240 THE BEGINNER' 8 GARDEN BOOK 



For bigger gardens, however, and even for little ones, it is 

 well to have more tools in order to do the work faster and 

 better. I propose to speak of them in connection with the 

 sort of work that is to be done with them. 



For digging the ground we need a spade, or a fork. Dig- 

 ging the patch to the proper depth is often called spading, and 

 the fork a spading or digging fork. Very excellent little 

 spades, usually called boys' spades, can be bought, suitable 

 for boys or girls or women. Some people always dig with the 

 spade ; for my own part, I seldom use the tool except to dig 

 a hole from which I wish to remove the earth. For making 

 the earth ready for planting, I prefer the fork, since it breaks 

 the soil into finer lumps than the spade. But if you get a 

 fork, get a good one. The best kind has a strap ferule, that 

 is, a ferule with bands running up both the front and the 

 back of the handle to strengthen it. If the tool is not so 

 fortified, the handle is likely to break. The tines are flat. 



Some people prefer a manure fork for spading. It is 

 usually made of very good steel, and the tines can be 

 shortened to any degree. But its handle is usually much 

 longer than a boy or girl can easily manage, and I find the 

 round tines too far apart for satisfactory digging. 



For planting and cultivating, entirely different tools are 

 required. These are the rake and the hoe. Hoes of all 

 weights can be bought, and every one can suit himself as to 

 weight or length of handle. The best hoes have blade and 

 ferule all in one piece, and the ferule is riveted to the handle. 

 With heavy hoeing on rough or weedy ground the tool will 

 not come apart. Rakes have separate ferules, since their 

 work is lighter. Their teeth should be not less than an inch 

 and a half long, and the whole rake may well be no wider 

 than a hoe. For in a small garden we may wish to have the 

 rows of small plants, like radishes, as close as six or nine 



