Rollers and Hoes 395 



lings or transplanted plants are established, therefore, 

 restore the surface mulch. The farmer patted his hill of 

 corn with the hoe, in the former days, thereby accomplish- 

 ing the result which he secures on the wheat field with his 

 roller. The. gardener walks over his 

 row of seeds. 



If the roller is employed only to 

 break the clods, the land should be 

 tilled again to restore the surface 

 mulch. The roller is a poor tool in the 

 hands of a thoughtless man. For the 

 leveling of land, a home-made planker 

 or slicker is a useful tool. A similar 

 device may be attached to a cultivator 

 frame (Fig. 233). 



In the garden, the wheel-hoe is im- 

 portant (Fig. 333). It saves im- 

 mensely of hand labor and usually 

 leaves the soil in better condition than 

 does hand-work. There are a number 

 of patterns, large and small. Choose 223. 



■^ ^ o Three kinds of wheel-hoe. 



a large wheel with a broad tire, that it 

 may ride over lumps and travel on soft ground. Soil must 

 be in good condition to be worked with wheel-hoes ; there- 

 fore, 'they should be introduced for their educational efEect. 

 Aim at the onion-bed condition of tilth. 



A hand-hoe is a clumsy and inefScient tool. Its one 

 merit in this regard is the fact that it can be used between 

 the plants, where many other tools cannot enter; but it 

 leaves no efficient surface mulch and does not often im- 

 prove soil-texture. The cpmpion hoe h^s two types of legit- 



