288 LUTHER BURBANK 



but it is absolutely necessary if one wishes to 

 attain the best success. No part of the program 

 can be omitted without risk of loss or injury to 

 the seeds. 



When the seedlings have two to four leaves it 

 is best to transplant them into other boxes, 

 whether they are large or small, in order to give 

 them more room in which to develop. 



In each box used for raising seedlings we put 

 about sixty-four, or sometimes late in the season 

 as many as one hundred specimens. They are 

 allowed to grow until toward spring when the 

 weather becomes warm, about the time of the 

 blooming of fruit trees, when they are ready to 

 be transplanted to the open fields. 



Some of the smallest plants raised in green- 

 houses, like calceolarias, lobelias, begonias, ferns, 

 etc., may readily be transplanted, even when they 

 can hardly be seen, by lifting them on the end of 

 a moistened quill, pencil, or small knife blade, 

 placing them on the soil which has been previously 

 moistened as before described, then covering with 

 a glass for a few days until the young plantlets 

 can get established. 



This is the quickest and best method of trans- 

 planting some of the smallest seedlings, and 

 though apparently tedious is often the most 

 speedy and profitable mode. 



