88 THE LITTLE GARDEN 



them shown by two old men who were our gardeners in the first 

 yeaxs of a new place. In buying a watering-pot the very best for 

 man or woman is that known as the French type, with a hooped 

 iiandle reaching from the back of the pot to the lower end of the 

 spout. This is by far the easiest to carry, filled; the hold can be 

 shifted to get a comfortable balance; and two of these pots are as 

 easy to carry as one, again because of the adjustable hold pos- 

 sible. I often think, as I use them myself, of the Dutch women 

 with the wooden yokes from which the milk-pails hang. The prin- 

 ciple of balanced weight is the same, though with the garden 

 adjuncts the pull comes more on the hands and arms than on 

 the shoulders. 



The care of tools is an important matter — so much more im- 

 portant than may at first appear. Nothing so impedes good work 

 in the garden as the rusty rake, the dull pruning-shears, the bent 

 iork. The rule should be, never under any circumstances to put 

 away a tool that is not clean. While earth is moist on the trowel, 

 it rubs off so easily, and a bit of cloth will so quickly dry the 

 'Wades of shears that have been used for cutting grass wet with 

 Tain or dew. Have a place for everything for the garden, even if 

 this place is only the smallest closet, with a shelf, or two or three 

 ofthem, and rows of hooks. This is vital. Tools kept dean, prop- 

 erly handled, always in repair, and when not in use always in a 

 given place of their own, will be of twice the value to their owner 

 that they will when improperly treated. You will hear people 

 say that there is no response from inanimate objects. Anyone 

 who works long and lovingly with tools knows better. Also, read 

 again "McAndrews' Hymn." 



All this subject of tools has only been touched upon; many 

 others than the few mentioned here will be needed as time goes 

 on; in fact, at first, the watering-pot, the wheelbarrow, the hand- 

 pump for spraying, the garden hose, the sprinkling attachment 



