TILLAGE 



33 



may try both ways and select the one that seems to 

 work best. 



We begin running the wheel hoe over the onion 

 patch a few days after the plants are set out, and 

 repeat the operation just as soon as there is the least 

 sign of a crust over the surface. The aim is to keep 

 the mulch of loose soil on the ground all the time. 

 Running a wheel hoe in clean mellow soil is not heavy 

 work. The average boy will rather enjoy it. In real- 



Fig 29 — IRON AGE HAND WHEEL HOE 



ity it is probably the least tiresome work in the whole 

 business. An acre can be gone over by one person, 

 even a boy, inside of one day. Fig 30 represents a 

 youngster pushing the wheel-hoe in the onion field. 



Usually we begin operations with the double 

 wheel-hoe, straddling the rows. As the season ad- 

 vances we change to the single wheel-hoe (Fig 31), 

 running it between the rows. 



"Is no hand weeding to be done at all ?" you may 

 ask me. 



