108 VEGETABLE GROWING. 



mind : the first is to keep the weeds down, and th6 

 second is to conserve the moisture in the soil. The 

 former of these is well understood by all gardeners, 

 and needs but to be mentioned ; the second, however, 

 is usually overlooked ; many people recognize the 

 value of working land during dry times, but do not 

 know why it has the desired effect on the crop. At 

 least an inch of loose soil should be kept on the ground 

 as a mulch during dry times. 



For hand cultivation, the double wheel-hoe is un- 

 doubtedly the best machine now on the market. 

 Whatever tool is used, it should not penetrate the 

 ground more than an inch, and in no case touch the 

 bulbs of the plants. 



If the field is to be cultivated by horse-power, it 

 will require a plow made especially for that purpose ; 

 there is no difficulty in training a horse or mule to do 

 the work well, and a great deal of hard work can be 

 avoided by using one. In the onion growing sections, 

 the land is too costly to permit the use of a horse, so 

 the wheel-hoes are used exclusively. 



The workers in the field carry a bag with them to 

 receive any purslane or other plant that may have 

 been missed or allowed to grow to flowering size. All 

 large weeds are carried to the edge of the field and 

 thrown in heaps to rot. There are a very few fields that 

 are free enough of weed seed to grow a crop without 

 some hand weeding ; this should be done with a knife 

 i. e., large weeds should not be pulled when growing 

 in the row. For this purpose there are knives made, 

 which may be obtained from most supply stores, but 

 an old case-knife may be bent into good shape without 

 costing as much. The point is turned up to lessen 

 the danger of hacking into the plant as it is being 

 used. 



