There is, however, one other thing you must look out for in selecting your garden
site, and that is soil drainage. Dig down eight or twelve inches after you have picked
out a favorable spot, and examine the sub-soil. This is the second strata, usually
of different texture and color from the rich surface soil, and harder than it. If
you find a sandy or gravelly bed, no matter how yellow and poor it looks, you have
chosen the right spot. But if it be a stiff, heavy clay, especially a blue clay,
you will have either to drain it or be content with a very late garden--that is,
unless you are at the top of a knoll or on a slope.
H. Baley, Home Vegetable Gardening
