THE HANDLING OF THE PLANTS 



123 



particularly if the plant has several leaves and if it has not been 

 grown in a pot, and also if the transplanting is done in warm 

 weather. Figure 128 shows a good treatment for transplanted 

 plants. With the fohage all left on, the plants are hkely to 

 behave as in the upper row; but with most of it cut off, as in the 

 lower row, there is little wilting, and new leaves soon start. 

 Figure 129 also shows what part of the leaves may be cut off on 

 transplanting. If the ground is freshly turned and the trans- 

 planting is well done, it rarely will be necessary to water the 



129. Where to shear 130. Trowel 131. The dibber. 132. Home- 

 the tops of young dibber. made pad- 



plants, ded dibber. 



plants ; but if watering is necessary, it should be done at night- 

 fall, and the surface should be loosened the next morning or 

 as soon as it becomes dry. 



In the transplanting of young plants, some kind of a dibber 

 should be used to make the holes. Dibbers make holes without 

 removing any of the earth. A good form of dibber is shown in 

 Fig. 130, which is hke a flat or plane trowel. Many persons pre- 

 fer a cylindrical and conical dibber, like that shown in Fig. 131. 

 For hard soils and larger plants, a strong dibber may be made 

 from a limb that has a right-angled branch to serve as a handle. 

 This handle may be softened by slipping a piece of rubber hose 

 on it (Fig. 132). A long iron dibber, which may also be used as 

 a crow-bar, is shown in Fig. 133. In transplanting with the 

 dibber, a hole is first made by a thrust of the tool, and the earth 



