42 VEGETABLE GROWING. 



Under this head we will consider also the transplant- 

 ing of plants from one bed to another. Soon after 

 plants that have been sown in a seed-bed begin to 

 show the second or third leaf, they will need to be 

 shifted and set oat thinner, or they will grow spindly 

 and leggy. Then, also, their root system will be de- 

 veloped very poorly, and after transplanting they 

 will either have to change their entire make up as a 

 plant or die ; either one of the two is expensive, as it 

 loses time for the vegetable grower. Some plants, as 

 cabbage and cauliflower, will do well with one shift- 

 ing ; others, as tomatoes and egg-plants, will do the 

 better for having been shifted two or three times. A 

 very good way is to have a hot- bed to grow the plants 

 from the seed, then shift them to a cold-frame ; this 

 will have to be many times larger than the hot-bed to 

 hold the same plants. It will not take long for the 

 plants to fill the space allowed them (for distance and 

 other special points refer to the special crops); then 

 another transfer will have to be made either to a cold- 

 frame or to a plant bed, depending on the variety and 

 time of the year. As mentioned before, the soil in 

 this should contain much undecomposed vegetable 

 matter. If this precaution be taken, it will not be 

 necessary to wait for a rain or to use water in trans- 

 planting. If paper pots (which can be bought for 

 $2 or $3 per thousand) are used, the plant can be 

 transplanted from the plant-bed quickly and without 

 shock to the plant at all. 



In fertilizing the land preparatory to transplanting, 

 the material should be worked in and mixed with the 

 soil thoroughly. It does not matter how small a par- 

 ticle of fertilizer may be in the soil, the plants will 



