Tillage and Irrigation 69 



tillage. If the plants are aligned both ways, the culti- 

 vator can be run both ways within three to four inches of 

 the plants, and but little hand hoeing, which costs more 

 than horse tillage, is necessary. Since the roots seldom 

 extend beyond the spread of leaves, there is little danger 

 of working too close, provided the tillage is shallow. 

 Close planting and hand tillage with the wheel hoe are 

 practiced commercially in Florida and southern Cali- 

 fornia ; also, to a limited extent, in the market-gardens of 

 the North Atlantic states and in home gardens. There is 

 a steady drift away from hand tillage, especially in Florida. 

 Except where forage and grain are quite expensive, horse 

 tillage costs less than hand tillage and is more satisfactory, 

 even though fewer plants can be grown on an acre. 



Tools for horse tillage. 



The best tillage tool is the one that will do the work 

 required of it at the least expense. The tool that suits 

 one man and one set of conditions may be inappropriate 

 elsewhere. Frequently a weeder is used two or three 

 times immediately after the field is set. It does not pull 

 up the plants, if they were set firmly, and makes a shallow 

 mulch. After the plants are firmly rooted, cultivate 

 rather deeply, so as to loosen the soil that was tramped 

 in setting the field. This is especially necessary on heavy 

 land. A five-toothed cultivator with broad shovels 

 is used for this purpose. This implement is likely to 

 ridge and dry out the soil ; hence a ten- or twelve-toothed 

 cultivator, with narrow shovels or spike teeth, is pre- 

 ferred for summer tillage unless the soil is wet. A two- 

 horse sulky cultivator covers about seven acres a day, 

 a one-horse cultivator covers three and one-half acres. 

 A two-row cultivator covering fifteen acres a day is used 



