Weed-spuds are shown in Figs. 108 to 111. The first is particularly serviceable in cutting docks and other strong weeds from lawns and pastures. It is provided with a brace to allow it to be thrust into the ground with the foot. It is seldom necessary to dig out perennial weeds to the tips of their deep roots, if the crown is severed a short distance below the surface.
It is often essential that the land be compacted after it has been spaded or hoed, and some kind of hand-roller is then useful. Very efficient iron rollers are in the market, but a good one can be made from a hard chestnut or oak log, as shown in Fig. 112. (It should be remembered that when the surface is hard and compact, water escapes from it rapidly, and plants may suffer for moisture on arrival of warm weather.) The roller is useful in two ways—to compact the under-surface, in which case the surface should be again loosened as soon as the rolling is done; and to firm the earth about seeds (page 98) or the roots of newly set plants.
