Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-08-02
THE PHILOSOPHY OF HoElNo.

Few who have had considerable ex-
perience in the work of the garden will
be disposed to question the utility of the
hoe in the production of various crops,
however much they may differ in their
estimate of the measure of its useful
ness Unlike some other implements,
the use of the hoe is not limited to any
particular purpose; it is able to render
services of varied character, and some
of these services would appear to be not
fully appreciated. By some cultivators
is believed to be of value chiefly for
the assistance it is enabled to render in
the repression of weeds; but valuable
as it undoubtedly is for that purpose,
it is equally useful as a means by which
the soil may be aerated and the moisture
conserved. In a season Of drought, like
the one through which we are now pass
ing, it is of Importance to conserve the
moisture in the soil as far as possible,
and there are two means by which the
evaporation from the surface may be
checked. One is to mulch with partly
decayed manure, refuse straw, or any
other vegetable matter in the prelimi-
nary stage of decay, and the other the
maintenance of a loose surface. We
fully appreciate the advantages of liberal
mulchings. but in summer like this
but few cultivatois can obtain sufficient
material with which to mulch the whole,
,,r ;,,,l D.,
of the quarters under crops but all who
have hoe may, by keeping it in con-
slant use, obtain the advantages, but in
"A lesser degree, to be derived from a
coating of vegetable matter. TO be in a
position to fully appreciate the value of
the hoe in conserving moisture it is
necessary to take into consideration
some of the physical properties of soils
and the changes that take place IN them
under certain conditions. Soils in
moderately fine state of division have
the power, by means of capillary at
/ traction, to draw up water from below
to the surface, as proved by what takes
place when a flower pot filled with soil
is placed in "A saucer containing TWO or
three inches of water. The water rises
to the surface of the soil, and when this
becomes hardened from any cause it is
acted upon by the full power of the sun,
and evaporation proceeds at very rapid
rate. In the process of drying under
the influence of the sun strong loans
! nd ola e1 torio nj
/ ly the surface commences to crack, and
/ if the drought continues, the crevicrs
extend two or three feet below the sur
face. When this is the case the evapo.
rative surface is enormously increased,
as the moisture escapes in the form of
vapnr from the sides of the crevices as
well as from the surface, the plants are
deprived of much of the moisture with
which, under more favorable conditions,
they would be supplied, and the roots
are injured, some by direct exposure to
atmospheric influences, and others by
being deprived of the necessary volume
of air, the compressed state of the soil
consequent on its being dried preventing
the air passing readily through it. A
layer of loose soil will efiectualiy pre-.
vent cracking, and materially a, sist in
checking evaporation, and there is no
means by which the surface can be so
readily loosened as by the hoe. Much
of the time that is taken up in watering
crops in some gardens might he more
profitably employed in loosenng the
surface soil, and in seasons like the
present the constant use of the hoe
should be regarded as not less essential
dant.- The Gardeners Magazine.