CH. VI 



SOWING AND PLANTING 179 



slipped in as into a sheath (Fig. 60) and pressed in to make 

 thorough contact. This is a point which must be paid 

 particular attention to, for nothing is worse for a plant 

 than to be suspended over a void. The earth would 

 gradually settle, the root-collum would become exposed, 

 and the plant, no longer being properly supported, 

 would ultimately lie prostrate. 



With plants taken up with the Ceylon transplanter 

 (Fig. 41), the metal cylinder should be removed before 

 they are put in. 



(2) Planting ivithout Balls of Earth. The plants 

 having been lifted in the nursery with great care, they 

 can be transported to the field by one or more of the 

 various methods already described above. But, as the 

 roots are not protected by balls of earth, special care 

 must be devoted to keeping the transplants fresh. 

 The baskets or crates in which they are packed should 

 be lined with damp moss, if available ; if not, with damp 

 grass, ferns, or twigs. The plants may be laid in layers 

 horizontally, and again covered with shading material 

 which can be sprinkled with water. When the trans- 

 port is fairly long, the plants may have their roots 

 dipped in a mixture of fine clay and water before they 

 are packed, or cow-dung may replace the clay. This 

 will form a thin protective covering over them, and 

 prevent them from drying up too rapidly. 



With transplants without balls of earth, even more 

 than with those which have them, it may be necessary 

 to prune or stump them, and this is especially the case 

 with large transplants. The roots, having to establish 

 themselves in their new medium, would in many cases 

 find it hard, at the same time, to supply the crowns 

 with the necessary moisture and food. 



The planting of small seedlings which have not yet 

 developed any important lateral roots may be done by 

 making a hole in the ground with a planting -stake 

 (Fig. 42) if the ground has been previously prepared, 

 or with a similar implement shod with iron called the 

 "planting dagger" (Fig. 61), or " Buttlar's iron ' ; 



