TRANSPLANTING- 201 



lines and, with a flat spade or hoe inserted into the ground on the 

 other side of the line, to tilt over the seedlings, with the soil in which 

 they are standing, into the trench. The next line of seedlings can. 

 then be similarly tilted over into the trench produced by the 

 removal of the first line, and so on. If it is desired to maintain 

 the roots covered, the nurseryman has only to take out each plant 

 with the soil adhering thereto. Otherwise he can pick out the 

 plants one by one or several together ; and then, as in the process 

 of being tilted over the earth round the roots has already got 

 thoroughly loosened, it can easily be brushed or shaken off without 

 injury to the roots. 



If the plants are very large and stand well apart, then none of 

 the methods hitherto described will answer and the seedling will 

 have to be taken out with a curved or flat spade (Figs. 51 and 

 52), forced into the ground all round each plant. Or an ordinary 

 hoe or pick or any other implement may have to be used. 



F. Transplanting. 



If the plants are very small, they can be pricked out with the 

 finger or a stake, knotted lines being used, as in sowing, to guide 

 the nurseryman. If they are larger, the quickest plan is to put 

 them into furrows made with implements similar to those described 

 under the head of sowing (Figs. 27, 28 and 29), or with the 

 common hoe or spade. The furrows will necessarily be much 

 deeper and wider than those used for sowing. To facilitate the 

 distribution and setting out of the transplants in the lines, the 

 planting batten (Fig. 53) should be used. The batten, which 

 should be rather longer than the width of the planting bed, having 

 been placed across the bed over a furrow, its two ends resting on the 

 soil beyond, a plant is placed in each nick, where it is at once 

 held in position. The nurseryman has thus both hands free to 

 arrange the roots and fill up the furrow. When spades or ordinary 

 hoes are used, much time will be saved by combining the two op- 

 erations into a single one by filling up the trench just planted up 

 with the earth taken out in making the next one. Plants of some 

 size are best put into the middle of the furrow, as their roots require 

 to be spread out before the soil is put in ; smaller plants possessing 

 chiefly a single main root, may be put up against one side of the 

 furrow, which side should on that account be more or less vertical. 



If the plants are too large to be arranged in beds, pits must be 

 prepared for them. The pits should be rather larger and deeper 

 than would just suffice to hold the roots of a seedling. They may 



