that the soil be sandy in appearance, but it should be friable.

"Loam: a rich, friable soil," says Webster. That hardly covers it, but
it does describe it. It is soil in which the sand and clay are in
proper proportions, so that neither greatly predominate, and usually
dark in color, from cultivation and enrichment. Such a soil, even to
the untrained eye, just naturally looks as if it would grow things. It
is remarkable how quickly the whole physical appearance of a piece of
well cultivated ground will change. An instance came under my notice
last fall in one of my fields, where a strip containing an acre had
been two years in onions, and a little piece jutting off from the
middle of this had been prepared for them just one season. The rest had
not received any extra manuring or cultivation. When the field was
plowed up in the fall, all three sections were as distinctly noticeable
as though separated by a fence. And I know that next spring's crop of
rye, before it is plowed under, will show the lines of demarcation just
as plainly.

This, then, will give you an idea of a good garden soil. Perhaps in
yours there will be too much sand, or too much clay. That will be a
disadvantage, but one which energy and perseverance will soon overcome
to a great extent--by what methods may be learned in Chapter VIII.


DRAINAGE


There is, however, one other thing you must look out for in selecting
your garden site, and that is drainage. Dig down eight or twelve inches
after you have picked out a favorable spot, and examine the sub-soil.