SIMPLE GARDENING METHODS 



HE best hose, not a half-inch imitation, but a 

 good rubber hose that will carry as large a 

 stream as your water-pipe will yield, is one of 

 the first "tools" to be secured for a California 

 garden. As to "sprinklers" and "projectors," 

 two-thirds of them are useless, but in every hardware store 

 may be found at least one honest clerk who can be prevailed 

 upon to sell you a practical sort. A good, strong spade (not 

 too large if a woman is to wield it) ; a sharp hoe — the old- 

 fashioned broad-bladed sort is the kind I would use ; an iron 

 rake with light wooden handle; if possible, a "potato-fork," 

 which will do for hand cultivation, instead of using the spade 

 or the hoe; a trowel and a light wheelbarrow — these one 

 must have to garden successfully, while many more modern 

 tools that lighten labor may be added if the purse permits; 

 pruning-shears, if you like, and a good, strong garden scis- 

 sors and knife for cutting flowers. 



Now as for irrigation. Water — but be regular about it. 

 Have certain days for watering, and don't soak your lawn 

 and flower beds all the time. Plants do not like the per- 

 petual bath any more than do animals. By watching you 

 can soon learn whether the conditions of your soil and 

 climate require a once-a-week, twice-a-week or thrice-a-week 



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