390 VILLA GARDENING part v 



versed. In winter digging, the surface of tlie soil should be left 

 open and rough for the frost and snow to j^enetrate ; but in spring 

 and summer it should be well broken up, to fit it for immediate 

 cropping, as spring or summer fallows are luiknown in gardens. 

 The steel fork has in some measure taken the place of the spade 

 in spring and summer work, as it leaves the land in better 

 condition for the atmosphere to act upon than the spade does. 



For winter trenching and digging the spade is of course the 

 best. As regards the best season to dig, most people are guided 

 by experience and influenced by circumstances. Heavy land may 

 be manured and the digging done in autumn or early in winter, and 

 remain rough till spring ; then, in March, when the surfece is dry, 

 take the steel fork and turn it all over, and there will shortly be a 

 tilth fit to sow the smallest seeds upon. Light land may be 

 turned over any time, but the manm-e should not be placed on 

 sandy land in autumn, as, in consequence of its porous nature, the 

 winter's rain will carry away a good deal of the strength. One of 

 the most useful tools to the gardener is the hoe. There are many 

 varieties, but for surface stirring and killing weeds the Duch hoe is 

 the best tool. For drawing drills and for earthing up vegetables 

 hoes of a different character are used. 



The Importance of Hoeing in its effect upon culture and 

 growth cannot be overrated ; therefore it is necessary that it 

 should be efficiently done. Some men permit the hoe to glide 

 over the sm-face without stirring up the soil and disturbing the 

 weeds sufficiently deep to cut their roots and destroy them. 

 Surface stirring with the Dutch hoe once a week or even once a 

 fortnight in dry weather wiU do more good than a dressing of 

 manure. It checks evaporation by keeping a thin stratum of 

 loose soil on the top through which the moisture in the ground 

 cannot jmss. If the land is worked to a suitable depth, and the 

 hoe used often enough, there will be no need for watering ; but all 

 the soil must be stirred from 1 to 2 inches deep. It is astonishing 

 how very few men really know how to hoe ; or, if they do know, 

 they shirk their work. In earthing up vegetables, such as Potatoes, 

 Cabbages, etc., a hoe with a blade set at right angles, or nearly 

 so, with the handle is used. The blade of the hoe is made of 

 different sizes to suit the different operations and operators, and in 

 all cases a clean bright tool is handier and better than a rusty 

 one — hence the necessity for cleaning each tool properly when put 

 away after using. The garden rake is generally made of iron, but 

 not always. Some are altogether of wood — in fact, the ordinary 

 hay-rake makes a very usefid tool in the hands of an active pei'son 

 for preparing land for seeding and such like work. I have seen 



