May 31, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
617 
HOES AND HOEING. 
Or all implements, the hoe, during spring, summer, 
and autumn, should be the most frequently in request 
in the garden, because on its use we depend mainly to 
keep in check our great natural enemies, the weeds ; 
and its frequent or occasional employment denotes in 
an unmistakable manner the difference between a well 
and badly-kept place. The usefulness of hoeing is not 
confined to the keeping down of weeds ; but by stirring 
the soil, it assists in its aeration, and thus renders it 
more congenial to the growth of the various crops under 
cultivation. More than this, it serves to check the 
development of numerous insect pests which the gar¬ 
dener has to contend with. Slugs in particular have 
more difficulty in travelling over freshly-hoed ground— 
particularly if dry—than on a smooth hard surface. 
To accomplish the various operations which are 
necessary in a garden, several different descriptions of 
hoe should be always at hand. The Dutch hoe, where 
the soil is light and easily worked, is one of the most 
valuable tools in the garden, because the operator is 
behind his work when using it, and has no occasion to 
tread over the ground al¬ 
ready hoed ; but it is only 
under very favourable cir¬ 
cumstances that this tool can 
be satisfactorily utilised, for 
if the ground is at all hard, 
the chances are that very 
many of the weeds will be 
missed. For comparatively 
hard, close ground, the draw 
or drag-hoe is preferable, 
because a man can draw it 
through the soil much easier 
than he can thrust the 
former. In choosing draw- 
hoes, avoid the common old- 
fashioned ones, in which the 
handle is attached close to 
the blade, because they choke 
up with weeds and soil at 
the point of union, and 
require frequent cleaning. 
Use either those with crane 
necks or those with a stem 
from 3 ins. to 4 ins. from 
the eye. The latter, for one 
reason, are the better, be¬ 
cause they are free from the 
spring which the crane¬ 
necked ones are found to 
have when hoeing on a hard 
surface. Those having blades 
shaped in the form of a third 
or half of a circle are pre¬ 
ferable to square ones, as 
they wear to a point at each 
end of the blade, and can be 
used to better advantage, 
working closer to and under 
the foliage of growing crops. 
There is a Yankee hoe—a 
combination of hoe and rake 
—which comes in very handy 
at times. These are all long- 
handled tools, and whether 
draw or Dutch, should 
be kept in stock for use from 
2 ins. to 6 ins. in length. 
In addition to these we have short-handled ones, after 
the same form as those already instanced. Then there 
are the small Bedfordshire hoes used largely by market 
gardeners for hoeing seed beds of Onion, Carrots, &c., 
and frequently designated Carrot hoes. With these, 
work can be done which is difficult to do satisfactorily 
with the long-handb d tools, the latter putting the 
workman too far from the work, when recourse is 
had to hand-weeding and singling the young plants 
out by pulling them up, a tedious and expensive oper¬ 
ation against which another serious objection can be 
urged. By pulling up the seedlings, the tender hair-like 
roots of those which are left, are exposed to the trying 
influences of sun and air, as well as facilitating the attacks 
of the Onion and Carrot fly. For these reasons, it is far 
better to cut off the surplus plants just below the necks, 
and allow the roots to remain and perish in the ground. 
A handy workman will single out the plants and 
make a clean sweep of the weeds with one of these useful 
tools in a tenth of the time it can be done by hand, and 
however incredulous some may be, it is a fact that a 
willing hand will get over more ground with one of 
these handy little implements than another witt( a 
6-in. hoe in the open ground, the weeds being about 
equal in quantity, and the soil in the same condition 
as regards hardness. The reason of this is that in the 
one case the workman is from 3 ft. to 4 ft. from his 
work, and in the other close upon it. The use of these 
short-handled tools necessitates the workman being for 
a long time on his knees, but it is not very laborious 
work. In large market gardens men who are good hands 
at this particular work earn wages which would make the 
ordinary labourer in private gardens envious. 
The particular tool referred to has a blade 3 ins. in 
length by 1 in. in breadth, with a 3-in. stem to its 
junction with the handle in which it is inserted. The 
handles average 6 ins. in length. In practice this hoe 
is mostly used with a side motion from right to left, 
so that the bend of the blade is mostly worn ; but a 
handy workman in going over a piece of ground will 
use it in a variety of ways. For instance, small 
growths of couch and tap-rooted weed can very readily 
be lifted out of the soil by thrusting the blade length¬ 
wise under them, and by a sudden jerk thrown out on 
the surface. — TV. B. G. 
A Sketch in Burnham Beeches. 
A GNARLED BEECH. 
Our native Beech is not only at the present time, but 
at all seasons of the year one of the finest ornaments of 
our woods or pleasure grounds. To attain its greatest 
value as a timber tree it requires to be planted rather 
closely either in plantations by itself or with other 
forest trees in order to draw it up with a clean stem. 
On the other hand as an ornamental tree it is never 
more handsome than when planted as isolated speci¬ 
mens in a park or in pleasure grounds, where its great 
umbrageous branches can spread equally on all sides. 
Accompanying this is an illustration of some of the 
gnarled Beeches which occur in the historical woods 
known as Burnham Beeches as seen in winter. They 
are artistic and interesting rather than ornamental, and 
their nakedness but adds to the effect. Here, as in 
Eppiug Forest, the trees have been subjected to the 
barbarous system of lopping and pollarding, thereby 
robbing many of them of their natural form and beauty. 
At present these defects are partly hidden by the rich 
leafage so characteristic of the Beech, and which sur¬ 
passes that of any other of our forest trees, the Oak 
and Elm not excepted. 
THE COVENT GARDEN FETE. 
The third of the annual fetes held in the wholesale 
flower market, Covent Garden, in aid of the Gardeners 
Orphan Fund, was held on the evening of Wednesday, 
May 21st, and the weather being propitious there wa3 
a large assemblage of visitors to witness a floral feast 
such as cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. 
The building itself covers an area of about three- 
quarters of an acre, on which are erected about 700 
lineal yards of permanent flower stalls, with not too 
ample space between for promenading when such 
bodies of people are admitted as were present on that 
evening. The display of plants and cut flowers did the 
market people great credit ; for although only pursuing 
their ordinary avocation, their arrangements were com¬ 
pleted earlier in the day than usual. Larger quantities 
of foliage and flowering plants were brought up than 
usual in order to make a more tasteful display, for, in 
the ordinary course of business, few of the general 
public have an opportunity of witnessing the huge 
banks of flowers that begin to change hands in the 
early hours of the morning, to find their way all over 
the metropolis. A hard day’s 
work on the part of the 
market people was completed 
early in the evening, and 
the toilet of the market 
accomplished in readiness 
for the reception of the 
Lord Mayor and the Lady 
Mayoress, the latter of 
whom, after inspecting the 
display, declared the fete 
open. 
To attempt a description 
of the floral carnival would 
be utterly futile, for mere 
word-painting can convey 
nothing like an adequate 
idea of the vast piles of 
flowers of all the most 
popular kinds with which 
the market growers manage 
to satisfy the flower-loving 
public with—we were going 
to say—flowers in season ; 
but close attention to the 
matter shows'us that numbers 
of the subjects are in season 
during great part of the 
year. "White flowers are 
particularly acceptable at all 
times; and, consequently, 
by forcing and retarding 
different batches, and by 
propagating at different 
times, the season is in¬ 
definitely prolonged at both 
ends. Amongst the subjects 
which may be mentioned 
under this heading are Roses, 
Pelargoniums, Lilium longi- 
florum Harrisi, Carnations, 
Marguerites, and many others 
which never seem to be 
absent. White Lilac, or 
the purple-flowered Charles 
X.—which is bleached white 
by forcing—may be had for 
many months in the year— 
say from September to June—simply by forcing and re¬ 
tarding. Already there is forced Lilac in the market, 
which sounds rather paradoxical, seeing that it may still 
be had in the open air. The market growers have, 
however, mostly exhausted the supplies from that source. 
The floriferous nature of the plants were such as to 
make the mouths of gardeners in private establishments 
water, and they are, moreover, grown in 32-sized pots. 
The reason for such great success lies in the fact that 
the market growers confine their attention to a few 
things, making them specialties, and so succeed, 
whereas private gardeners have their attention directed 
to a thousand and one odds and ends. In passing 
through the flower market, evidence of the above facts 
is abundant on every hand, for the stands, as a rule, 
were occupied with few kinds, arranged in banks, 
masses and lines of contrasting colours, the bright 
glare of scarlet and crimson Pelargoniums of the zonal 
and decorative types being toned down by the use of 
Ferns consisting chiefly of Adiantum cuneatum, various 
species of Pteris, and also Palms, such as Livistona 
chinensis, Corypha australis, Cocos plumosa, and the 
graceful C, Weddelliana. 
