50 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



the greater the necessity for packing it firmly about the roots. 

 If the soil is wet and inclined to pack hard it should receive only 

 moderate pressure until somewhat dried out. The firming is gen- 

 erally done by pressing with a dibber or the ball of the foot 

 against the soil on one side of the roots of the plant. When the 

 transplanting is finished it is a good plan to give the plants 

 a good hoeing at once, drawing a little loose, dry soil around 

 them to act as mulch and prevent evaporation. The holes for 

 the plants are generally made with a dibber (Fig. 10 or 11.) A 

 spade is often used for this pur- 

 pose and such plants as small on- 

 ions are most conveniently set in I 

 small furrows made with a wheel | 

 hoe. In every case, however, the 

 plants should be set a little deeper 

 than they grew in the seed bed and ^^^8', 

 in the case of spindling tomato, | } 

 cabbage and j I 



some other I ~ I 



figure 17. 



Fig-ure 19.— Transplantitig- aided by the Balbridg-e transplanter, which takes up 

 a ball of earth with each plant. The illustration shows a box of strawberry 

 plants just taken up and ready for plantinjr out. In planting- out the holes 

 are made with the same implement. There are several other similar 

 implements for the same purpose. 



Hardening off the Plants. — Hardening off is a term used to 

 denote the checking of the growth of plants in such a v/ay as to 

 cause their tissues to become firm and hard. It is very important 

 to have the plants accustomed to cold weather when they are 

 transplanted to the open ground, or they may be killed by a frost 

 that otherwise would do them no harm. Thjs is true of the 



plants it is 

 a good plan 

 to bend the 

 stems and 

 bury a large 

 part of them 

 in the soil 

 as shown in 



