SEEDS AND SEEDING 



III 



ONE-HORSE SEEDER WITH FERTILIZER 

 DISTRIBUTOR 



chief advantages claimed for the universal practice 

 of transplanting by gardeners. This process of 

 preparation is accomplished in a variety of ways. 

 Cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce, celery and eggplant are 

 usually sown in flats or directly in the soil of green- 

 house beds or hotbeds, in drills or rows. When of 

 the proper size for 

 transplanting to 

 their permanent 

 location they are 

 carefully lifted 

 and set by hand 

 or by transplanting 

 machines. These 

 seedlings are often 

 transplanted once 

 or twice in the 

 hotbeds before fijially transplanted to the field. 

 This practice has the advantage of developing a 

 compact, much-branched root system that with- 

 stands the final transplanting very well. 



Plants requiring a long season for their proper 

 development are likewise started in the hotbeds or 

 greenhouses in order that they may be ready to 

 remove to outdoor conditions as well-developed 

 plants by the time the seed could normally be 

 planted directly in the soil. This results in pro- 

 longing the season for growth several weeks. 

 Cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons, are often 

 started in advance of the normal planting time by 

 planting the seed in small squares of sod turned 

 grass side down, or in old berry baskets, paper pots 

 or the common earthen pots. In a small way old 

 fruit cans may be used for this purpose after hav- 

 ing the tops and bottoms melted off. When desired 



