Throttle Control: The throttle control lever adjusts the engine speed and stops the engine. With the throttle control lever pushed completely forward, the carburetor is in START position. Pulling the throttle control back slightly adjusts the engine speed to FAST. Pulling the throttle back further reduces the engine speed to SLOW. Pull the throttle completely back to stop the engine.
Use maximum engine speed for deep tilling. Move the throttle control to SLOW when transporting the tiller.
Transporting The Tiller
To transport the tiller to or from the garden, pivot the depth stake forward, out of the way. See Figure 12. With the throttle control in SLOW position, the unit will walk freely on top of the lawn. If the operator does not allow the tiller to move freely, the unit will start to till the surface.
Cultivating
For cultivating, a two to three inch depth is desirable. Setting the wheels and depth stake so that the wheels are about two inches above the ground while the tiller is resting on the tines and depth stake will allow the machine to work at cultivating depth. The throttle should be set to control forward movement to a slow walking speed. With the outer tines installed, the working width of the machine is 22 or 24 inches. For cultivation, this may be reduced to 13 inches by removing the outer tines. Refer to Tine Width Adjustment in Adjustment section. When laying out plant rows, be sure to allow enough width to permit cultivation between the rows. In growing corn or similar crops,
Figure 14
The tiller has many uses other than tilling and cultivating a garden. One of these is the preparation of lawn area for seeding. The tiller will prepare a deep seed bed which will be free of hard untilled spots, allowing a better stand of grass to grow. The tiller is very useful for loosening hard soil for excavation with a shovel. No tedious hand pickwork will be necessary. Your tiller may be used for mixing compost in the pile, or for mixing it with the soil in your garden. This should be done after the soil has been broken to the full working depth. The compost should be worked in to a depth of six to seven inches. This may be done by working the length of the garden, and then by making separate passes across its width. The addition of decayed organic matter will substantially increase the fertility of your garden. For proper decaying action, fertilizer should be applied and worked in with the mulch materials. Breaking up leaves and straw and mixing it with several inches of soil causes the soil to hold moisture longer and allows proper aeration of the plant root system. This also retards the growth of weeds.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and various state and local agencies offer published booklets and expert advice on all phases of gardening. They should be consulted regarding soil information, planting dates, and the most satisfactory varieties of crop for your particular area.
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