40 GARDEN FARMING 



as are many alluvial soils containing large amounts of organic 

 matter, and does not compact readily but adheres to implements, it 

 is necessary to use a steel or metal-pointed dibble. If the soil 

 contains a large percentage of clay or sand, the dibble may be 

 simply a sharp stick. 



In setting plants with a dibble one precaution should be observed. 

 After an opening in the soil has been made by inserting and with- 

 drawing the dibble, the plant should be established, not by com- 

 pressing the soil around the base of the plant with the thumb and 

 fingers, but by inserting the dibble at a distance of two or three 

 inches to one side of the plant and to the same depth as the open- 

 ing, and then giving the dibble a side thrust toward the plant. This 

 operation closes up entirely the opening made to receive the plant, 

 and places the soil in contact with the plant root throughout its whole 



length, while the common 

 practice of firming the plant 

 with the thumb and fingers 

 leaves an unoccupied space 

 below the point where the 

 soil is moved by the fingers ; 

 that is, the plant is sus- 

 pended in a hole. In such 



FIG. o. Improper and proper use of dibble . . ... ., , 



in setting plants a P OSltlOn * 1S ^pOSSibk 



for the active roots of the 



plant to come in contact with the soil and to establish themselves so 

 that they can provide the necessary food and water ; as a result the 

 plant withers and dies. Figure 9 shows the proper use of the dibble 

 in setting plants and also a plant set and fixed with the fingers. 



Reducing the leaf area. Another important point to be con- 

 sidered in transplanting, particularly in connection with plants 

 grown in a seed bed and dibbled out, is the reduction of the leaf 

 area. With strawberries, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc., which 

 have broad, succulent leaves and which evaporate a large amount 

 of moisture, it is desirable to make the leaf area as small as pos- 

 sible in order that the greatly reduced ability of the root to supply 

 moisture may not be overtaxed. After a plant has been removed 

 from the soil and before its roots are established, it cannot provide 

 its leaves with the accustomed supply of moisture. The result is 



