CHAP. 1 VILLA GAKDENING 389 



apijlied just before the crop is planted, i^laciug it near where the 

 roots will shortly be working. When I had a light hungry soil 

 to deal with, in jDlanting such things as Cauliflowers I found a 

 great advantage in digging a hole for the plant, i^lacing some of 

 the manurial compost in the hole, and setting the plant in it, 

 making up the surface with the earth taken out. In this way 

 excellent results have been obtained on light, hungry land. Heavy 

 retentive land may have the manure carted on it fresh from the 

 stables, and trenched in autumn. In the spring, after the winter's 

 exposure, the land will be in good condition for planting. 



Something about Tools. — Carlyle, in his grimly-humorous 

 way, says, " Man is a tool-using animal ; without tools he is 

 nothing, with tools he is all. The earliest dwellers upon the earth 

 had their flint ball, with a thong to it, such as no brute has, or 

 can have." It has been said that " a good workman never finds 

 fault with his tools ;" but in gardening, at any rate, a man cannot 

 do as much work with a bad tool as a good one. Take the spade 

 as a case in point. A man with a worn-out spade may turn over 

 as much or even more surface than he could with a good service- 

 able tool ; but no one with any knowledge would say that the 

 worn-out tool did as much or as efticient work as the good one. 

 And if a good workman did not find fault with a bad tool, I think 

 he ought to do so, and obtain a better one as speedily as possible. 

 I am surprised that any one should buy a soft clumsy spade, such 

 as is sold by many country ironmongers, when a keen, bright, 

 handy cast-steel tool can be had for about a shilling or so more. 

 AVith the improved tool the man might earn the extra cost of the 

 spade in a couple of days at least. If I had much digging to do 

 I would not use one of those soft clumsy spades for double wages. 

 The spade is a most important tool in the garden, and it is very 

 necessary in the interests of economy and good cultivation that 

 none but the best should be employed. I have used Lyndon's 

 patent No. 2 Spade for a good many years, and find it an 

 excellent tool, though I daresay many others are as good. In my 

 exjDerience I have observed as many varieties of digging as there 

 are spades. Sometimes the digger contrives to turn up as little 

 soil with the new tool as he did with his old one, simply by 

 altering the angle of insertion. It is true that he has to stoop a 

 little more, but in a long day's digging he does not turn over so 

 much earth by several tons ; and, besides, it demoralises the man . 

 when he shirks his work. The blade of the spade should be 

 thrust into the ground with the handle in a nearly vertical position, 

 and the earth which is brought up by the spade should be turned 

 completely over — that is, its position should be completely re- 



