VEGETABLE CROPS. 693 



removing the calico, giving- them air, light, and sunshine "on fine days, and 

 covering up in the evenings or during cold spells or frosts, they should 

 presently became stout and stocky plants. After they are once set out, do 

 not give them much watering, or they may be inclined to draw up and 

 become lanky and tender. 



The main point in a frame or bed of this character is to keep it dry and 

 warm, and in transplanting into it, care must be taken that the plants are 

 not much lower than they sat in the seed-bed, as the deeper they are set the 

 more liable they are to damp off. If any plants have got rather down in 

 the seed-bed, and become long-shanked, they should be laid slanting, just 

 below the surface, and they will take root along the stem, and become stout 

 and stocky plants after all. The drier the bed is kept (with discretion) the 

 better. When they become 5 or 6 inches high, some will want to outrun 

 their neighbours; these should be pinched in a little, so as to allow the 

 •weaker plants to come up uniform in strength before putting out. Any 

 suckers that may appear should also be removed if it is intended to grow 

 for early fruit. 



For successive crops seed may be sown at intervals in the open, after the 

 frosts are gone. Prepare a bit of rich soil, and strike out drills not more 

 than half an inch deep. Sow thinly, cover lightly, and water sparingly. 

 The young plants should show up within a week, and if it is desired to push 

 them along, transplant into a nursery bed when they get their third leaf, 

 putting them 5 or 6 inches apart as previously advised, and then follow on 

 as before. Seed may be sown from June (under cover) to end of January, 

 and crops may be grown for eight months in the year — in some favoured 

 spots even longer. 



Transplanting. 



When all is ready for removing the young plants into the field, they 

 should have a good watering some hours before, so that the roots will retain 

 hold of as much soil as possible. The earth may be cut both ways between 

 the plants with a sharp spade or knife, and lifted underneath also. When 

 the plants are lifted out, as much soil should go with each as may remain 

 with the roots, taking care not to break the fine rootlets, so that the plants 

 may suffer as little shock as possible. A large number may be lifted, and 

 carried out to the field at one time by using large board trays or other rough 

 appliances made for the purpose. In fact the plants may be treated in 

 every way the same as when transplanting cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, 

 &c., either with the plough, spade, or trowel. Plant at least one inch 

 deeper than in the frame, and if the quantity is not very large, evening is 

 the best time for moving them, or after showers. 



Unless the soil is dry, do not use water in the transplanting as the plants 

 are liable to damp off in cold wet soil. They may need shading a little in the 

 heat of the day for the first two or three days after moving, otherwise the 

 more light and air they get the better. 



It is better to plant 4i feet or 5 feet apart, and to stake them up like vines 

 in a vineyard, instead of letting them trail on the ground, as some do. 

 These latter hardly bear as well, and are far more subject to disease than 

 those supported from the earth. The land should be kept clean between 

 the rows and plants, as in any other well-tended crop. 



