i6 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



or you have allowed the weeds to grow so big that they 

 clog things up, you may be pretty sure that it is your fault, 

 and not the machine's, if it does not do satisfactory work. 

 In learning to use the machine, train yourself as soon as 

 possible to keep your eye on the wheels rather than on the 

 hoes or cultivator teeth that follow them. At first you will 

 find yourself inclined to do just the opposite, with the result 

 that while you are watching the blades, the wheels will veer 

 off to the right or the left, and you will cut into the row. 

 If you hold the wheels steady, the rest of the machine has 

 got to follow. Do not push the machine along steadily, but 

 work it in long, steady strokes, drawing it back a few inches 

 each time. 



A number of the attachments mentioned in the following 

 paragraphs are to be had as "extras," or in some cases, in 

 place of the regular equipment. For anyone who already 

 has a wheel hoe, their cost is so little that they may be 

 readily afforded. Perhaps the most important of all of these 

 are the hoes with extra high " standards" or guards. I 

 emphatically recommend the purchase of a pair of these in 

 addition to the regular equipment. 



PLOWING. Generally, except in cases where the ground is 

 already in good condition from previous planting, more 

 satisfactory work can be done with the spade or spading 

 fork, than with any hand plow I have ever tried or seen. 

 The same is true of hand raking of the seed bed, to level and 

 prepare it for the drill. The hand wheel plow, however, is 

 often useful in loosening up ground that has already been 

 plowed or spaded, and has lain for some time before you are 

 ready to plant it, or in plowing small furrows for putting in 

 manure, or in which to plant peas or beans or corn with the 

 drill. 



SEED-SOWING. Have the ground made as smooth and 

 fine as it is possible to make it with an iron rake, and always 

 freshly prepared. If anything happens to prevent your 

 planting as soon as the ground is ready, go over it again just 

 before you do plant. Set the drill as carefully as you can 

 for the seed you are going to plant, and then test it on a 



