IMPLEMENTS AND HOW TO USE THEM. 13 



such a way as to take up a slice two or three inches thick, 

 turn it over, break it down and level it, and so leave the soil 

 underneath quite untouched, hard and nearly impenetrable 

 to the roots of the crop sown or planted on the surface. The 

 spade or fork should be entered into the ground hi nearly a 

 perpendicular direction to its full depth, taking a breadth 

 or spit of soil not more than four inches thick, and then lift- 

 tag and turning it over, breaking and leveling it down or, 

 in other words, pulverizing it to as great a depth and as 

 finely as possible. 



Of hoes there are many patterns, used for different pur- 

 poses; the well-known corn hoe is useful for earthing up 

 plants and similar purposes, but they are usually too large 

 and clumsy for general garden use. For weeding purposes 

 we prefer a six inch English draw hoe, about four inches 

 wide. These are made of saw-blade steel, riveted to a 

 wrought iron back, 

 having an eye into 

 which the handle is 

 set. They are very 4 * 

 light and can easily 

 be kept sharp. Some prefer push hoes, as then they do 

 not have to walk over the ground they have hoed. 



For stirring the soil the bayonet hoe is very useful, es- 

 pecially for seed beds and among very young plants. To 



