THE VALUE OF THE HOE.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 84, 14 November 1872, Page 2

THE VALUE OF THE HOE.

IlOMXtt is one of tlio mfieh neglected ions of whichfew have considered (lie value, and lo keep down weeds is general! v (lie sole object of using the hoe.-. Certainly that.' is a "ood object, and'if these observations quicken 1 lit' vigilance of gardeners who are a wee bit careless ujum the grow th. of "Tomulse.l, couch, bindweed, and other rampant weeds among I heir crops, it, will serve one good purpose. liuL it, must, have-frequently eonie under the notice of practical men that a piece of cabbage or. cauliflower frequently hoed between, even to the exteJit of working (lie instrument, very near their roots, always grow to liner proportions than similar breadths 1011, to take'care of (hemselves, with the ground trodden between to the hardness exf a I.Sabylonian brick, to keep the moisture iuand the heat out." ]n such a ease it, is made e\ ident that there is a virl lie in. the hoe beyond (lie killing of weeds (liat (ake away the nourishment minimi" bv the crop ; and if (ho problem of their well-doing is (o be solved by observal ion', it iwtst beat, day-break, when every leaf is loaded wit it dew. Then it, will be seen t hat, ground-, recent I v hded"oi' pointed' orcr willi a- small fork is uniformly moist, while hard ground; adjoining the same plot is almost' as drv aS' during. the lwat-.of a sunny day. The solution is simple enough. The rough open, surface absorbs a largo' amount of dew, not simply because it is brolocn, but because it. presents a greater extent of radiating,surfaces, for (lie deposition of dew depends, on I.he radial ion of heal, at the immediate surface, and i.lic subsoil neett not'and will not lie colder than (lie snb'soil (if hard ground, although it has a, urealcr powc;' of surface radiation. In fact ground, frcqiienllv hoed becomes warmer from its more ready absorption and conduction downwards of solar beat, so that, the roots of tlie plant are kept warmer and moisliT in broken' gromid-thu'fi in close hard ground, and ( herefwe the vigorous growth of vegetation is promoted by hoeing. \\'e have oursehs.s irequenlly indiealed (o gardener* (hat, the chief benelil, of dew io plants arose through its absorption bV Che soil for the nourishment of. their rool;». ll comes lo i,his, thai, if you cannot soak (he ground with . water, you haVe only to break the surface and it will soak itself. The in ore lu.it by (lav the more dew by night ; themore cloudless the sky the heavier the deposition of moisture between surmol; ami sunvis.v Jiecent experiments show t hat if tlio di!\f is allowed to set tle on'! the leaves of plant», ami not. on (.ho soil in nvlitclrtWir roots wo, they gain nothing i . r. weight, whoreas when felio dew is allowed-to coudenso on Ili d : soil they gain considerably. JSut the hoeiiig is tlio mailer •we wish our readers to think about and act upon.; TJie ho i is an irrigitloi 4 of as lnueli valim-to the Knglish gardener as the shadoof is to the wretched oull ivafor of millet 011 (liebanks of the Zsib or Tigris ; awl where people are. (heir strength in convoying hogsheads of water, which areoften moVe harm I,ban good, (.lie labour might in most, eases be saved, the ground kept clean at (lie same time, ami the; plants encouraged lo push their roots about, in search of nourishment, by the use of the hoe and the hoe alone. Tak 1 notice Of 11 rhubarb-leaf; Ihe midrib forms a depressed groove, .-nid the leaf .slopes up 011 each side of it, somewhat ?n f'he fashion of the two sides of a wooden water-shoot.. The Upper, silrf'acc of the leaf-slalk is channelled too, and al I night "long (he leaf dislils dew from the atmosphere, lb :• water trickles to (lie midrib,, and thence finds ils way by flu; channel of tlni stalk direct, to the heart, of flic-plant, ib it. the benefit of its roots and rising leaves. This is Ihe wa;" nature makes almost every plant its own irrigator; we must co-operate with lHatuve, and by the nse of the hoe assist th< v soil also to drink freely oP the dew of heaven, that we may enjoy thereby the fatness of the earth. — CanleiKr'n- M«gaz'me..