Planting 41 



sweet potatoes and celery plants, are used somewhat for 

 strawberries when the acreage is large. One man drives, 

 one or two others get the plants into shape for the droppers 

 and another follows the machine in order to set foot on 

 every plant and to reset any that were not planted well. 

 A machine will set 10,000 to 20,000 plants a day. The 

 grower is more independent of the weather, since the ma- 

 chine waters the plants as they are set. The main dis- 

 advantage is that the plants are not always set at the 

 right depth. A machine may give as good results as 

 hand setting and be somewhat cheaper, when a large 

 acreage is to be set. 



When home-grown plants are to be set, especially in 

 midsummer or early fall, a hand transplanter may be 

 useful. The transplanter is placed over a strong runner 

 and pushed into the soil to the brim; then it is lifted, 

 taking the plant and a ball of soil with it. The plant is 

 pushed into the hole with an "ejector." At least a 

 hundred transplanting cups are needed so that a wheel- 

 barrow load of plants may be carried at one time. Trans- 

 planters are used only when the soil is moist. The 

 plants suffer little check, and leaf pruning is unneces- 

 sary. Transplanters are useful for summer or fall plant- 

 ing in the home garden and for commercial growers who 

 have a small area under intensive culture. 



Potted plants are set by inverting the pot, jarring the 

 soil loose with a sharp knock and setting firmly without 

 breaking the ball of roots. The cost of setting layer plants 

 in the field is about fifty cents a thousand. Ordinarily a 

 man will set two to three thousand ; some men set four 

 to five thousand under favorable conditions. Two set- 

 ters and one dropper should set five to seven thousand 

 plants a day. 



