, THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 153 



mature, which will be of greater value to you in succeeding years. 



Transplanting should be done preferably dming showery weather, 

 or in the late afternoon, and the plants will take hold more quickly. If 

 they are shaded in some way for a few days, especially if the weather 

 is windy and sunny, all the better. An irrigation system is of the 

 greatest benefit, in transplanting or planting, as the -work can be done 

 at any time with an almost positive certainty of success. In all trans- 

 plemting the soil ought to be pressed firmly. 



Seeds may be sown directly in the soil, but usually it is better to 

 sow in "flats" or seed pans, which can be moved about from one sash 

 to Einother and handled more conveniently in transplanting. Small 

 seeds should be barely covered from sight, while larger ones should be 

 covered to the depth mentioned on page 151. It is important to press 

 the seed firmly into the soil when sowing. Tag each veiriety care- 

 fully and water with a fine spray so as not to wash out any of the seeds. 



As soon as the little seedlings are up it will be necessEiry to give 

 some fresh air every day or two to keep them healthy and vigorous, 

 the temperature being kept at from 60 to 75 deg. according to the 

 things being grown. As soon as- the first two or three true leaves ap- 

 pear, the seedlings should be transplanted, either into other "flats" or 

 into the frames, setting them from two to three inches apart each way 

 so they wiU have plenty of room. 



During this season watering should be done only on bright morn- 

 ings so that the soil will have a chance to dry off before night, as this 

 will lessen the danger of "damping oif." Avoid cr\rer-watering, as the 

 soil dries out very slowly when the sashes have to be kept on most of 

 the time. 



Tomatoes, Peppers and Egg-plants should be transplanted a 

 second time, preferably to pots, before being set out of doors. If they 

 have been given plenty of room at the first shift in the frames or flats, 

 they can be put into three and a half or fom-inch pots, and be in 

 bud and blossom when set into the garden. 



It is very important that all plants, whether hardy or tender, 

 should be "hardened off" carefully before being moved from the 

 frames to the open garden. To do this, leave them uncovered all the 

 time for several days and nights before you set them out, putting on 

 the sashes only if frost threatens. Should plants inadvertently get 

 touched by frost, watering them with ice-cold water in the morning 

 and keeping them shaded from the sim will often enable them to re- 

 cover when they might otherwise be lost. 



Watering. Within the last few years there have been developed 

 several systems for applying water artificially. Any gardener who 

 has a water supply with thirty pounds pressure available, can get his 



