PRUNING TOOLS 307 



this it is easier to direct the blows, and the use of 

 the implement is less tiresome, because the posi- 

 tion of the hands can be changed. The projecting 

 handle should be about the same distance above 

 the cutting cylinder as the cross- 

 bars, and the perpendicular pro- 

 jection should reach twelve or fif- 

 teen inches higher. The edge of 

 the implement should be kept 

 very sharp, to prevent pulling 

 and disturbing the plants when 

 using it. By walking between 

 two rows and setting the imple- 

 ment down over two hills on 

 one side, and then two on the other, the runners 

 can be trimmed off very rapidly, and the plants 

 be kept in neat, round hills. The implement ap- 

 pears to be a valuable thing for facilitating 

 the work of the strawberry grower." 



A recent writer describes the following mask 

 (Fig. 223) to protect the face while pruning:* "I 

 am pruning, and for the past few years have 

 found great comfort in a mask over the face to 

 keep off the sun and wind. It often makes the 

 difference between being able to stay at work or 

 not during some days at this time of year. I 

 wear spectacles, and to prevent the breath freez- 

 ing on them, use a stiffish wire hooked behind 



*C. T., in The Rural New-Yorker, March 20, 1897. 



