108 MANUAL OF GARDENING 
Rollers. 
It is often essential that the land be compacted after it has 
been spaded or hoed, and some kind of hand-roller is then use- 
ful. Very efficient iron rollers are in 
the market, but a good one can be 
made from a hard chestnut or oak log, 
as shown in Fig. 112. (It should be 
remembered that when the surface is 
hard and compact, water escapes from 
it rapidly, and plants may suffer for 
moisture on arrival of warm weather.) 
The roller is useful in two ways — to 
compact the under-surface, in which case the surface should be 
again loosened as soon as the rolling is done; and to firm the 
earth about seeds (page 
98) or the roots of newly 
set plants. 
112. Hand-roller. 
Markers. 
A marker may often 
be combined with the 
roller to good advantage, 113. Roller and marker. 
as in Fig. 113. Ropes 
are secured about the cylinder at proper intervals, and these 
mark the rows. Knots 
may be placed in the 
ropes to indicate the 
114. Roller and marker. 115. Marking-stick, 
