1 86 AGRICULTURE 



same packing of the seeds against the soil in the bottom 

 of the furrow can be secured by rolling an empty wheel- 

 barrow over them before they are covered. The ground 

 must not be wet when packed. Loose soil should cover 

 the footprints or the track of the wheelbarrow. This 

 loose layer of soil keeps the moisture from rising above 

 the seeds and evaporating. 



How to set a young plant. Many kinds of vegetable 

 seeds, such as those of cabbage and tomatoes, are sown 

 in boxes or hotbeds before they are safely planted out 

 of doors. In these boxes or hotbeds the seeds should be 

 planted thickly in tiny trenches several inches apart. If 

 possible, the plants should be thinned as soon as they show 

 the first well-developed true leaf. The surplus plants should 

 be transplanted to other boxes or to other parts of the cold- 

 frame. Plants that have been moved once while still in boxes 

 or coldframes are stronger, better shaped, have a better 

 root system, and grow better when placed in the garden. 

 Let the plant grow several inches high in the seed-box if it 

 must be transplanted directly from the box to the garden. 



In transplanting, avoid doubling the roots. If the 

 ground is so dry that the young plants must be watered 

 when transplanted, first punch the hole ; next insert the 

 plant; then pour in a cupful of water, which will settle 

 the soil snugly around the roots. Last and most impor- 

 tant of all, draw up loose, drier soil around the plant and 

 over the wet spot. Every time a young plant is watered, 

 the wet spot should afterwards be covered with loose, dry 

 soil to hold the moisture and to keep a crust from forming. 

 When rather large plants are transplanted, it is best to 



