Spade-husbandry

Spade-husbandry. The operation of digging is performed with a spade, or pronged fork, or with a steam-digger. The spade or fork is thrust in with the foot, and the mass of earth is first loosened by the lever-power of the handle, then lifted and inverted. When this operation is performed in spring or summer, the ground should be dry, so as to obtain pulverisation as easily and to as great extent as possible. In stronger soils, which are dug in autumn, a little moisture is desirable, as the land lies fallow, and the frosts of winter afterwards pulverise and reduce it to a proper degree for receiving the crops in spring. Digging by hand is mainly confined to the cultivation of gardens and small 'croft,' for, though a most efficient means of cultivating the soil, it is too expensive for field-crops. It is resorted to, however, for digging over or trenching land which has been in timber or full of stones or boulders. Formerly the spade was the only implement used for digging, but steel forks are now more largely used, being lighter and more easily driven into the soil. Besides preparing the land for plants, the spade and the fork, chiefly the latter, are used for taking crops, such as potatoes and carrots, out of the ground. For the important subject of spade-husbandry and cottage-farming as an economic and social problem, see PEASANT PROPRIETORSHIP.