Dratso-Hoe in Use i?i Leicestershire. 311 



wanted. The floor of the pit may be supported on arches, or it 

 may be made of planks, or of slates or tiles resting on joists. 

 The pit to be filled with mould, sand, or sawdust, according as 

 it may be desired to grow the plants in pots or in the free soil. 

 A trellis may be made to hook on the rafters, on which to train 

 the plants. The upper surface of the pit to be 2 ft. from the 

 glass. 



Turnham Green^ May 9. 1841. 



Art. V. Notice of a Draiv-Hoe in Use in Leicestershire. By M. 



Smart. 



This hoe, which I have not seen described or figured in any of 

 your works, differs from all other hoes that I know of, in having 

 a movable blade, and in admitting of the use of blades of dif- 

 ferent sizes. It has also a crane neck, not unlike that of the 

 Spanish hoe, or of Mr. Ogle's sickle-hoe, described and figured 

 in p. 258. The Leicestershire hoe, which, I think, may be 

 called the Shifting- blade Hoe, is shown in^^. 4-7. ; in which d is 

 the head, consisting of a socket for 

 the blade, and a tubular socket or 

 hose for the handle, without the 

 blade; b one of the blades not inserted 

 in the socket ; c the socket with the 

 kind of blade inserted which is used 

 for general purposes, and more es- 

 pecially for hoeing between rows of 

 wheat ; and a a socket with the blade 

 h inserted, which is used chiefly for Fig. 47. nesuding Blade. 



thinning turnips. 



Fig. 48. is a section across the socket, of the full size, 

 showing the slit in which the blade is inserted. 



The iron sockets, including the hose for the handle, should 

 be about 14 in. long, with the crane neck bent about 3 in. ; the 

 socket should be 4 in. in length and 1 in. in depth, with a slit or 

 cavity in the centre, ~ in. in depth and ^ in. in width, to admit 

 the blade. The under part of the socket, containing the 

 slit, should be made rather stronger than the upper part, 

 as shown in the section, 7^. 48. The neck, which joins the 

 socket to the hose, should be about f in. in diameter, in 

 order as little as possible to obstruct the view of the ope- 

 rator. The blades are removed from the socket by a rap 

 or two on the back with a hammer or a stone ; and they 

 are refixed in it by placing the edge of the blade on a piece 

 of wood, and giving a stroke on the back of the socket. Fig.48. 

 The cost of the hose and socket, in Leicestershire, is about Is. 6d. 



