HOES AND HOEING. 



253 



HOES AND HOEING. 



preferably, but sometimes of pine, is in- 

 serted, and when the shank of the socket 

 is long enough it is secured to the handle 

 with a rivet. The handle of a hoe should 



FIG. I. VARIETIES OF DRAW HOES. 



a. Short neck Hoe. b. Long-neck Hoe. c. Swan- 

 neck or Bury Hoe. d. Triangular Hoe. 



be from 4 to 5 feet in length. The handles 

 of draw hoes are usually shorter than those 

 of thrust hoes. The chief varieties of draw 

 hoes are shown in Fig. I, in which A 

 represents the short-neck hoe, B the long- 

 neck hoe, c the swan-neck or Bury hoe, 

 from the bent formation of the part of the 

 neck between the blade and the socket, 

 and D the triangular hoe. This last form 

 of hoe is convenient for cutting up weeds, 

 as its corners are sharper than those of the 

 hoes with square blades, and the corners 

 of the blade are always used for cutting out 

 and pulling away weeds from the soil. 

 Sometimes hoes were made with a slight 

 wedge-shaped shank, like the tang of a 

 chisel, &c., which was driven into the end 

 of the wooden handle, splitting being pre- 

 vented by encircling the end of the handle 

 with an iron band ring, about \ inch or f 

 inch wide. The varieties of the thrust hoe 

 are shown in Fig. 2, for the weeding tool 

 called a spud may be regarded as a variety 

 of thrust hoe. The Dutch hoe, or scuffle, 

 as it is sometimes called, is shown at A. 

 It consists of a sharp and comparatively 



narrow blade, attached to the socket by 

 two arms, which spring from the lower end 

 of the latter, and are fastened at their CXT 

 tremities to the blade, one on one side and 

 one on the other. The blade of the hoe 

 being thus attached forms an angle with 

 the handle, and by this means is almost 

 parallel to the surface of the soil when in 

 use. The edge is thrust into the earth 

 with a pushing motion and cuts up the 

 weeds, which, with the surface soil, pass 

 through the aperture between the arms." 

 By this arrangement the tool meets with far 

 less resistance, and the labour is rendered 

 far lighter than it would be if the opening 

 was closed, or even if the socket for the 

 handle proceeded immediately from the 

 centre of the blade. The spud, shown at 

 B, consists of a stiff narrow blade, with 

 a socket to admit of its attachment to a 

 handle. It is used for cutting up docks, 

 dandelions, thistles, and other weeds. 

 There is another form shown at c, with a 

 horn proceeding from the upper left-hand 

 corner of the blade. This projection is 

 utilised as a hook for pulling up weeds, or 



FIG. 2. VARIETIES OF THE THRUST HOE. 



a. Scuffle or Dutch Hoe. b. Spud. c. Combined 



Spud and Weed 



spud. 

 Hook. 



hooking down any tangled growth, &c. 

 All kinds of hoes, except the swan-neck, 

 the triangular hoe, and the spud, are made 

 in sizes ranging from 3 inches to 10 inches, 

 measuring along the edge of the blade, in- 

 creasing by i inch from the smallest to 



