The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1857-11-11
PREPARATION on soIL.

PREPARATION OF SOIL.
In the cultivation OF the garden, as of the
farm, the first thing is to select the locality
for particular crop. Or for permanent
object. as that Of garden, for instance, and
10 prepare the soil.
After all the divisions Of soil that have
been made, they may for all practical pur-
poses be reduced to three, sandy, clayeg and
lodmy, in the first Of which sand predomin-
ates, and in the second eiay, while in the
third sand and clay are happily blended il
about those proportions which render them
desirable to the cultlyator.
4 loamy soil is TO be preferred for garden
ing purposes. Choose such loamy soil, il
YOU have il on your farm, and in location
suitable for the garden. But remember that
the garden i part Of the homestead; il is
70 BE beautiful a well as profitable its ele-
gancies and luxurics are 10 De on hand and
not alar OF; it is to adorn your dwelling, as
your dwelling is to adorn it; is to be the
rendezvous for many a social enjoyment,
earlier in the morning than you go to the
broad field, and laterin the evening than you
return from its weary labors.
| Iii, then, your buildings are already erect
ed, or even if the ground for them is chosen,
you have no great range for the choice of a
garden spot" If the soil, where as a
matter Of taste aud convenience you want
% meet your wife and children and friends,
among flowers and fruits and esculents, is
MOI afeasibic loan Witha porous subsoil, one
that viii both stand Tie drouth and drink in
Excessive rains so readily as not to keep the
surface long flooded, you ulustmake il such.
The expense viii be considerable, but it will
Ipay, and YOU cannot enjoy tie pleasures and
profits without.
IN expense may be necessary which might
well alarm you, ii it were 10 be applied to
! yoarRhole farm. But what is it for an acre,
or half an acre: Nothing compared with
the substantial benefits promised, to say
nothing Of the exquisite pleasure. III the
soil j. 80 exceedingly refractory that il can
not BE- made deepand mellow and rich, with
out a very great expense, il might BE we'll 10
content Yourself with sRaller garden than
YOU would otherwise cultivate, though as a
general rule'we believe the gardens Of our
country are TOO small, and should be enlarged
rather than diminished. If the mechanic or
the professional mao has but tile sxtecntho Of
an acre, il IL worth a great deal, and We would
advise him 10 make the most of Il. But why
should not the farmer, who has land enough,
4 take generous piece for u garden: OF all
/ that the garden produces, there is scarcely an
\ item which he cannot dispose Of adyanta-
] gcpusly, il he have surplus, either BY sale,
Or BY giving il away, Of fseding II 70 stock.
4 IN acre Il perhaps better than more, because
i il tie enclosure is ton large, il may fail Of
getting cultivated SO well as to be ornamen-
tai and highly productive; and half an acre
is certainly better than less, because the
ipcron who but half appreciates the eeono-
ncmicai and ornamental value Of garden,
cannot Id all he would desire on less ground.
/ IN acre, with fruit borders occupying one
half, and leaving an oblong or square half
acre for the garden proper, would be to our
mind, and that whether the farm Of which it
we're part were thirty acres Or three hum
Il Idred.
I III your soil il 4 medium loan, and las d
porous subsoil, you have nothing TO 10 in
the way Of preparing the soil but 10 plough
ten or fifteen inches deep, harrow, grade,
plough again, and work in again plenty Of
gaad barn manure, SO incorporating il with
thc soil that il shall peryade every inch, and
YOU IRE ready 70 sct your trees and mike
your garden. hut suppose il q bc q stiff
instead Of medium loan, few loads Of
sand in addition 10 the manure viii effect
/ the requisite amendment. Or itisa light,
sandy loan, then a few loads Of clay will
make Il just what you want. And the cost
IN either case will hardly DC worth naming.
III instead II being loam, little too stiff
or rather too light. il is sandy soil, then
clay in addition 20 manure is all yuu want
10 make il Just what you would have it.
Tie more sandy the more clay viii be re-
lquired. Or il your sell i the stifiest clay,
lsand enough with manure will make il as
lguUi loan as son can desire. Where clay
u used is an amendment, il should always
be exposed 10 the frOsts Of winter before
lploughing in, and should be thoroughly IN
corp6rated with the soil; and even when
sand is used the soil should be ploughed
more than once, narrowed many times, and
thc new ingredient evenly mixed. And
where sand or clay, a one &C the other may
be required, cannot be obtained within a
reasonable distance, swamp mud, long out
and well warmed in the sun, and washed
with rains, will 20 far towards producing the
same mcndmcnts--will really produce, only
Icss permanently, both tho eject 0f clay on
sand, aud III sand on clay, rendering CONE
pact soil lighter, and light soil more COM
pact. The difference j., that this applira-
ton would need TO be repeated every few
years, whereas the amendment Of soil by
applying is opposite, is permanent amend.
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