102 



GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



the weeds, to begin with ; then it keeps in the moisture ; and, 

 besides, it airs the soil. So, since the roots of plants cannot 

 work without oxygen any more than their green parts can, it 

 is well to " stir some " into the soil. 



On farms the work of cultivation is so extensive that it 

 must be done by horse power. For small fields a wheel hoe 

 or cultivator is used, which runs handily between the rows. 



A children's garden 

 is kept well groomed, 

 as it were, by an 

 excelsior weeder or 

 even a skewer, sup- 

 plemented from time 

 to time by the deeper 

 stroke of the hoe. 

 The expression "wa- 

 tering with the hoe" 

 is a common one 

 and, after what has 

 been said, needs no 

 explanation. A mat- 

 ter for congratulation 

 is that the practice of 

 cultivation, or dry farming, as it is practiced to-day, relieves 

 the gardener of what has always been a perfect nightmare to 

 him, — a season of drought. It may be added that abnormally 

 arid districts should hardly be selected to illustrate the advan- 

 tages of dry farming. After all, the whole philosophy may be 

 summed up in the gospel of the parson who, urged by his 

 congregation, prayed fervently for rain, but who closed his 

 petition thus : " Send us, we beseech thee, rain ; and yet, O 

 Lord, thou knowest that what we really need is not more rain 

 but better plowing, deeper tillage, and more top-dressing." • 



GUMPTION 



