590 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
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first spading of sod has been removed, a digger can sink a ditch fo the desired depth 
whilestanding on the bank. Fig. 7 isa steel spade similar to ig. 6, yet having a shorter 
blade. Fig. 3 represents a very convenient and useful tool for shoveling the loose 
earth from the bettom of ditches that are of sufficient width to receive the blade. The 
corners of the entering edge are made square and sharp, to facilitate dressing out the 
corners of the bottom of a ditch. 
Cleaners are valuable and convenient tools to aid in excavating very narrow ditches. 
They are of several forms, as represented by the accompanying illustrations. Fig. 9 
should be bnng similar to a round-pointed shovel, so that the blade will rest flat 
on the ground when the handle is beld across one knee. The blades of the other 
cleaners, Figs. 19 and 11, are hung at about the same angle as a broad hoe, so that 
the operator can stand on the bank of the narrow ditch and scoop out the loose earth 
from the bottom. In many instances where the earth to be excavated is soft, these, 
cleapers are employed to excavate the ditch after the first spading has been removed, 
and to grade the bottom while the operator stands on the bank. Fig. 11 is a slen- 
der scoop having a long handle. ‘ 
The blades of such cleaners should be made of good steel, with a strong shank and a 
handle that cannot be broken by a careless thrust. It should be remembered also that 
such cleaners are not designed to endure the strain of a pick ora crow-bar. Hence the 
edge should not be driven down into compact ground, and foree applied to pry more 
earth than the tool can lift at one time. All such tools are made strong and light, to _ 
handle loose and yielding earth. But diggers who have not been educated to use tools ° 
with care will often employ a cleauer when they should use a crow-bar. 
A boot spading-iron.— After the spade has been used for a few hours, anless the sole of 
the boot is nuusnally thick and bard, the foot which is employed to thrust in thespade 
will become tender and lame. To prevent such an occurrence, all skillful ditchers. em- 
ploy a spading-iron, to be lashed to the hollow of the foot. 
A Convenient Drain Level.—A convenient level is an important instrument to be em- 
ployed when making drains. When there is only an inch fal) per lineal rod, the use of a 
Teliable level is requisite to grade the bottom of the ditch ata true inclination, so that 
the water will flow away without being forced along on a level in certain places. The 
surface of the land is often deceptive, so much so that it is frequently unsafe to depend 
on cheap spirit levels, much less to rely on random gnessings. 
Fie, 12 Figure 12 represents a wooden leyel 
= ale that a mechanie can make in half an 
hour; a@are pieces of light wood one inch 
thick, eight feet long, four inches wide at 
the lower ends, and twe at the top; b is a 
gradnated cross-bar, screwed to aa; p 
consists of a plumb and line. Before the 
gradnated scale is made on b, let the 
leve] be turned half way around. Ifthe 
plumb-line indicates the same point or 
mark, the level is practically correct. 
Let the pieces be planed and painted, 
and the joints glned together. Then 
let it be handled with care and housed 
from the influences of the weather. 
Ditchers Metallic Shoes.—When laying 
tile in a narrow ditch in which there is a stream of water, it is very desirable to 
have a pair of metallic shoes lashed beneath the feet. These are usually made of thick 
sheet iron, with the two edges riveted together at the bottom. The object of such 
shoes is to allow the water to flow through the orifice freely, without forming a pool 
of water directly where the operator is Jaying tiles. When a ditch is only wide 
enough for a man’s feet when one is directly forward of the other, they will obstruct 
the water, rendering it rather disagreeable for the ditcher. When the bottom of a ditch 
is soft, the feet of a heavy man will constantly poach up the soft earth, making it more 
difficult to lay the tiles properly, while the hollow shoes will aid materially in keeping 
the bottom true and smooth. The orifice through the shoes need not be over two 
inches deep by four inches broad. Leather straps may be riveted to the sides, or they 
may pass through the sides. The shoes should be about two inches longer than the 
boots of the operator. A block of hard wood three by four inches square, with two 
one-and-a-fourth-inch holes bored through lengthwise near the bottom, will setve the 
parpose. 
Spirit-levels.—Many spirit levels are not sufficiently correct for leveling the founda- 
tion for a building, nor for grading a ditch where the surface of the ground is nearly 
level. In many instances the vial which contains the spirits is of such form that the 
air-bubble will not indicate a trifling movement. But a plumb-line will never fail to 
correspond exactly with a water-level. Fig. 13 represents a cheap and convenient . 
spiritlevel, which a worker in ywood will be able to make in an hour. ‘The part repre- 
oa —— eo ee 
