TRANSPLANTING. 87 



soil and smooth off the surface, so that water shall not 

 lodge thereon. When one trench is finished, set the plants 

 in the next, and proceed as before. When all is completed, 

 dig a shallow trench around the whole, so as to carry off 

 the water and keep the situation dry. 



Fig. 29. 



Fig. 29 shows the form of the trenches with the embank- 

 ment against which the vines are placed. But the trenches 

 are shown at a considerable distance apart ; this, of course, 

 is not as it would be in fact, because the first trench is filled 

 up in making the second, so that the trenches are actually 

 joined together side by side, and the vines in the two rows 

 need not be more than a foot apart. The entire vine may 

 be covered, if desirable, to protect the top from being 

 injured by cold (the dotted line over both trenches in the 

 above figure shows the form of the embankment when the 

 whole top is covered) ; or the vines may be cut back before 

 they are heeled-in, but in either case, if the whole vine is 

 covered, it is best not to do it too early in the fall, nor let 

 the earth remain on too long in the spring. It is also best 

 to assort the vines before cutting off the tops, because we 

 can better judge of the condition of the roots by the ap 

 pearance of the tops than we can after they are removed 

 The roots may be abundant and large, yet if they are not 

 well ripened they are of but little value, and it is not 

 always an easy matter to determine their condition when 

 coated with soil, as they usually are when first taken from 

 the ground. 



