The Scuffle Hoe—A Valuable Tool for Small Plot Work on Non‐Rocky Soils

AT THE Everglades Experiment Station -the scuffle hoe -tA-has proved to be a very valuable tool in the maintenance of the grass garden and in other areas where clean, smooth alleys are desirable. Its outstanding advantage is the rapidity and ease with which a person can clean an area of its vegetation while leaving a smooth surface that is easily raked. The implement, through minor shifting of the handle may be used as (1) a deep or shallow suction drag hoe, (2) a deep or shallow suction spear point push hoe ideal for cutting and shaping large turf sections, and (3) a vertical edger hoe in either push or pull actions. The tempered steel construction permits an almost razorsharp edge to be honed on the cutting surfaces. The design consists of a flat, triangular plate riveted to an L-shaped bar which is flanged into a' hollow tube that serves as the housing for the long, wooden handle. See figure 1. This long handle permits horizontal movement of the blade without forcing labor into a stooped position and causing a crowded condition of the hands. When the cutting is difficult, body movement through straight armed position can develop the needed force with only minor movements of the legs. The cutting plate is an 8% X % X H% ih isoceles triangle with the two forward cutting edges at 45° to the trailing edge. This design permits two-way cutting without lifting the instrument from the soil surface. Most weeds and grasses have a given elevation in relation to the soil surface in which their resistances to shear