GENERAL PRACTICE. EDGE TOOLS. 2I? 



Piekfork. One end has tines like a pitchfork, set at right angles with the handle, 

 and is of great utility in unloading manure. The other end may be used with 

 advantage in loosening and breaking lumps of soil, and is serviceable for ground that 

 has become too hard for operating on by an ordinary hoe. 



Rakes. Iron rakes are necessary for levelling ground to sow seeds in and insure 

 their smooth covering, and for clearing up refuse. They should be strong without 

 clumsiness, and have ash handles, especially those required for chopping baked surfaces 

 for the admission of rain or water, and scratching in surface dressings. Rakes with 

 wood heads, into which iron teeth are driven, answer admirably for levelling and 

 smoothing the surface, also for clearing up rubbish, Wooden rakes are the handiest 

 for raking off grass and leaves. 



Trowels. The trowel is a sort of small, round-mouthed spade, useful for trans- 

 planting seedling trees, and indispensable for lifting strawberry runners with a ball of 

 earth, and planting them in temporary or permanent quarters. 



Hoes. These are requisite for breaking the surface of the soil and chopping up weeds. 

 They are often made of the softest and worst iron, whereas they should be of good 

 steel, and neither liable to break nor bend. Draw hoes (14) have a short neck and 

 a circular eye for fixing the handle in. They are strong, good for chopping, but get 

 much clogged with soil at the shank and eye. The swan- necked draw hoe (15) prevents 

 the clogging, and in friable soil is a great improvement. The handle is inserted in a 

 socket connected with the blade by a curved solid neck. The neck is generally iron, 

 and the blade steel plate. Large hoes are clumsy, and a man will do more and better 

 work with a 7 -inch hoe than with one 9 inches wide. The Dutch hoe is useful in 

 light soils for cutting down weeds, and is of great value in leaving the ground 

 untrodden, as the workmen walk backwards in using this implement. 



EDGE TOOLS. 



The finest cutting instruments are made of cast steel. In the choicer descriptions 

 the steel possesses hardness and uniformity of texture, great tenacity, and a certain 

 degree of elasticity. The blade must not break or bend. If the instrument snaps the 

 steel is too short and hard, if it bend the metal is too soft. Proper temper is of paramount 

 importance in tools. Their utility depends on the preservation of a keen edge, main- 

 tenance of form, and wearing well. Good tools are labour-savers ; bad instruments are 



time and substance wasters. 



VOL. i. F F 



