GARDEN TOOLS. e^ 



determined by the measuring tape. Sometimes we have had to employ 

 a dumpy level to regulate the flow of water, and a spirit level must be 

 considered as indispensable in every gentleman's garden. 



Besides all these ordinary gardener's tools, I supply to my gardener 

 a sledge-hammer, common hammer, files, mallet, chisels, gimlets, screw- 

 drivers, pincers, wire-cutters, centre-bits, and plane. He also has the 

 use of glazier's diamond, putty-knife, and materials for painting. 

 Slight repairs can thus be immediately effected without the waste of 

 time in having recourse to the village carpenter. 



It is of very little profit to have a collection of trees without 

 having them carefully and enduringly labelled. The direct system 

 is to place the name on the tree. Various plans of writing on metal 

 have been suggested, but they last but for a short period. I have 

 tried a system of electrotype labels, but had some difficulty in getting 

 them made regularly. A system has been adopted of stereotype ; but 

 at length I think that I have hit upon a plan to be ever hereafter 

 used. The names are set up in type in the ordinary way, when instead 

 of printing a sheet of paper a sheet of lead is indented by passing it 

 through the press. The sheet of names is then cut up by a pair of 

 scissors, the end is turned over, and a hole punched by the tool used 

 by shoemakers to punch button-holes. When the label is finished 



Fig. 74. Fig. 75. 



it is attached to the tree by a copper wire (fig. 74), and there is little 



fear but that these indented labels will endure from generation to 



generation. Where we have not these indented labels, 



numbers having reference to a book may take their place. 



A simple plan of notation in use by horticulturists is 



figured by Thompson (fig. 75). It constitutes a tally, 



which may be made by the gardener at once. I never j^^g. 



used this plan myself, though I have often seen it adopted. When I 



use numbers, which I hope totally to abandon, I use a circular piece 



