Care and Upkeep 209 



When . one end of the reversible steel points 

 is worn they can be turned round and the 

 other end used. The points have ribs on 

 each edge to strengthen them, and require 

 one bolt only to fix them. Self-sharpening 

 chilled cast points can also be supplied, or 

 steel hoes 5^ in. wide. The patent taper 

 spring steel tines are made of the best spring 

 steel, and are strongest at the upper end, 

 where the strain is greatest, no helpers being 

 now required. The tines are tested to stand 

 the roughest usage, and the pressure is 

 applied through spiral springs instead of flat 

 pressure-bars, thus giving the tines greater 

 play ; the pressure can be varied at pleasure 

 to work shallow or deep, and the spiral 

 springs make the leverage lighter. The tines 

 can be moved sideways, and can be set with 

 more or less pitch. On very foul land some 

 of the tines can be removed to prevent clog- 

 ging. All the weeds are brought to the surface 

 and killed, and the soil thoroughly aired and 

 sunned by the use of such a machine. 



This " mow," as we might call it, is either 

 left to rot by itself, or can be piled into heaps and 

 burnt as soon as it is sufficiently dry to do so. 

 It is not safe to make the heaps too large, 

 because they might flare up high when burning, 

 and damage the fronds of the trees around them. 

 It is never advisable to do the burning-off in a 

 high wind or in the middle of the day, when 

 the stuff is dry as tinder, for then there is a 



