The Garden Magazine, February, 1921 
313 
Handy disc Perfection cultivator 
specially adapted to light soils, cut- 
ting lumpy soil into a good mulch 
General utility Triplex combination wheel hoe with 
cultivator, cutting blade and plow without loose parts 
Here is the familiar simple wheel hoe 
and cultivator that has almost elimi- 
nated labor from the work of the garden 
Strong tooth cultivator (Runlite) for deep 
working on heavy soils with broad solid wheel 
soil the organic material that is on the surface, 
whether that be a natural accession or in the 
form of top-dressings by spreading manure. A 
tilled soil will get along, too, in a period of 
drought when a soil neglected in this respect 
will demand water. 
Too much insistance cannot be put on this 
necessity of tillage. It is the oldest of all the 
practices of the garden and farm, and its para- 
mount importance is being more fully appre- 
ciated, its reasons better and better understood, 
as the years roll on. 
The ancient Assyrians and Egyptians tilled 
their soil with a pointed stick, and we of to- 
day have not found anything of more impor- 
tance, and indeed our modern plow is but a 
pointed stick very slightly modified so as to 
turn the soil as well as to break into it. The 
plow does easily on a broad scale what the 
spade does in a restricted area. We have 
learned, however, that in the matter of the soil, as in any 
other activity, the form of the tool or implement may be 
modified or adapted to fit the special conditions of the worker. 
But this is merely adapting the teachings of experience to serve 
our convenience. Just because the working of the soil is so 
ancient, so fundamental, and so universal, and because the 
primitive tool can do the operation successfully, gardeners as a 
whole have been slow to realize the virtues of special adapta- 
tions of modern tools and the possibilities they possess for the 
The double-wheel type of machine tool is pre- 
ferred by some workers. Shown here with plow 
blades reversed for hilling both sides of a row 
efficient worker who wants to make 
every move tell to the utmost. Be- 
cause a spade, a fork, a rake, and a 
pick will accomplish all that may be 
necessary, there is a tendency to let 
well enough alone; but when the intelli- 
gent gardener is doing his own work he 
may well pause to consider whether he 
is using the most effective tool for ac- 
complishing the desired result. Remem- 
ber, a good workman uses good tools. 
The very best cannot be too good, and 
anything that increases the actual re- 
sult while diminishing the actual labor 
is worth while, and justifies attention. 
Now, there are many accessory tools that the gardener should 
consider, and manufacturers have of late done much in offering 
improvements for special purposes. The fact is that the tool 
manufacturer has been ahead of the market for some time. 
True the gospel of the wheel-hoe has been pretty well accepted 
by now, but that is to be taken only as one example of the op- 
portunities at hand. It may be a small matter at first glance 
to see there are differences in trowels, and to many people a 
Rake-like hand cultivator with 
curved teeth mounted on expansible 
arms that are adjustable for width 
