Digging is an operation performed with the spade or fork, having for its object a loosening of the soil so as to render it more fit for the reception of seeds or plants. For its correct performance Mawe and Abercrombie give these directions: -

"Begin at one end of the piece of ground, and with your spade open a trench quite across, one good spade wide and one deep, carrying the earth to the end or place where you finish; then, keeping your face to the opening, proceed to dig, one spade deep, regularly from one side of the piece to the other, turning the spits neatly into the trench, and the next course against these; and so keep digging straight back, spit and spit, still preserving an open trench, a good spade width and depth, between the dug and undug ground, that you may have full room to give every spit a clean turn, taking all the spits perpendicularly,and not taking too much before the spade, especially in stiff land, or where the surface is full of weeds, or is much dunged; so giving every spit a clean turn, the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top, that the weeds or dung on the surface may be buried a due depth, and that the clean fresh earth may be turned up.

"As you proceed break all large clods, and preserve an even surface, carrying both sides and middle on equally, unless one side shall be hollow; then carry on the hollow side first in a kind of gradual sweep, inclining the spits of earth rather that way, which will gradually raise that side and reduce the high one, observing the same if both sides are high and the middle hollow, or both sides hollow and the middle high, always keeping the lower ground advancing gradually before the higher; by which you will always maintain a uniform level, whether horizontal or declining.

"The same should also be observed in beginning to dig any piece of ground, that if one corner is much lower than another, carry on the lower part somewhat first, in a kind of easy sweep or slanting direction, as far as necessary. Likewise, in finishing any pieces of digging, gradually round upon the lower side so as to finish at the highest corner; and having digged to the end, or that part of any piece of ground where you intend to finish, then use the earth digged out of the first trench to make good the last opening equal with the other ground. In plain digging dunged ground, if the dung is quite rotten, you may dig clean through,giving each spit a clean turn to bury the dung in the bottom of the trench; but if you cannot readily dp this, trim the dung a spade's width at a time into the furrow or open trench, and so dig the ground upon it, which is rather the most effectual method, whether rotten or long fresh dung.

"In the course of digging all weeds that are perennial should be carefully | picked out, particularly couch-grass and bear-bind; for the least bit of either will grow. But annual weeds, groundsel, and the like, should be turned down to the bottom of the trench, where they will rot.

"A man will dig by plain digging of light free-working clean ground, eight, ten, or twelve rods a day, from six to six, though in some of the light clean ground about London, I have known a man turn up fifteen or twenty rods a day, from five to seven; on the other hand, in stiff stubborn soils, a man may work hard for six or eight rods in a day of twelve hours; and that digging by trenches, or trenching, if only one spade deep without the crumbs or shovelling at bottom, a man will dig almost as much as by plain digging; or two spades' depth, from four to six rods a day may be good work, though in harsh working ground digging three or four rods per day may be hard work." Most garden soils dig best the day after a fall of rain; and if the soil has in its composition a larger proportion than usual of clay, the operation will be faciliated by dipping occasionally the spade into water. Most gardeners object to digging while snow is upon the ground, and, as Dr. Lindley justly observes, the objection is not mere prejudice, for experience proves the bad result of the practice. The evil is owing to the great quantity of heat required to reduce ice or snow from the solid to the fluid state.

A pound of snow newly fallen requires an equal weight of water, heated to 172°, to melt it, and then the dissolved mixture is only of the temperature of 32°. Ice requires the water to be a few degrees warmer, to produce the same result. When ice or snow is allowed to remain on the surface, the quantity of heat necessary to reduce it to a fluid state is obtained chiefly from the atmosphere; but when buried so that the atmospheric heat cannot act directly upon it, the thawing must be very slowly effected, by the abstraction of heat from the soil by which the frozen mass is surrounded. Instances have occurred of frozen soil not being completely thawed at midsummer; when so, the air, which fills the interstices of the soil, will be continually undergoing condensation as it comes in contact with the cold portions; and, accordingly, the latter will be in a very saturated condition even after they have become thawed. - Gard. Chron.

Very few people ever consider in detail the expenditure of labour required from the gardener when digging. It is a labour above all others calling into exercise the muscles of the human frame, and how great is the amount of this exercise may be estimated from the following facts: -

In digging a square perch of ground in spits of the usual dimensions (seven inches by eight inches) the spade has to be thrust in 700 times; and as each spadeful of earth, if the spade penetrates nine inches, as it ought to do, will weigh on the average full seventeen pounds, 11,900 pounds of earth have to be lifted, and the customary pay for doing this is two-pence half-penny. As there are 100 perches or rods in an acre, in digging the latter measure of ground the garden labourer has to cut out 112,-000 spadesful of earth, weighing in the aggregate 17,000 cwt., or 850 tons, and during the work he moves over a distance of fourteen miles. As the spade weighs between eight and nine pounds, he has to lift, in fact, during the work, half as much more weight than that above specified, or 1,278 tons. An able-bodied labourer can dig ten square perches a day. A four-pronged fork, with the prongs twelve inches long, and the whole together forming a head eight inches wide, is a more efficient tool for digging than the common spade. It requires the exertion of less power; breaks up the soil more effectually; and does not clog even when the soil is moist wet.

It is less costly than the spade, and when worn can be relaid at a less expense.