USING A WHEELBARROW 139 



out the earth with his fingers, which is a lengthy 

 process. I remember when it was ordered from 

 the shop. There was also a request for an English 

 spade and a ham to be sent at the same time. 

 Much astonished was I to see a procession of three 

 coolies arrive ; the first one carried the ham on his 

 head, the second the spade, and the third the wheel- 

 barrow inverted like a cap on his cranium. It never 

 occurred to them to put the ham and spade into the 

 wheelbarrow and wheel them up by one man ! So 

 I had to pay for three coolies instead of one, which 

 doubtless was their object. The barrow, now they 

 have become accustomed to it, certainly does save 

 time in bringing different kinds of earth from various 

 parts of the garden to the potting-shed, but the 

 spade has never been used, and one cannot wonder 

 at it when a naked foot is all they have to drive it 

 in with. Their method of digging is to loosen the 

 earth with a pointed bit of iron, and then to claw 

 it out of the hole with their fingers, or else to use a 

 hooked shovel that chops the earth towards them. 

 Both ways look to us very crude and uncomfort- 

 able. Still, with patience they are tolerably effective, 

 only you must not expect it done in a hurry. That 



