TRANSPLANTING 



71 



certain plants should be transplanted. It is practically 

 a necessary operation in every garden and florist establish- 

 ment, for the following reasons: (1) It is easier to take 

 care of a large number of small plants and protect them 

 from disease, insects, weeds, and drought if they are located 

 on a small area than if scattered over the field. (2) Cer- 

 tain crops, such as cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, etc., 

 may be started in a small greenhouse, hotbed, or cold 



Fig. 23. A device for transplanting lettuce and a seed-bed firmer, in the 

 foreground; hotbeds in the background. 



frame much earlier than they possibly could be in the 

 open ground. (3) Better use of land may be made. 

 Plants started in a frame or seed bed may follow a crop 

 that has been sown in the open ; as, for example, late celery 

 may take the place of radishes or early peas. (4) Some 

 plants, such as celery, form a fine fibrous root system if 

 transplanted once or twice before final planting in the field. 

 This enables them to become established more quickly in 



