478 



GROWING STRAWBERRIES 



person. It is well to have a boy carry a bucket full of plants, 

 keeping the roots wet and dropping them just as needed. A 

 variation of the method is for the person who carries the 

 plants to press the soil about them with his foot after they 



are in place. 



The spade is widely 

 used instead of the trowel, 

 as it saves some bending 

 over. The procedure is the 

 same and, under good con- 

 ditions, makes rapid set- 

 ting possible. 



Setting is sometimes 

 done with a paddle, or with 

 a punch and tongs used 

 in sweet potato planting. 

 Some growers prefer a 

 short-handled hoelike tool. 



On level land, cabbage 

 or tomato planters, skill- 

 fully operated so as to set 

 plants at the correct depth, 

 have given satisfaction. 



A patent planter oper- 

 ated by hand, which waters 

 the plants if necessary at 

 planting, is now on the 

 market. Its introducers 

 claim that it has given ex- 

 cellent results and that it is 

 much more rapid than hand planting. The fibrous root sys- 

 tem of the strawberry makes it more difficult to set by me- 

 chanical devices than a plant with a single large root. 



The operator must determine the method best suited to the 

 circumstances. There is always the opportunity for the exer- 

 cise of individual judgment. Whatever the planting method 



(F. S. D. A.) 



Fig. 187. Types of tools used in trans- 

 planting. The two tools at the lower 

 right make round holes, giving little 

 opportunity to shake and spread out 

 the roots when inserting them in the 

 soil. 



