102 
Garden Work 
of good surface soil. Where the soil is deep enough, the 
manure should be spread on the bottom, and then dug in. 
The subsoil is worthless for growing plants in, even with 
the manure, but it is suitable for “ earthing up ”. 
About the middle of June the plants will be ready for 
planting out. They should be carefully lifted out of the 
frame or boxes with a hand fork, and planted with the 
trowel, care being taken not to plant too deeply, and so 
cover up the centre of the plants. Plants should be alter- 
nate with each other, and should be i ft. apart. A dull, 
showery day should be selected for this operation, and, if 
the weather be dry afterwards, copious supplies of water 
should be given, preferably in the very early morning, 
until the plants are thoroughly established. About the 
end of August they should be ready for their first “ earth- 
ing up ”. The plants should be gone over first, all the 
short outside leaves and all the little suckers being cleared 
off. One person should then stand astride the trench and 
hold the plant firmly with the hands, while two others, one 
on each side, shovel in the soil. Then, while they break 
up the soil, the one who is holding the plant should firm 
the soil all round each plant, care being taken not to let 
any of it fall down between the leaves. When three men 
cannot be spared for “ earthing up ”, the following is a 
good method. After the plants are cleared over, they 
should be tied at the top of the leaf stalks with matting. 
Then one man can put in the soil on either side, after 
which he can firm it down with his hands round the 
plants, and then cut the bindings, to ensure the centres 
growing up freely. 
A good dressing of quicklime should be given to each 
