CHAPTEK IV 



GARDEN TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS 



The first equipment for a school garden should not be 

 too elaborate. As a general thing it should be very simple. 

 The individual hand tools may be of very few kinds indeed. 

 Many a teacher has successfully carried on school garden work 

 with no other hand tool for each pupil than a garden rake. A 

 few other tools used by pupils in common, from time to time, 

 are always to be desired. 



,Rake and Hoe. — The most common and really most essen- 

 tial hand tools are the rake and hoe (Fig. 20). A large 

 ■ enough number of these should be supplied to assign one to 

 each pupil, or, if pupils work in divisions, then enough to 

 supply the members of a division. . 



The rake is very useful. It should be used even more 

 than it is. ISTothing is better, as a hand. tool, in breaking up 

 clods and in making a fine seed bed. After the soil is pressed 

 firmly on the newly planted seeds, a " dust mulch " or loose 

 layer of fine soil is produced by using the rake lightly. At all 

 "times between the rows of growing plants, a fine soil mulch 

 is maintained by using the rake frequently. This kills many 

 weeds that have germinated from their seed coats but have not 

 yet sprouted above ground. No simpler and handier culti- 

 vat6r has yet been devised. Another form of hand cultivator 

 is shown in figure 31. 



The frequent use of the rake is better than hoeing. The 

 hoe has fewer uses. The hoe and rake may both be useful at 

 planting time. The hoe is also used to break up the soil and 

 make it mellow whenever it becomes baked or very hard — 

 particularly near the plants. It is useful in the thinning of 

 such crops as beets. If weeds get too well started, particu- 



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