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Manual of Gardeningprepare 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 is springy, low, and "sour," or that holds the water in puddles for a day or two following 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 permanent 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 a good and continuous fall. For single drains and for laterals not over four hundred or five hundred feet long, a two and one-half inch tile is sufficient, unless much water must be carried from swales or springs. In stony countries, flat stones may be used in place of tiles, and persons who are skillful in laying them make drains as Next Page |
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