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verize, while the moisture that should be sealed up and pre- 

 served in the ground by the harrow for the use of the coming 

 crop is allowed to evaporate and waste. 



About ten days before planting lay off the ground with a 

 shovel plow, running the rows three to three and a half feet 

 apart. Scatter the fertilizer in the furrow, mix by running 

 once or twice with a scooter, and then bed as if for cotton. 

 Just before planting drag the beds down with the back of the 

 harrow, or with a heavy plank drag so that the top of the bed 

 will not be more than two or three inches higher than the 

 water furrow. This will drag all trash or clods to the middles, 

 and will leave a bed of moist, mellow, but slightly compacted 

 soil to receive the plants. 



When the plants are taken up, the old leaves and runners 

 should be pulled off and the plants should be bunched with 

 the roots all lying one way. It is not necessary to tie the 

 bundles except where they are to be sold by count. Pack 

 them closely side by side, if in a box with the roots down, or 

 if in a barrel with the roots to the center. Always keep 

 plants covered with dampened sacks to prevent drying. 

 When ready to begin planting, put an inch or two of water in 

 an ordinary wooden bucket and pack in a layer of plants 

 with their roots in the water, this keeps them fresh and also 

 causes the soil to adhere more closely to the roots when 

 planted. The planting crew consists of a man with a bright, 

 sharp spade, and a small boy with the bucket of plants. The 

 man sets the spade in front of him, with the corner of the 

 blade at the spot where the plant is to stand, throws his 

 weight on it, driving the sharp blade full length in the mellow 

 soil, and then pushes it from him so as to open a wedge 

 shaped hole behind the spade. The boy has a plant ready, 

 holding it by the top, and with a slight swinging motion, 

 brings the plant to its place in the corner of the hole, with its 

 roots extending full length, and the crown held just at the 

 surface of the ground. The man withdraws the spade, setting 

 it forward ready for the next plant, and as the dirt falls back 

 about the plant he puts his foot on it, pressing it closely 

 about the roots. With a little practice, plants can be set in 



