14 IMPLEMENTS AND HOW TO USE THEM. 



use between the rows of the regular crops the prong hoe 

 is an excellent implement; it is al- 

 so useful in turning over manure, 

 : digging potatoes, and for a variety 

 of purposes. Another useful tool 

 for weeding in seed-beds, or to as- 

 sist in hand weeding, is a weed- 

 ing hook of the following pattern, 

 known as the Excelsior Weeding 

 Hook. 



Iron rakes have almost gone out 

 of use in this country, having been 

 largely superseded by cast steel ( 

 rakes, which are much lighter and' 

 do better work. Two or three sizes are necessary in a 

 garden of any size, to enable the operation of raking to 

 be done in the various widths of rows at which the crops 

 are planted. One each of six, ten and fourteen teeth will 

 be convenient sizes. 



To rake off weeds and rubbish no directions are neces- 

 sary, but to rake a bed or border level requires some skill 

 or sleight of hand. To pulverize the surface soil the rake 

 should be firmly held in the hands, the teeth of the rake 

 deeply pressed into the soil, and worked backward and 

 forward until the desired pulverization is produced, this 

 depending upon the size and character of the seed to be 

 sown. In dressing off a bed, the rake should be lightly and 

 more uprightly held in the hands, and the teeth but 

 slightly pressed into the soil, and any small stones or ha.rd 

 clods of earth drawn off by a sudden jerk of the rake j both 

 cases requiring practice and care to avoid getting the sur- 

 face into cat-hills. 

 A wooden roller is a very useful implement in a garden. 



