HOE 



[ 487 ] 



HOL 



most effectively to throw his weight, 

 and holds the handle further from, or 

 nearer to the blade, accordingly as he 

 is a tall or short man. Mr. Barnes, of 

 Bicton Gardens, employs nine sized 

 hoes, the smallest having a blade not 

 more than one-fourth of an inch broad, 

 and the largest ten inches. The smallest 

 are used for potted plants and seed- 

 beds, and those from two inches and a 

 half to four inches wide are used for 

 thinning and hoeing among crops ge- 

 nerally. These have all handles vary- 

 ing in length from eight inches and a 

 half to eighteen inches, all the neck 

 or upper part formed of iron, for the 

 smaller sizes not thicker than a large 

 pencil, and that part Avhich has to be 

 grasped by the workman is only six 

 inches long, and formed either of wil- 

 low or some other soft light wood, 

 which is best to the feel of the hand. 

 Each labourer works with one in each 

 hand, to cut right and left. The blade 

 is made thin, and with a little foresight 

 and activity it is astonishing how much 

 ground can be got over in a short time. 

 Mr. Barnes has all his hoes made 

 with a crane neck, as in the accompany- 

 ing sketch No. 1. The blades broader 

 than four inches Mr. Barnes has made 

 like a Dutch hoe, No. !i. 



No. 1. No. 2. 



The crane neck allows the blade to 

 pass freely under the foliage of any 

 crop where the earth requires loosen- 

 ing; and the blade works itself clean, 

 allowing the earth to pass through, as 

 there is no place for it to lodge and 

 clog up as in the old-fashioned hoe, to 

 clean which, when used of a dewy 

 morning, causes the loss of much time. 



The thrust, or Dutch hoe, consists 

 of a plate of iron attached somewhat 

 obliquely to the end of a handle by a 

 bow, used only for killing weeds or 

 loosening ground which is to be after- 

 wards raked. As a man can draw more 

 than he can push, most heavy work will 

 be easiest done by the draw-hoe. 



In the island of Guernsey a very 

 effective weeding -prong is used, some- 

 thing in the shape of a hammer, the 

 head flattened into a chisel an inch 

 wide, and the fork the same. The 

 whole length of this prong is nine 

 inches, and it is attached to a statf five 

 feet long. Such an implement is light 

 and easy to use, it requires no stoop- 

 ing, and will tear up the deepest-rooted 

 weeds. 



HOFFMANSE'GGIA (Named after J. 

 C.Hojfmansegg. Nat. or A., Leguminous 

 Plants [Fabaceee]. Linn., 10-Decandria 

 1 -Monogynia. ) 



Stove, yellow, pea-blossomed, evergreens. 

 Cuttings of young shoots, in sand, in bottom- 

 heat ; also division of the plant in spring ; 

 peat and loam. Summer temp., 60 to 80 ; 

 winter, 50 to 55. 



H.falca'ria (sickle-leaved). 2. July. Chili. 

 1806. 



prostru'ta (trailing). July. Lima. 



HOHENBE'EGIA. (Named after M. 

 Hohcnbery, a German botanist. Nat. 

 orA.,Bromelworts [Bromeliaceffi]. Linn., 

 G-Hexandria \-Monogynia. Allied to 

 Bilbergia.) 



Stove herbaceous perennial. Suckers, and 

 dividing the plant ; peat and loam. Summer 

 temp., 60 to 85, with plenty of moisture ; 

 winter, 50 to 55, and rather dry. When heat 

 and moisture are applied in the spring, the 

 flower-stems will shortly appear, if the plant 

 was well exposed to the sun in summer, and 

 water gradually withheld in autumn. 

 H. strobila'cece (coned). Yellow. May. South 

 America. 1842. 



HOI'TZIA. (From hoitzil, its Peruvian 

 name. Nat. ord., Phloxtvorts [Polemo- 

 niacese]. Linn., b-Pentandria \-Mono- 

 gynia. Allied to Ipomopsis.) 



Greenhouse evergreen shrubs from Mexico. 

 Cuttings of half-ripened shoots, in sand, under 

 a glass ; fibry peat and sandy loam. Winter 

 temp., 40 to 45. 

 H. ceeru'lea (blue). 1. Blue. June. 1824. 



cocci'nea (scarlet). 3. Scarlet. 1824. 



glandulo'sa (glanded). 2. Pale red. June, 



1825. 



Mexica'na (Mexican). 3. Scarlet. 1824. 



HOLARBHE'NA. (From holos, entii-e, 

 and arrhen, a male ; referring to the 

 anthers. Nat. ord., Dogbanes [Apocy- 

 naceee]. Linn., h-Pentandria 1-Mono- 

 gynia. Allied to Alstonia.) 



Stove evergreen. Cuttings of young shoots, as 

 fresh growth has commenced, in sand, under a 

 bell-glass, and in bottom-heat; peat and loam. 

 Summer temp., 60 to 80 ; winter, 48 to 55. 



