242 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



be two pounds heavier than is necessary, he will in ten hours 

 exert a force, which is entirely lost in handling a heavy shovel, 

 which would have been sufficient to have thrown up twelve thou 

 sand pounds of earth, with no more fatigue than he experiences, 

 had he used a lighter shovel. The laborer will discover from this 

 fact the importance of having shovels as light as will be consistent 

 with necessary strength ; and the better the materials are of which 

 shovels are made, the lighter they may be, and the more a work 

 man will be able to perform with a certain amount of force. In 

 using a shovel, all the force which a laborer exerts should be 

 turned to the most efficient purpose. It requires but little force 

 to shovel a ton of earth when a man handles a good shovel with 

 dexterity ; but if a laborer must bend his legs and back very much 

 in order to bring his shovel in the best position to enter the sub 

 stance to be shovelled with the least force, the fatigue produced 

 by bringing his body into such a position, and straightening up 

 again, will be greater than that caused by thrusting in the shovel 

 and lifting a shovelful. For this reason it is very poor policy for 

 a laborer to use a shovel with a very short handle, like the handle 

 of a spade, for shovelling any length of time, because it is very 

 laborious and fatiguing. A man may shovel with a short handle 

 for an hour or so as fast as he would with a long handle, and not 

 discover any difference in the fatigue produced or force expended; 

 but let him continue to use a shovel with a short handle all day, 

 and if he does an honest day's work, unless his powers of endur 

 ance are very great, he will pronounce shovelling very laborious 

 business. In shovelling dirt or manure with a short-handled 

 shovel, the operator usually places the hand which holds the hilt 

 of the shovel against the inside of one thigh, and bends his knees 

 and body forward, and in this position, by no means an easy one, 

 thrusts in the shovel. The simple act of bringing the body into 

 such a position, and bringing it again erect, will require the ex 

 penditure of more force than the shovelling alone. In order to 

 shovel with the least fatigue, a laborer needs to stand almost erect, 

 with his back straight and knees bent but little ; and then, with 

 the handle resting across one knee, the shovel is thrust into the 



