MANAGEMENT OF THE SOIL 35 



Implements of Tillage. — In small gardens the hoe 

 and rake are the principal instruments for tillage. 

 Various forms of wheel hoes are also used for tilling 

 such field crops as sugar beets and onions that re- 

 quire to be worked while very small and which 

 are planted in narrow rows. Labor with hand im- 

 plements is, however, too expensive to be employed 

 for most farm crops, and it is necessary to utilize 



Goose-neck Hoe and Eye Hoe. 



implements that are drawn by animals. In those 

 tropical countries where labor is cheap the greater 

 economy of using such implements is not yet fully 

 understood, and many fields of tobacco and sugar 

 cane may be seen that are still cultivated entirely by 

 hand labor. The only places where this should be 

 considered permissible is on new or very rough 

 lands where implements drawn by animals cannot be 

 used. 



For such crops as corn, potatoes and sugar cane, 

 when the land is in good condition and free from 

 trash or obstructions, the best implement to use for 

 the first cultivation is the smoothing harrow with 

 the teeth set at an easy angle so that they will not 



