76 The Principles of Vegetable- Gardening 



of the plants may be pulled out, or better, all the 

 plants may be transplanted. At the transplanting, it 

 may be well to transfer the plants to a somewhat 

 cooler and more airy frame. With celery and some 

 other plants, it is often allowable to shear the tops, 

 cutting off a fourth or a fifth of the length of the 

 plant in order to make it branch and thicken. Plants 

 which are grown in pots, berry boxes, oyster buckets, 

 and the like, are likely to be more stocky than those 

 which are grown directly in the soil of the hotbed, 

 since they have more room; and such plants may not 

 need transplanting. If it is found that the heat is 

 failing, it will be necessary to harden -off the plants 

 more rapidly- Some plants, of which lettuce, cabbage 

 and cauliflower are the common examples, can be so 

 completely hardened -off as to be able to withstand 

 considerable frost ; and in this toughened condition 

 they may be carried over two or three weeks of cold 

 weather before it is safe to transplant them into the 

 open. The general tendency is to do little transplant- 

 ing in the frames because of the high price of labor, 

 but transplanting is always advantageous to the plants, 

 particularly if they are started very early. 



In very cold weather, it is sometimes necessary to 

 keep the mats and shutters on the hotbeds for two or 

 three days at a time. During this time, when the 

 plants are in comparative darkness, they are likely to 

 become somewhat soft and tender, and great care must 

 be exercised that they are not scalded when the covers 

 are taken off and the sun comes out. The stockier 

 and the tougher the plants are grown, the less is the 



