CHAPTER IV 



TRANSPLANTING 



TRANSPLANTING is one test of a good 

 gardener, another is the care of the plants 

 after they are gotten into the ground — the care- 

 ful cultivation that forbids a weed to show its 

 head above ground, or a crust to form on the soil 

 after a rain ; these two successful operations spell 

 success in the garden — their absence failure. 



For several days before the young plants in 

 the hotbed are to be put into the ground they 

 should be hardened by leaving the sash en- 

 tirely off and by occasionally withholding water 

 that they may be accustomed to the irregular 

 water supply of the open ground, but the beds 

 should be well watered the night before trans- 

 planting that the plants may absorb enough mois- 

 ture to carry them through the ordeal of trans- 

 planting and that the soil may have sufficient 

 moisture to adhere to the roots. 



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