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iirst weeding with the fingers. Tliis is hand-and-knee work 

 and, pursued as it has to be in this position at inten^als through- 

 out the heat of summer, it is to many the most wear}'ing work 

 of the fami. Boys being more nimble fingered than men, 

 besides working for lower wages, there is a great saving in 

 employing Xhtm, provided they can be reUed on to pull up the 

 roots of the weeds. When several are at work it will be wise 

 to have a man with them. 



To protect the knees from sharp stones, ^'pads" are used, 

 w^hich consist of squares of about eight inches, of several 

 thicknesses of woolen usually covered with leather, strapped 

 to the knees. In ordinary seasons onions require three or 

 four hand-and-knee weedings, and from four to six sUdings 

 \\ith the hoe. A man's judgment must be his guide. As onions 

 shade the ground but slightly, weeds grow rapidly in onion 

 beds ; and if they are once allowed to get the start, the labor 

 of cultivation is immensely increased. Some cultivators prac- 

 tice scratching the soil away from the onions when weeding, 

 with an old knife cur\' ed at a right angle near the point, or by 

 a piece of iron hoop cur\^ed, the end being nailed to a small 

 piece of wood conveniently held in the hand. Others prac- 

 tice thro\ving the soil slightly around the young onions \^'ith a 

 scuffle hoe made with reference to this use, with a view of 

 smothering the small weeds. Noyes' hand weeder will be found 

 a very handy little implement for removing weeds, particularly 



when the surface of 

 the ground is some- 

 what hard. When the 

 onions have begun to 

 ^'iDOttom down," /. e. form their bulbs, it is the general prac- 

 tice to remove as far as practicable any surplus earth that has 

 accumulated around them. In weeding, t^vo or three rows are 



