22 
STIRRING THE SOIL. [chap. i. 
hoe, which may be seen at any ironmonger’s 
shop. Either kind may be used for destroy¬ 
ing weeds; as the weeds may either be 
loosened and lifted out of the soil by the 
thrust hoe, or torn out of it by the draw hoe. 
Both kinds may also be used for pulverizing 
the soil, or a third kind with two prongs may 
be substituted. In all these operations, the 
thrust hoe is best adapted for a lady’s use, 
as requiring the least exertion of strength, 
and being most easily managed; but the 
draw hoe is best adapted for making a drill 
or furrow for the reception of seeds, and also 
for the last and most important use of hoeing, 
viz. the drawing up of the earth round the 
stems of growing plants. 
The operation of hoeing up, though very 
commonly practised, is only suitable to some 
kind of plants, and it is intended to afford 
additional nourishment to those which have 
tap-roots, by inducing them to throw out 
more lateral fibres. 
The plants which will bear to be hoed or 
earthed up, are those that throw out fibrous 
roots above the vital knot, like the cabbage 
tribe, &c.; or that are annuals with long 
