758 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Garden Notes From New England 
Tools for the Amateur. — There 
seems to be no end to the invention of 
new garden tools. The garden maker 
who eared to make a complete collection 
Types of Scuffle Hoes 
would need to expend a considerable 
amount of money, and when he got 
through would find probably that half a 
dozen would serve all his needs. As a 
matter of fact, several of the most useful 
tools which an amateur can have are not 
included in the average list at all. Among 
them is a common mason’s trowel, which 
lias several advantages over the ordinary 
garden trowel, and is particularly useful 
for working in the flower garden when 
small plants are to be handled. Another 
tool which the amateur will find extremely 
useful is a common putty knife, which 
will slip readily into the pocket and be 
at hand whenever needed. For trans¬ 
planting. weeding and at harvest time 
this little tool becomes almost indispensa¬ 
ble. It can be used also for cleaning 
earth from the larger tools, and for re¬ 
moving damp earth from one’s shoes after 
a strenuous morning in the vegetable gar¬ 
den. 
The Scuffle IIoe. —There are culti¬ 
vators in many forms, but few easier to 
handle and more effective than an ordi¬ 
nary potato fork, with which one can 
work close to growing plants, and obtain 
a good dust mulch with but little effort. 
On market gardens scuffle hoes are to be 
found by the dozens, and the scuffle hoe 
is a good home tool as well. It is not 
new, by any means, for I remember that 
Charles Dudley Warner describes it in 
his little book, “My Summer in a Gar¬ 
den.” written many years ago. as going a 
long way to take the backache out of gar¬ 
den work. Its long handle allows the 
operator to stand erect in an easy pos¬ 
ture. and it will do its work whether 
pushed or pulled. I like it to use in culti¬ 
vating around Dahlias and other bushy 
plants not easily reached with a short- 
handled tool. 
The Wheel Hoe. -I doubt if there is 
any need of a wheel hoe in a small garden 
where the rows are short. The garden 
can be gone over almost as quickly with 
the scuffle hoe. In a larger garden the 
wheel cultivator is a necessity if time and 
labor count for anything. With the little 
plow attachment in place, it is a simple 
matter to open furrows and to cover them 
again without resorting to a hand hoe at 
all. A good implement of this sort serves 
a useful purpose all through the season. 
In my own practice I find a single wheel 
machine much easier to use. and more 
adaptable than one with double wheels. 
Many of these implements have a seed 
sowing attachment, but the average ama¬ 
teur does not need it. When only two or 
three rows are needed for each kind of 
seed it is easier to do the sowing by hand, 
although there are some very simple seed 
sowing devices on the market now. -which 
do the work and are easy to use in gar¬ 
dens where the soil is smooth and free 
from rocks. In a stony garden light tools 
are of little use, as it is impossible to 
make straight rows with them. 
Still Another Hoe. —One other "worth 
while tool is the Warren hoe, or its 
cousin, the onion hoe. both being diamond 
shaped With one of these hoes it is a 
simple matter to open a seed furrow and 
to cover them again, and they can be used 
in cultivating around young plants to bet¬ 
ter advantage than a hoe of the ordinary 
type. If you have a common hoe which 
is pretty badly worn you can have it cut 
diamond shaped, or, if you like, filed down 
to half its width, which will give you an 
excellent tool for use in the strawberry 
bed. 
Care of Tools. —Finally and impera¬ 
tively, you must have a file. If you allow 
your hoe to get rusty you will have to use 
extra strength to drive it into the ground, 
and every time you lift it you will also 
lift an accumulation of earth. Probably 
you will wear out several files in the 
course of the season, if you do much work 
with the hoe and keep it sharp, but files 
are not expensive. Some gardeners think 
they get better results and save wear on 
the hoe by pounding the blade with a 
heavy hammer on an anvil instead of fil¬ 
ing it. This flattens out the blade instead 
of wearing down the edge, and a mere 
touch with the file will make it sharp. A 
lot of time and effort are saved if you 
wipe off the blades of your tools after 
they have been used, and they will be 
kept from rusting if you rub them over 
with lard to which a little white lead has 
been added, or with common wagon 
grease. An occasional painting helps to 
preserve the wood work, and if you hap¬ 
pen to live in a locality where the bor¬ 
rowing habit is well established you will 
find it worth while to give the handles 
some distinctive color. This latter plan 
has another advantage, too. A bright- 
colored band around the handle of a tool 
makes it so conspicuous that it is easily 
discovered if lost in the grass. 
Warm Weather Planting. —As the 
weather gets warmer and the earth dries 
out. seeds are slower to germinate than 
they were early in the Spring. Often¬ 
times they lie in the ground for weeks be¬ 
fore sprouting, just for lack of moisture. 
Little deeper planting is recommended in 
order that the seeds may be put down 
where the ground is moist. It also helps 
very much to firm the soil, except perhaps 
with beans, so as to bring the soil par¬ 
ticles into close contact with the seeds. 
Someone has said that there is no more 
useful tool than a pair of good brogans, 
and probably he was right. At *]east. 
walking up and down the rows with heavy 
shoes is the simplest way to firm the 
earth, although some people like to put 
down boards and walk on them. A small, 
light garden roller is of advantage in a 
garden where the soil is so light that it 
dries out very quickly. Sometimes it is 
found advisable to wet down the furrows 
Using Scuffle Hoe 
after they have been opened, before the 
seeds are sown, and this is, I think, a 
better plan in many cases than soaking 
the seeds themselves in the house. 
Seeds and Sowing. —Seeds of some 
kinds are pretty high this season. I was 
surprised when I was asked to pay 60 
cents for a pint of Little Marvel peas. 
Perhaps these high prices will teach peo¬ 
ple to exercise more care in planting, so 
that there will be less waste. The aver¬ 
age amateur plants his seeds altogether 
too thickly. Not only does he use more 
seed than is needed, but he greatly in¬ 
creases his own labor, for a lot of thin¬ 
ning must bo done after the plants come 
up. Seeds of all root crops should be 
sown thinly, and this is especially true 
of beets, as every so-called seed is really 
a case in which several true seeds are 
held. When sowing very fine seed the 
novice finds it a help to mix with it a 
little sand, thus increasing the bulk and 
insuring thinner planting. When it 
comes to plants for which cutworms have 
a fondness, the situation is a little differ¬ 
ent. It pays to be generous with the seed 
of melons, squashes and cucumbers, and, 
for that matter, with corn in land infest¬ 
ed with these pests. There is an old 
couplet which runs as follows, and which 
may be accepted as a model: 
“One for the blackbird, one for the crow. 
One for the cutworm and two to grow.” 
Transplanting Suggestions. —Cab¬ 
bage seeds sown, now in the open ground 
will give plants for Winter use. I have 
found no better plan in the kitchen gar¬ 
den than to sow the seeds in a row, and 
to thin out the surplus seedlings, trans¬ 
planting as many of them as I need to 
additional rows. I don’t see but this is 
just as satisfactory as making a seed bed. 
I have found no cabbage which gives bet¬ 
ter results than Copenhagen Market, al¬ 
though the family likes a few Savoys as 
w r ell. I think the average kitchen gar¬ 
dener makes the mistake of growing more 
cabbages than he really needs, because 
it is pretty hard to carry them through 
the Winter. Transplanting is not a diffi¬ 
cult matter if care is first taken to soak 
the ground thoroughly before the plants 
are lifted. If this cannot be done, it is a 
good plan to make a little artificial mud 
puddle into which the roots may be dip¬ 
ped. The mud coats them over and pro¬ 
tects them from the air. And all root 
plants should be set a little deeper in 
their new location than they stood before. 
Cabbages, for example, should go in the 
ground to their first leaves. When large 
plants are to be moved, it is wise to trim 
off the upper half of each leaf so as to 
check evaporation. This applies particu¬ 
larly to such plants as cabbages, cauli¬ 
flower, Brussels sprouts and celery. 
Protecting Young Plants. —As every 
good gardener knows, the best time to do 
transplanting is on a wet or cloudy day. 
If the sun comes out afterwards a little 
protection in the way of old newspapers 
or peach baskets over the plants will be a 
great help. It isn’t altogether the sun 
that does the damage. A hot wind will 
often prove just as disastrous, and if a 
few old boards can be set upon edge along 
the rows they will do much to save the 
plants. Lettuce plants in particular need 
shading. I know of one commercial 
grower who grows his best lettuce under 
a muslin canopy attached to the fence on 
one side and to poles on the other. Grow¬ 
ing lettuce in the shade of taller plants 
is a common and successful expedient, 
and if one happens to have an old cold 
frame not in use, that will prove a par¬ 
ticularly good place to grow lettuce plants 
for the house. Make a practice of firming 
the ground well around the newly set 
plants so that the earth will come into 
close contact with the roots. 
The Evergreen Bittersweet. — I find 
many people trying to grow English ivy 
in New England, and failing because of 
the severe climate. The English ivy will 
often winter well when grown as a ground 
cover, but usually is a flat failure when 
Firming the Soil 
trained on walls or buildings. The very 
best substitute which can be obtained is 
the vine known as evergreen bittersweet, 
but usually catalogued as Euonymus radi- 
cans vegetus. This vine is perfectly hardy, 
keeps its leaves all Winter, and beam 
handsome berries very similar to those.of 
the common bittersweet. It is a vine 
which ought to be much better known. 
E. I. FARRINGTON. 
Bits of Farm Law 
Damage from Telephone Pole 
Our telephone system is made up of 
several farm party lines, having their 
own officers and hiring a central. During 
last Summer, about July 15, these lines 
engaged a private individual at a stated 
figure for a term of five years, he to keep 
up lines and care for telephones, except¬ 
ing the new batteries. About September 1 
this individual filed proceedings in bank¬ 
ruptcy. On September 7 annual tele¬ 
phone* meeting held, quorum not present, 
a report having been circulated that this 
individual would settle things up and re¬ 
turn to care for telephone contract. On 
September 29, while filling silo, some men 
caught on to a wire, breaking two poles 
down across the road, or tearing wires 
loose in some way. These men were farm¬ 
ers exchanging work among themselves 
with some hired help. That evening one 
of these men going home from work 
May 28, 1921 
caught his car into wire and. we think, 
pulled a pole on to his car (he claims pole 
fell on it). About one month afterwards 
he presented claim for damages. We re¬ 
plied. stating that as the care of lines 
had been contracted for to another party, 
he should look to him. This season he 
has placed the claim in attorney’s hands 
'igainst us. Are these men exchanging 
work responsible for their own acts or the 
acts of their help? E. G. 
New York. 
A telephone company cannot escape lia¬ 
bility, in the first instance, for the negli¬ 
gence of its servants, for a body corporate 
must perform its work through the in¬ 
strumentality of its servants. If your 
contract with the lineman was to the ef¬ 
fect that he would be responsible for the 
condition of the line and for any damage 
resulting from negligence in connection 
therewith, you might sue him for any 
damage which the company was obliged 
to pay. He being a bankrupt, this would 
not be profitable unless you had required 
him to give a bond for the faithful per¬ 
formance of his duties. As to whether or 
not there is any negligence in this partic¬ 
ular case could only be determined after 
a careful investigation of all the circum¬ 
stances. and it would be advisable for you 
to employ an attorney to make the inves¬ 
tigation. n. T. 
Trouble with Landlord 
I hold a lease of this farm for three 
years, with a two-year option of buying 
it. Farm is outfitted as a small com¬ 
mercial poultry farm. Incubator was 
out of commission, owing to disuse and 
neglect. Lease stipulates that owner will 
put incubator in working order, also build 
new porch on house, repair a small bridge 
and shingle the barn. Lease began .Tune 1 
last, and to date tbe only thing he has 
done is to put a paper roof on barn. 
When I took the farm he had half the 
- garden planted and asked if I would let 
him keep it, as he liked to work in garden 
and could run down for an hour once or 
twice a week after supper. He spent 
most of the Summer in the garden while 
four other members of his family had or 
took the freedom of the farm, much to 
my annoyance. My lease includes what 
tools, etc., were on the place, and when 
I began to miss something after each of 
their visits, I locked up. Several times 
when he wanted something, a hoe or 
shovel or such, I would, instead of giving 
him the key as requested, go and unlock 
and hand him what he wanted and lock 
up. This nettled him, and I was nettled at 
his presence on the farm ; but nothing in 
the way of a cross word was said on 
either side. All Summer there lay in one 
of the buildings three bags of cement, 
with which he said he was going to build 
the new porch. In September he took 
the cement away. In November I asked 
him when he was going to fix the new 
porch. He replied that he wasn’t gofng 
to fix it. because he had no cement, I 
having kent. him from using the three 
bags until it spoiled. That was so non¬ 
sensical as to be funny, but instead of 
laughing I lost my temper, and among 
other things ordered him off the place. 
If I sue him for breach of contract and 
prove my case, can I collect any damages 
and my costs in the matter? I pay a 
rather high rent on the strength Of the 
hatching and brooding equipment, and 
doubt my ability to make ends meet, be¬ 
cause I have not the use of that equip¬ 
ment for which I have paid. Lease stip¬ 
ulates dates and amounts of my payments. 
Can I hold out on payment? p. r. 
Connecticut. 
It would not be safe for you to deduct 
damages from the rent, for the damage 
has not been liquidated. You have no 
way of knowing just the amount to de¬ 
duct The advisability for bringing ac¬ 
tion against him for damages depends 
upon the amount of actual damages that 
you can prove. We never advise entering 
into a lawsuit unless there is a reason¬ 
able certainty that the litigant will come 
out with more money than he had when 
he started. If the place has become un¬ 
tenable by reason of the failure of the 
landlord to comply with the terms of the 
lease, on his part performed, why not 
vacate the premises and’ let him com¬ 
mence the action? N. T. 
The Evergreen Bittersweet 
