Planting 63 



the variety and the time of the year. As mentioned 

 before, the soil should contain much vegetable matter. If 

 this precaution is taken, it will not be necessary to wait 

 for a rain or to use water in transplanting. If paper pots 

 (which can be bought for two or three dollars a thousand) 

 are used, the plant can be transplanted from the plant-bed 

 to the field quickly and without any shock. 



In fertilizing the land preparatory to transplanting, the 

 material should be worked in and mixed with the soil 

 thoroughly. No matter how small the particles of fer- 

 tilizer may be in the soil, the plants will find them. A 

 thorough distribution is very necessary. Plants cannot 

 take in such substances wholesale; while some kinds of 

 fertilizer do not kill a plant when used in big lumps, a very 

 large portion of such doses is not available, or only so 

 after considerable time. Too much fertilizer is rarely 

 used, but it is often used indiscreetly. 



The best time to transplant is just before a rain ; but 

 when there are ten or twenty acres to be planted, the work 

 must go ahead when the proper time comes, whether there 

 is a rain or not. It is no easy task to put out and water 

 an acre of tomatoes or half an acre of cabbage in a day. 



Much of this hard work may be avoided by using a 

 transplanter. Many machines have been constructed 

 and put on the market to do this work. Some are operated 

 by hand, allowing a person to stand in a partially erect 

 position. They do the work more or less efficiently, 

 but for the lack of perfection, none has come into general 

 use. There are also machines that are drawn by horses, 

 but the plants must be put in place by hand. Some of 

 these machines do excellent work, and would be used 



