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e-book:
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Ministry of Agriculture Allotment &
Garden Guide
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Click image for
facsimile of
page 4 December 1945
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About those TOOLS
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Now is the time of year when you ought to take stock of your tools and buy
any replacements, so that you will be ready for next season. There are a
number of little things that matter when you are choosing new tools and the
following hints may be helpful, especially in these days when quality seems
to have suffered. When getting a spade, make sure that it's comfortable to
handle. And see that the wide ends of the grain are at the side of the
handle, otherwise it might split later on and tear your hands, or even break
with a heavy strain. The rivet on the shaft should be well sunk and smoothed
off, or again your hands may suffer.
A good fork should be properly forged and should ring clearly when
you knock the prongs on the floor. Gardeners generally prefer a flattish
trowel, or the very round sort makes the work much harder. Take care, too,
in buying rakes and hoes. A very tin handle is not comfortable to grip, so
try it in the shop before you take it away. The hoe should be properly
welded, as it will have some tough work to do when the ground is very hard.
The teeth of an iron rake should be riveted firmly or they will soon fall
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 Better still, get one that is cast in one piece.
If you have no need to buy, it will repay you to take care of what
you have. See that all your tools are stored in a safe place. Spades, hoes,
trowels, rakes and forks should be thoroughly cleaned, dried and well oiled
before being put away for their short rest. Nets should also be well dried
and neatly rolled up, the garden line cleaned of soil and stored safely in a
dry place, barrows put under cover and, if necessary, given a coat of
paint—if you can get it. Well-kept garden tools make the work so much
easier, for a sharp, well-kept spade demands far less energy than one that
has not had its regular cleaning and oiling.
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Christmas and the gardener
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Gardeners are a clanny, generous crowd as a rule, and the coming of the
first peace-time Christmas may afford them an opportunity to give presents
that may come in useful next gardening season—possibly for many seasons to
come, according to the kind of gift. Most of us gardeners are seldom blessed
with too many tools, for instance. |
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And there is a wide range from a trowel costing
a few shillings to a wheelbarrow for a few pounds.
Then a good gardening
book is always a good "buy." To-day, more than ever before, gardeners
are seeking knowledge and generally the bookseller has a section of his
shelves devoted to gardening books from a few shillings upwards.
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