thorough work than is usually accomplished with a garden rake. The Acme is popular on many farms. Although spike tooth harrows are very common throughout the country, they are very inefficient compared with other types just mentioned. (See Fig. 12.) This chapter would not be complete without mentioning the tools variously designated as a planker, plank drag or float. They are now found throughout the country and are highly valued as pulverizers and levelers. In the preparation of soils for planting, inexperiencea gardeners are often puzzled as to the best procedure. In the spring preparation of clay or clay loam the following plan should put the soil in the very best condition for seeding or planting: (1) Plow as soon as the ground is dry enough. (2) Drag the plowed land when dry enough to prevent much soil adhering to the plank. It is usually best to attend to this work daily until the entire field has been plowed and dragged. (3) Disk the land after dragging. (4) Use the disk harrow and drag alternately until the soil is thoroughly pulverized. (5) Give one or two finishing strokes with the Meeker smoothing harrow. Sands and sandy loams do not require so much work in the preparation for planting. A great variety of cultivators are on the market. All things considered the spike tooth or narrow shovel type is the most efficient. The one-horse cultivators usually contain about a dozen spike teeth or narrow shovels. These are much better pulverizers and conservers of soil moisture than cultivators with a few broad shovels. Riding cultivators can be used to advantage with many crops. Horse weeders are valuable in cultivating such crops as potatoes and sweet corn. The most important point in their construction is that the teeth be rigid as well as strong so they will not break or become permanently bent. More or less hoeing is necessary in the culture of nearly all vegetables. All kinds of hånd work should be avoided as much as possible but it is poor economy to allow the weeds to start and the ground to bake and become hard in spaces which cannot be reached by the horse tools or wheel hoes. Different types of hoes are required for different kinds of work. For the larger crops, where there is plenty of space between plants, the broad blades and rake types should be used as much as possible to economize in labor. (Fig. 13.) Hand wheel hoes are indispensable in market gardening. Both the single and double wheel types are in common use. When the soil is smooth, level and easily worked the double wheel hoe is entirely satisfactory and economizes labor. One of these tools should be in every farm home to work the home garden even if vegetables are not grown for commercial purposes. They are great labor saving devices, and if all the vegetables were grown in straight rows with space for using wheel hoes the production of the garden crops would always be a pleasure. Hand weeders of various styles are shown in Figure 13 and are very serviceable. The weeder in Fig. 8, designed and used by M. Garrahan & Son, of Luzerne county is especially valuable in weeding and thinning. IRRIGATION. The lack of soil moisture is the most common cause of disappointment in crop production. This is more true in market gardening than in general farming. The average annual rainfall in Pennsylvania is heavy and yet scarcely a season passes without severe losses in some part of the State. Water is unquestionably the most important factor in the nourishment of plants. It dissolves plant food and performs many other functions in the soil. It serves as the vehicle to convey food in the soil and in the plant and enters largely into the composition of all vegetables. From a commercial standpoint a full and constant supply of moisture in the soil has three values: (1) It favors early maturity in most instances and early maturity generally means the highest prices. (2) It is essential to maximum yields. (3) It is necessary for the development of the best quality. Quality in vegetables is often a question of succulence. We want crisp, tender, juicy vege tables and the moisture requirements of the plant must be met to secure these conditions. In seasons of drouth the demand for vegetables is keener and prices better. This is one of the strongest arguments for irrigation. A Pennsylvania gardener who irrigates makes the largest profits in seasons of drouth. It is a fact that a host of vegetable growers in this State lack the necessary facilities for irrigation. Also, there are hundreds of splen did streams in Pennsylvania running through lands that are well adapted to vegetable gardening and where it would be a simple matter to irrigate by modern methods. A few men in the State have seen these possibilities and are now growing more profitable crops because they are prepared to apply water when it is needed. There are many ways of distributing water as by open ditches and furrows, flooding through tile laid on top of the ground and in subirrigating lines, iron pipes, wooden troughs, and by various temporary sprinkling devices. Any of these methods may be valuable under certain conditions, but the plan which is attracting universal atten tion among market gardeners and greenhouse vegetable growers is known as the Skinner System of Irrigation. This system was discovered several years ago by a practical gardener and is being installed rapidly throughout the East. It consists of iron pipes running in parallel lines about fifty feet apart |