102 
GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 
the weeds, to begin with ; then it keeps in the moisture ; and, 
besides, it airs the soil. So, since the roots of plants cannot 
work without oxygen any more than their green parts can, it 
is well to " stir some ” into the soil. 
On farms the work of cultivation is so extensive that it 
must be done by horse power. For small fields a wheel hoe 
or cultivator is used, which runs handily between the rows. 
A children’s garden 
is kept well groomed, 
as it were, by an 
excelsior weeder or 
even a skewer, sup- 
plemented from time 
to time by the deeper 
stroke of the hoe. 
The expression ".wa- 
tering with the hoe" 
is a common one 
and, after what has 
been said, needs no 
explanation. A mat- 
ter for congratulation 
is that the practice of 
cultivation, or dry farming, as it is practiced to-day, relieves 
the gardener of what has always been a perfect nightmare to 
him, ; — a season of drought. It may be added that abnormally 
arid districts should hardly be selected to illustrate the advan- 
tages of dry farming. After all, the whole philosophy may be 
summed up in the gospel of the parson who, urged by his 
congregation, prayed fervently for rain, but who closed his 
petition thus : " Send us, we beseech thee, rain ; and yet, O 
Lord, thou knowest that what we really need is not more rain 
but better plowing, deeper tillage, and more top-dressing." 
GUMPTION 
