to prepare for the closing year, to handle the tools with discrimination, to guard against frost, to be close with the rain and wind, to see the young things start into life and then to see them go down into winter, — these are some of the best of the joys of gardening. In this spirit we should take up the work of handling the land. The draining of the land. The first step in the preparation of land, after it has been thoroughly cleared and subdued of forest or previous vegetation, is to attend to the drainage. All land that i& springy, low, and "sour," or that holds the water in puddles for a day or two fol- lowing heavy rains, should be thoroughly underdrained. Draining also improves the physical condition of the soil even when the land does not need the removal of superfluous water. In hard lands, it lowers the water-table, or tends to loosen and aerate the soil to a greater depth, and thereby enables it to hold more water without injury to plants. Drainage is particularly useful in dry but hard garden lands, because these lands are often in sod or permanently planted, and the soil cannot be broken up by deep tillage. Tile drainage is permanent subsoiling. Hard-baked cylindrical tiles make the best and most per- manent drains. The ditches usually should not be less than two and one-half feet deep, and three or three and one-half feet is often better. In most garden areas, drains may be laid with profit as often as every thirty feet. Give all drains. 79. Ditching Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readabilit
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