350 



GARDENING FOR PROFIT. 



they start to grow. One man will hoe over in one day 

 more ground where the weeds are just breaking through 

 than six will do if they be allowed to grow six or eight 

 inches in height, to say nothing of the injury done to 

 the ground by feeding the weeds instead of the. planted 

 crops. Another benefit of this early extirpation of weeds 

 is, that taken in this stage, they, of course, never seed, 



Fig. 124. PRONG HOTS. 



125. STEEL RAKE. 



Fig. 126. SCUFFLE HOE. 



and in a few years they are almost entirely destroyed, 

 making the clearing a much simpler task each succeed- 

 ing year. 



Another tool, used in place of the hoe, is the Steel Rake 

 (figure 125), which we use in various sizes, from eight 

 inches to twenty inches in width. Nearly all our first 

 "hoeing "is done with rakes. That is, the ground is 

 raked over and leveled in from two to three days after 



