TOOLS USED IN HORTICULTURE. 



1.31 



spade, as 



Fig. 18. Cast-iron 

 sheaths for dibbers. 



are very commonly formed of the upper part of the handle of 

 after the lower part has been broken, be- 

 come decayed, or is no longer fit for use. 

 This is sometimes shod with iron, which 

 renders it more durable when it is to be 

 I n m used in stiff or gravelly soils. Sometimes 

 Fig, 16. Dibbers, a piece of a kneed branch is formed into a 

 dibber, as shown at m. For planting cuttings of the shoots 

 of shrubs or herbaceous plants, either in the open ground 

 or under glass, small dibbers, are used, some for inserting pjg, 17. Potato- 

 cuttings of heaths, not thicker than a quill ; but these the dibber. 



gardener forms for himself. The potato-dibber, fig. 17, 

 has a hilt for the foot, and a handle and shank as long as 

 that of the spade. For the potato and other larger 

 dibbers, cast-iron sheaths, fig. 18, are sometimes fitted 

 to the lower extremities, to render them more durable. 

 393. Picks^ fig. 19, combine the operation of perforating with that of 

 separating, breaking, loosening, and turning over ; and the pickaxe adds that 

 of cutting. As the blow given by the pick on the soil, or on a root, is 

 almost always given in a vertical direction, the helve is made cylindrical, 

 excepting where it joins the head, and here it is dilated, so as to wedge into 

 the hand of the operator, and serve to guide the direction of the stroke. The 

 common pick is shown at a, the pickaxe at &, and the mattock at c. The 

 narrow pointed end of the common 

 pick is used for penetratmg into the 

 hardest soils; and the broad or chisel 

 end for separating and turning over 

 softer soils. The pickaxe h is for 

 separating and turning over soft 

 soils containing numerous roots of 

 trees; those roots lying in a direction 

 at right angles to the operator, being 

 cut off with the chisel at one end 

 of the prongs, and those roots lying 

 in the opposite direction, by the chisel at the opposite end. The pick c, fre- 

 quently called a mattock, and a grubber, or grubbing-axe, is principally used 

 for grubbing up small trees or bushes. The pick a is essential to the toolhouse 

 of the commonest garden, being frequently required for loosening gravel walks, 

 where repairs or alterations are to be made, or more gravel to be added. 

 894. Draw Hoes^ figs. 20 and 21. — The common draw hoe, and all its 



varieties, are merely picks of a 

 lighter kind, with the prongs 

 dilated into blades. They are 

 used for penetratmg, moving, 

 and drawing, the soil, for the 

 purpose of disrooting weeds, 

 forming furrows in which to sow 

 seeds, or drawing the earth up 

 to plants. For light, easily- 

 worked soils, the blade may be 

 broad and narrow in depth ; for 



Fig. 19 Picks. 



Fig. 20. Braw hoes. 



