TILLAGE AND TILLAGE TOOLS I9 



of planting where these tools are to be used is from 

 10 to 15 inches. They make possible the thorough 

 cultivation of the soil while the plants are ex- 

 tremely small. They work very close to the rows 

 and eliminate nine-tenths of the hand work. The 

 wheel hoes or cultivators never work satisfactorily 

 in stony or cloddy soils or in soils the surface of 

 which are strewn with litter and rubbish. For this 

 reason they have a double advantage. Once they 

 have been used under proper conditions their ad- 

 vantages are so evident that everyone will there- 

 after make the greatest effort to see that the soil is 

 so well prepared that this tool can be used to advan- 

 tage. In this way the proper preparation of the 

 soil from the plant's standpoint is assured. 



While the proper preparation of the soil and its 

 thorough cultivation with the tools already men- 

 tioned largely eliminates the necessity for hand 

 labor, a certain amount of this kind of work will 

 always be necessary in the vegetable garden, and 

 more with some kinds of crops than others. Vari- 

 ous types of hand hoes are available. The type in 

 almost universal use is the square-headed hilling 

 hoe, but in many respects it is poorly adapted to 

 hand work in the garden, especially when supple- 

 menting the work of the wheel hoe. Some of the 

 pointed types of hoes will be found more satisfac- 

 tory in getting close to and between the plants. 



Various types of hand weeders are also largely 

 used, especially in the growing of beets, onions, 

 carrots and many other closely planted crops. All 

 of them readily destroy the weeds while small, and 

 leave the soil around the plants in ideal condition. 

 Most of these tools are used in thinning as well as 

 in weeding. 



