68 



PRINCIPLES OF PLANT CULTURE 



ment of other growing points farther back. Transplant- 

 ing or root pruning accomplishes this in the case of roots 

 (Fig. 31). While these operations may not often increase 

 the total number of root-tips, and hence may not enable 

 the plant to take up a greater amount of nourishment, 

 they do cause the development of a more compact root 

 system, which is of great advantage to young plants grown 

 in the seed-bed or nursery for subsequent transplanting. 



FIG. 32. The effects of transplanting on root growth of celery plants. 

 The left two plants were transplanted when quite small ; the right 

 two were not. 



105. Pricking off young seedlings, i.e., transplanting 

 them from the soil in which they grew to other soil, 

 where they have more room, is an important preparation 

 for their final transplanting. They should receive as 

 good care after pricking off as before, with which they 

 soon develop many new rootlets near the base of the stem, 

 that need be little injured in the later removal (Fig. 

 32). 



106. Nursery trees are benefited by transplanting 



