Garden Work 
1 68 
leave the side of the pan or box, or it will be found almost 
impossible to get the soil wet right through again. 
When the seedlings appear, care must be taken to keep 
the pans or boxes near the glass, to prevent them getting 
drawn. Also, while watering, they should not be kept too 
wet, and so encourage the “damping off” disease. If the 
seeds are sown thinly there is little fear of this disease 
making its appearance. 
As soon as the plants are large enough to handle 
properly, that is to say when they have made at least two 
rough leaves, they should be pricked out into boxes or 
frames from 2 to 6 in. apart. Or they may be planted on 
a sheltered border, where they grow slightly larger than 
when placed in boxes. They should be planted in good 
rooting material, composed of 3 parts finely chopped turfy 
loam, 1 part leaf soil, \ part w T ell-rotted horse manure, 
and a sprinkling of sand. They should lift out of such 
a soil with a ball of soil attached to the roots, which will 
be a great advantage to the plants at planting-out time, 
especially if the weather is dry. Dull weather should, if 
possible, be always selected when pricking out, and the 
plants should be well watered after planting, and shaded 
for a few days until they have taken to the new soil. 
A common mistake is often made in watering the seed- 
lings immediately before pricking out. This should never 
be done, as, in “lifting” them, one is apt to strip off all the 
root hairs, which are of such vital importance to the plant 
at all seasons, but especially at this. Even if the seedlings 
are on the dry side, the soil particles will adhere to the root 
hairs, and thus protect them. The hole should be made 
large enough to allow the roots to go straight down, the 
