Planting 27 



Never set wilted plants ; put them in water or heel them 

 in until they recover. If the plants were frozen between 

 the nursery and the farm, open the bundle, wet them 

 thoroughly and put them in a dark, cool cellar, packed in 

 moss or sand. They will not be injured if thawed slowly. 



Heeling4n, 



Unless the plants are home-grown, it is nearly always 

 desirable to heel them in for a few days at least before 

 they are set permanently in the field. It is essential to 

 have an open, well-drained soil, preferably on a slight 

 slope so that there will be good surface drainage. A 

 shallow trench is opened with a spade deep enough to 

 hold the roots without cramping them, and with the land 

 side slanting a little. The bundles are opened and the 

 plants spread thinly along the trench, crowns even with 

 the surface. The plants are not trimmed unless they are 

 to stay there a month or more. The roots of this first 

 row of plants are covered with soil removed in the next 

 course of the spade, and so on with successive rows. The 

 soil is tramped very firmly over the roots. A trench 

 about fifteen feet long will accommodate 1000 plants. 

 Stake each variety, water often and keep the bed shaded 

 with sacks, lath screens or straw when the sun is hot. 

 Should there be freezing weather, cover it lightly with 

 straw. Plants may be kept heeled in several weeks, if 

 necessary, while waiting to put the land in good condition 

 for planting, or for a cool cloudy day. They throw out 

 new roots and the leaves become darker green. How- 

 ever, the sooner strawberry plants are set in their per- 

 manent quarters the better. Ordinarily plants are heeled 

 in for only two or three weeks. Occasionally they are 

 kept in the bed much longer, as in a method called "the 



