156 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



better to start the work in three or four weeks from sow- 

 ing, or when the true leaves are forming. If many plants 

 are to be pricked out, the work should be started 

 promptly and completed as soon as possible, in order to 

 prevent the plants from becoming spindly. 



If flats are to be used, the work may proceed as fol- 

 lows : Place about ^4 inch of partly rotted manure in the 

 bottom of the flat and fill with soil. See that the soil is 

 firm over the entire box and especially in the corners and 

 along the sides. With a leveling strip remove the surplus 

 soil and leave the surface smooth. The holes may be 

 made with a machine (Figure 37), or by the use of the 

 transplanting board (Figure 36). When the board is 

 used it should rest firmly on the soil over the entire sur- 

 face; hold the board in place with one hand, and with 

 the other punch the holes with the dibber shown in 

 Figure 36. A boy will soon learn to do this work very 

 rapidly. If the soil is in proper condition and the board 

 and the dibber are used skillfully, every hole will remain 

 open when the board is removed. 



The seedlings should be watered at least 24 hours 

 before being transplanted, so the tops will be dry and the 

 work of transplanting be greatly facilitated. The soil 

 will be moist enough for the plants to be removed with- 

 out serious mutilation of the roots. The plants should 

 be handled carefully and kept in orderly arrangement in 

 order to save time in dropping. The flat which has been 

 previously dibbled is placed lengthwise on the bench or 

 the table. A bunch of plants is held in an orderly posi- 

 tion in the left hand near the holes while the other hand 

 drops a good plant into each hole, beginning at the left 

 end of the far row, and leaning it against the side of the 

 hole toward the side of the flat farthest from the worker. 

 The plants are dropped in the same manner in each row 

 of holes, all the plants leaning in the same direction. The 

 observance of these details is of importance for speedy 



