Transplanting 



423 



Melon plants on a sod; gardener's flat; plants 

 in 2-inch and 3%-lncli pots. 



store, and plants thrive in them admirably; their uni- 

 formity makes them very handy. 



It is customary to handle plants in flats (Fig. 230). 

 These are shal- 

 low boxes 

 about 3 inches 

 deep, and of 

 any convenient 

 size. A box 15 

 X 20, or 18 X 

 24 inches is 

 easily handled. 

 The boxes may 

 be made to 

 order ; but many gardeners make them f ro'm soap boxes, by 

 sawing 6ach box into several flats or sections and adding 

 bottoms. Such a box will hold 100 plants if they are not 

 transplanted, or one-third or one-half that number of trans- 

 planted plants. From flats a quick man can transplant 

 5,000 to 6,000 plants in a day if the soil is light and in 

 good condition. With a horse transplanting machine sev- 

 eral times this number can be set. Ten acres of cabbage 

 plants sometimes may be set in a day by means of a horse 

 machine. From 20,000 to 40,000 plants have been set in 

 one day. 



3. WEEDS 



Weeds are mere incidents in good farming. They are 

 the constants in poor farming. This is not because the 

 good farmer spends more time killing weeds, but because 

 he tills better and manages his land more skilfully. It 



