VI 



TOOLS AND SUPPLIES 



NEEDLESS to say, tools and garden supplies will 

 be essential to success but not such a variety of 

 tools, however, as one might at first decide. A 

 tool just right for the particular piece of work is 

 the one to choose; the one that will perform the 

 largest number of different kinds of work most 

 easily and quickly and in the best manner is the 

 tool to own. A hoe has always been considered 

 as indispensable almost as the garden itself. In 

 the old days, farmers always hoed the garden; 

 nothing else seemed to be needed. With due re- 

 spect to old times and old gardens, it is to be said, 

 however, that a hoe is the very worst of all tools 

 unless used correctly. It is needed in hilling and 

 it is fairly useful in cutting weeds, when they get 

 such a start that cultivating does not dispose of 

 them. Even then, hoeing should be followed 

 straightway by surface tillage to prevent waste of 

 moisture. There is no other use for an ordinary 

 hoe. A little old bent hoe has been my useful as- 

 sistant for four busy years and is still better than 

 new, in some ways. Its light weight and bent blade 

 make it perfect for use among small plants. The 



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