Farm Tools And Their Uses

FARM TOOLS
Farm tools are instruments we use in the farm to aid us in farm work, thereby making it easy. Such equipments include cutlass, wheel barrow hoe, shovel and axe.

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PICK AXE
The pick axe is made up of a long wooden handle with a double headed thick metal blade that is attached to the handle through a loop.

The head of the pick axe is made up of two edges, one part of the end of the blade is pointed, while the other end is flat and sharp edged. They are mainly used for breaking up of hard soil, and digging up of roots and tree stumps.

HAND FORK
When it is viewed, the hand fork, looks like the kitchen fork we eat with, just that it is a little bit bigger, it has a short wooden or metal handle with four prongs. It is used in mixing manure into the soil, for breaking the surface of the soil, so that air and water, can pass easily and it is also used for the removal of weeds on the seed bed.

HAND TROWEL
It is boat shaped or it is either curved sloop metal blade that is attached to a short wooden or metal handle. When using it, you hold it with one hand. It helps in the transplanting of seedlings, for the application of fertilizer and also for the application of manure to the soil, it helps in loosening vegetable beds, it can also be used for light weeding, sampling or mixing up of soil and digging holes for the planting of seeds.

THE SICKLE
The sickle has a curved metal blade that is fitted into a short wooden handle. The inner part of the curved metal blade is very sharp while the other part, has a blunt edge.

To recognise a sickle when been viewed, it has a structure like that of a question mark (?). It used in the plucking of fruits. This can only be possible, when it is tied to a long handle, it can also be used to harvest cereals like rice, wheat barley because they possess thin stems. It can also be used in the harvest of grasses.

THE HAMMER
It is made up of a thick heavy metal head that is fitted into a straight wooden or metal handle. At the end of the thick heavy metal there is a prong which is used for the removal of nails. The hammer can be used for driving nails into wooden structures whether in the farm or at home, it can also be used to straighten damaged or bent components of either farm implements or our home furnitures. It can also be used in the removal of nails from wood.

THE MALLET
It is made up of a large head with a wooden handle that is similar to that of a hammer. The entire body is made up of wood. It is solely used for the hitting of woods like pegs, so that they would not be damaged in the process, when they are been hit into the ground.

SECATEURS
The secateurs are made up of two metal blades of which one has a concave curve while the other has a convex curve that are joined together at a point. It has two short metal handles with a spring in between them when handling it; you handle with one hand, while the plant branch to be cut is held with the other free hand.

To recognise the secateurs it looks like a pair of scissors. It is used for trimming flowers and the pruning of the branches of shrubs and trees.

THE SHEARS
It is seen as a pair of an enlarged pair of scissors with two long blades, connected at a appoint by a bolt and a nut of which the blades are sharpened at one edge not the two sides in other not to injure some one.

The handle of the shears may be made of wood, metal, plastic or rubber. It is usually handled with both hands. Shears are used to prune down trees or branches of shrubs, trimming of hedges and trimming of Ornamental plants used in house decoration.

WATERING CAN
It is made up of galvanized iron which prevents it from rusting. Some are also made of very synthetic rubber. The water watering can is made up of a tank, a handle and a spout. This spout is long with a perforated metal sheet over its mouth which is referred to as the ROSE, but in case of the rubber made watering can the mouth is covered by a rubber.

It is used to apply water to crops like seedlings in a nursery and vegetables. Some times it is used in applying liquid fertilizers to crops as well as the watering of cement blocks used for the constructions of structures and buildings.

CUTLASS
The cutlass is one of the commonest used farm tools in Nigeria. They come in various shapes and sizes. It is a flat long metal blade with a short wooden or plastic handle with one edge sharp while the other is blunt.

They perform many functions. It is used for the clearing of bushes around your homes, for the felling of big trees. It is used in harvesting crops like sugar cane, maize, cassava, yam and palm nut fruits. It is also used in the planting of melon during the planting season, cutlass can also be used for the transplanting of seedlings, weeding of crops, both in the digging of shallow holes and used in the trimming and pruning of flowers.

THE HOE
Hoe comes in different types, which are used in Nigeria today. There is the West African hoe and the Indian hoe. They both have metal blades with a wooden or metal blades.

Hoes are used in tilling the soil, harvesting of crops like cassava, sweet potato and cocoyam, weeding between the rows of crops, digging of drains, making trenches and foundation of farm houses, and the making of ridges and mounds.

The hoes all over the world perform the same function but we are going to differentiate them the West African hoe is made of short curve handle while the Indian hoe has a long handle.

The West African hoe has a round metal blade while the Indian hoe has a rectangular metal blade. The blade (metal) is attached to the handle with a prong while that of the Indian hoe is attached to the handle with a hoop.

THE SPADE
The spade is made up of a long rectangular flat blade which is attached to a fairly long cylindrical handle that widens at the posterior end to form a triangular block with a D-shaped whole for hand when used.

Spade is used for different proposes. It can be used for digging of holes and trenches around us, for leveling the ground, for making seedbeds, ridges, mounds and heaps, transplanting of seedlings like palm oil seedlings, turning the soil and the mixing of manures, light weeding in the farm and at home, mixing of cement and concrete for farm and home structures and the digging of foundations when constructing farm and home buildings.

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