How to Grow Plants from Seeds 193 
air and light to harden them properly. The plants will 
often become more tender when thus covered. 
It is best to reset plants late in the afternoon or during 
damp, cloudy weather if possible. In transplanting leafy 
plants like lettuce and cabbage, it is a common practice 
to cut or shear away part of the larger leaves and thus 
decrease loss of water by reducing the leaf surface. 
Plants grown in pots, berry boxes, or dirt bands can be 
transplanted with very little injury to the root system. 
: If compelled to buy plants for transplanting, the 
gardener should select the most stocky plants and in- 
sist that they be carefully removed from the earth, 
U.S. D. A. 
Fre. 115. The effect of transplanting on the root development of celery plants. 
The two plants at the left were transplanted several times; those at the right 
were grown without transplanting. 
