370 



SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part II. 



long handle and two prongs ; and the wooden fork, consisting of a shoot of willow, ash, 

 or other young tree or sapling, forked at the extremity, barked and formed into a rude 

 fork, sometimes used in hay-making and similar operations. The prongs of forks to 

 take up loose materials should be made square ; those for sheaves or more compact mat- 

 ters or very littery dung -will work easiest when the prongs are round. 



2449. The rake used in agriculture is of two kinds, the hay~rake and the corn-rake. 

 Both consist of a handle and head set with teeth ; in the corn-rake these are generally of 

 iron. The garden-rake is sometimes used for covering small seeds. 



2450. The hay-rake is usually made of willow, that it may be light and easy to work ; 

 and the teetli should be short, otherwise they are apt to pull up the stubble or roots of 

 the grass in raking. Sometimes the teeth are made to screw into the head, and fasten 

 with nuts, which prevents their dropping out in dry seasons. 



2451. The corn-rake {Jig. 212.) is of different 

 dimensions and constructions in different counties. 

 In general the length of the rake is about four feet; 

 and the teeth of iron about four inches long, and 

 set from one to two inches apart. Young {Report 



of Norfolk) mentions one of these dimensions 212 



which had two wheels of nine inches' diameter for 

 the purpose of rendering it easier to draw : the 

 wheels were so fixed that the teeth might be kept 



in any posture at the vnl\ of the holder. It was used both for hay and corn, and 

 answered the purpose well. 



2452. In East Lothian a cm-n-rake has been tried, which, according to Somerville {Survey, &e.), has been 

 found to answer much better than the common corn-rake. In this, the length of the head is from ten 



to fifteen feet, and the handle about seven feet, with a piece 

 of wood across the end of it, by which it is drawn by two 

 men. The teeth are of wood or iron ; the last are the best, 

 as well as the most durable, and are a little bent forward at 

 the point, which gives them the power of retaining and 

 carrying the ears along with them much better than they 

 would otherwise do. To make clean work, especially if the 

 ridges are rounded, the field is raked across ; in that way 

 every thing is taken up ; but when it is preferred to draw 

 the rake in the direction of the ridges, it may be consider, 

 ably improved by cutting the head into two or three lengths 

 (Jig. 213.), and joining them with hinges, which will allow 

 it to bend and accommodate itself to the curvature of the 

 ridges. The advantage of this kind of rake has been foimd 

 considerable, even in cases where every possible attention 

 has been paid to the cutting of the crop. 



2453. The stubble, or dew, rake, is merely a coarser sort of corn rake. 



2454. The daisy-rake {fig. 214.) has teeth sharpened 14 

 on both edges like lancets, and is used for raking or 

 tearing off the flower heads or buds of daisies and other 

 plants in grass lawns. 



2455. The drill rake is a large-headed rake, in which 

 the teeth are triangular in section, like small coulters ; 

 and they are set at six or twelve inches' distance, according to circumstances. The 

 implement is used to draw drills across beds or ridges, for sowing field crops of small seeds 

 or roots, such as onions, early turnips, carrots, &c., or for planting saffron or Indian corn. 



2456. The dung-drag, or dung-hack, is a two or three-pronged implement, with a long 

 handle, for drawing the dung out of carts in different portions. The form of the prongs 

 should be flat. 



2457. The earth-hack resembles a large hoe, and is used for emptying loads of earth 

 or lime, or other pulverulent matters, in the same manner as the dung-drag is used for 

 emptying dung ; it is sometimes also used as a hoe, and for scraping 

 and cleaning. 



2458. The hand-hoe commonly used in agriculture is of two kinds : 

 that with an entire, and that with a perforated, blade. The latter variety 

 is preferable for thinning crops or destroying weeds, as it does not collect 

 the soil and the weeds together in heaps ; but where earthing up is 

 the object, the common square blade is the best. The breadth of the 

 blade may vary from two to twelve inches, according to the adhesiveness 

 or looseness of the soil, or the distance to which the plants are to be 

 thinned. An improvement for hoes to be used in stirring stiff soils, 

 consists in forming the blade with a prong or prongs on the opposite 

 side of the broad blade {fig. 215.), which can be used in very stiff 

 places to loosen the earth, by the operator's merely altering the position 

 of the handle. The blades of all hoes enter the soil easier when curved 

 than when straight, the wedge in the former case being narrower. 



2459. Various improvements in hoes have been attempted by agriculturists. One with a triangular blade 



215 



