192 



Gardening 



FIG. 114. Right and wrong ways to treat a potted seedling before transplant- 

 ing. The plant at the left was kept well watered and the roots were undisturbed. 

 The transplanting will check its growth only slightly, if at all. The roots of the 

 plant in the center were also undisturbed, but the plant has been given no water 

 for 24 hours. It will probably be set back severely in its growth. The plant at 

 the right was kept watered, but the roots were pulled from the soil and left ex- 

 posed to the air for about an hour. It will take it some time to get a new root 

 system fixed in the soil. The plant on the left will make a better plant and will 

 mature fruit at least one or two weeks before either of the others. 



Replanting, even when carefully done, destroys some 

 of the roots of a plant, and for a time those that are left 

 may be unable to supply the leafy parts with all the 

 water they need. For this reason freshly reset plants 

 should be kept shaded from direct sunlight for at least 

 24 hours after the replanting; in hot, dry weather a 

 shading for 3 days may be necessary. Protection from 

 the sunlight may be had by arranging a sheet of news- 

 paper, lifted in the center like a wedge tent (not as a 

 cone) , with dirt or stones thrown on the corners to hold 

 it in place ; or a shingle may be thrust in the ground 

 on the sunny side. Do not place earthen or paper pots 

 over young plants to shade them, as this does not allow 



