THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



243 



dirt by a forward motion of the body ; and by straightening the 

 knees and keeping the arms stiff, with the shovel across the knee, 

 the shovelful is lifted a few inches with the least possible fatigue. 

 Then, by making a fulcrum of the knee across which the han 

 dle is resting, and by thrusting the upper end of the handle 

 down with one hand, the shovelful may be raised nearly a foot 

 high with the greatest ease. It must then be lifted by the arms. 

 But a man's back should be always kept about straight in 

 shovelling, as he will be able to work much longer and with less 

 fatigue than would be possible when he is constantly bending 

 and straightening his back. The knees should always perform 

 the most laborious part in shovelling dirt, and the arms should be 

 kept as closely to the body as is convenient. My apology for 

 being so particular on this subject is, few laborers, old or young, 

 know how to use a dirt-shovel with the greatest ease, and to 

 perform the greatest amount of labor with the least fatigue; 

 and they often labor very hard and accomplish but little, be 

 cause they do not understand handling the shovel with dexterity 

 or because it is not properly hung. I shall now treat more par 

 ticularly of 



THE RULE FOB HANGING SHOVELS IN A WORKMANLIKE MANNER. 



FIG. 108. 



FIG. 109. 



A SHOVEL WELL HUNG. 



324. Fig. 109 represents a shovel well hung, and the dotted 



