HORRIBLY WRONG.
Trust me this is horribly wrong.
Try measuring the resistance of 1m of soil. Just plug your multimeter probes in and set the meter to Ohms....???
The fuse in a circuit is in the HOT side. The RETURN for the current is in the NEUTRAL wire, and secondarily in case of a fault in the SAFETY EARTH. The term EARTH is used with respect to the function related to LIGHTNING. The current in a fault situation will flow from the HOT wire, to anything connected that will let the current RETURN to the source, which in this case is the mains supply to the house. The current does not want to go into the soil...
See this (contradicting my "never trust the internet"):
Breakers and Ground Wires
National Electrical Code Article 250.4
250.4 General Requirements for Grounding and Bonding
(A)Grounded Systems
(5) Effective Ground-Fault Current Path. Electrical equipment and wiring and other electrically conductive material likely to become energized shall be installed in a manner that creates a permanent, low-impedance circuit capable of safely carrying the maximum ground-fault current likely to be imposed on it from any point on the wiring system where a ground fault may occur to the electrical supply source. The earth shall not be used as the sole equipment grounding conductor or effective ground-fault current path.
EARTH IS NOT the return path for current flowing in the national grid - the source transformer is, via the neutral line.
- GY