42 GARDEN FARMING 



far enough to allow the earth to fall about the roots of the plants 

 and be compacted by the firming shoes or rollers. As each plant 

 is placed, the machine automatically discharges a small quantity of 

 water about its roots. A machine of this type is shown in figure 1 1 , 

 page 46. 



Depth of planting. The depth at which to plant varies with the 

 requirements of the plants. Such vegetables as tomatoes, egg-plants, 

 and those which readily send out roots from their stems can be set 

 deep, but those which have a definite crown, or division, between 

 root and stem should be set so that the crown is not forced below 

 the surface of the earth. In this respect strawberries are perhaps 

 the most exacting of any plants with which the gardener will have 

 to deal. The distances at which to plant will be discussed later 

 under each of the crops. 



Growing plants for transplanting purposes. From a cultural 

 standpoint, agricultural and truck crops raised for profit may be 

 divided into two groups : ( i ) those which are grown from seed 

 planted where the crop is to mature ; and (2) those grown from 

 seed placed under special conditions and transplanted to the field 

 when the soil and atmospheric conditions will allow such exposure. 

 Among the crops which are extensively handled in artificially pre- 

 pared seed beds are the following : cabbage, onions, beets, sweet 

 potatoes, celery, tobacco, tomatoes, peppers, and, less extensively, 

 sugar cane and cassava the last two being crops which are 

 grown. by transplanting, but for which no special seed beds are 

 prepared. With all of these crops the time and method of trans- 

 planting to the open, as well as the resistance of the crop to cold, 

 determine to a large extent the type of seed bed in which the 

 young plants are grown. For instance, cabbage, for the early crop 

 at the South, is sown in September for transplanting to the field 

 in December ; while at the North seeds are sown either in cold 

 frames in September and wintered under cover, to be transplanted 

 to the open early in the spring, or in the greenhouse or hotbed in 

 March. In the case of onions of the Bermuda type, it is the com- 

 mon practice in Texas to sow the seed in September or October 

 in specially prepared seed beds, which can be irrigated, and to 

 allow the young onions to grow until sometime in December, when 

 they are transplanted to the field. At the North all the onions 



