42 CULINARY IIERKS 



eral trucking — plows, harrows, weeder, etc. — to fit 

 the soil for the hand tools. Much labor can be saved 

 by using hand-wheel drills, cultivators, weeders and 

 the other tools that have become so wonderfully 

 popular within the past decade or two. Some typi- 

 cal kinds are shown in these pages. These imple- 

 ments are indispensable in keeping the surface soil 

 loose and free from weeds, especially between the 

 rows and even fairly close to the plants. In doing 

 this they save an immense amount of labor and time, 

 since they can be used with both hands and the 

 muscles of the body with less exertion than the hoe 

 and the rake require. 



Nothing, however, can take the place of the hand 

 tools for getting among and around the plants. The 

 work that weeding entails is tiresome, but must be 

 done if success is to crown one's efforts. While the 

 plants are little some of the weeders may be used. 

 Those with a blade or a series of blades are adapted 

 for cutting weeds off close to the surface ; those with 

 prongs are useful only for making the soil loose 

 closer to the plants than the rake dare be run by the 

 average man. Hoes of various types are useful 

 when the plants become somewhat larger or when 

 one does not have the wheel cultivators. In all 

 well-regulated gardens there should be a little liberal 

 selection of the various wheel and hand tools. 



Only one of the hand tools demands any special 

 comment. Many gardeners like to use a dibble for- 

 transplanting. With this tool it is so easy to make 

 a hole, and to press the soil against the plant dropped 

 in that hole! But I believe that many of the failures 



