Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-06-27
Farm and Household.



As is well known by all gardeners, the OPP
Grafton of transplanting, which is simple and
easy enough in the moist cool weather Of err
~ spring, becomCs more and more trouble
some as the heat and drought of summer pre-
vail, and especially in windy hot weather it
requires considerable skill to make the plants
live. 1t is better, of course, to choose a moist
time if possible when the sun is obscured by
clouds and the earth well mostened by rain ;
but as it often happens that such days are too
rare to accomplish all our work. and as they
are often followed very suddenly by pinching
drought, before the plants have time to be-
come well established, few hints are here
offered, gathered from the experience of the
market garden.
In transplantng, the balance between the
roots and leaves is disturbed by breaking the
roots more or less and disturbing their con-
tact with the moist earth, whence they alb
sorb the moisture which forms the sap. The
leaves being the organs Of evaporation, pro-
coed with their work, and If the weather ia
vors evaporation as in dry, hot, windy days,
the plant will generally wilt from want Of suf-
ficiont sap to supply the leaves.
1t is difficult, nay, impracticnble, to shade
plants in the field in large numbers the dis
turbed balance may be in a measure restored
by clipping of about half the leaves, and this
practice is often resortod to in transplanting
cabbage, caulhower and celery. 1t would be
too laborious to attempt to remove ball of
earth with each plant in setting the many
thousands of plants Of these kinds required in
large gardens. Strawberry plants when set
late should be shorn of half their leaves and
be well watered.
When setting tender plants it is a very com
mon and useful practice to press the earth
firmly on each side Of the plant with the hand
This prevents too rapid evaporation from the
surface and keeps the earth moist around the
roots. When the weather is very dry, it Of
ten becomes necessary TO water the young
plants. When this is done it should be re-
peated every day until rain comes, and if the
earth around the plants becomes crusted, and
cracks by frequent watering, it must be
loosened by the hoe, for the cracks favor the
drying up of the soil
In transplanting cucumber and melon vines,
Summer squash lima beans, etc, from hot
beds the gardeners use device less laborious
than the handling of flower pots and equally
etfectual. These plants are raised in hot-beds
convenient to the field where they are to be
grown, and when they have attained growth
of three or four rough leaves just beginning
to start runners, about June /, are removed
to the field as follows -
The bed is thoroughly watered some hours
beforehand, so that the earth may be well
soaked and not crumble readily. A few rings
of zinc or galvanized iron are provided, three
inches high and eight inches in diameter, one
of which is pressed down into the earth of the
bed around each hill of four plants. A spade
or fork is then thrust under the hill, and on
the spade it is lugged, ring and all, to its new
position where it is readily planted with a
hoe, using care not TO disturb the roots when
removing the ring and spade.
When removing the plants to some distance
from the bed it is customary to use wide shin
giles to thrust under the hill, instead of a
spade and then several hills with shingles
and ring can be carried on a handbarrow be-
tween two men to their destination. Cucum-
bers, melons and beans thus handled come q
fortnight or more earlier than when planted
in the field, and also escape the ravages of the
bugs in measure They suffer scarce any
check in moving, and it is possible to clear an
early crop of lettuce. greens or onions, or hot
bed stuff, from the land they are to occupy
before setting them out. 1t is also less labor
TO grow and tend plants in a hot-bed prepared
for the purpose, than to put separate glass
box over each hill in the field, as used to be
the common practice some years ago, and
even now is recommended by a writer in a
contemporary agricultural paper. Each iso
lated box requires watching as much as the
bed, and they occupy land that should grow
an early crop in May.
When it is desired to set strawberry plant
late (and this year it is likely many will wisl
to do so, as May has been too hot and dry t
favor the early planting, it is usual to star
the runners in pots in June and July, an6
transplant in August. This will insure
good crop the following June, and admits o
being done after some early crop has beeI
cleared from the land in June or July. Tn
plants must be early runners and the grounC
in high filth and heavily MANFRED. The chic
and only objection to this method of straw
berry growing arises from the labor ant
waste in handling the pots, which, on larg
scale would be considerable. would sugges
that the plants might be successfully trans
planted by means of rings and shingles tire
inches in diameter, in precisely the same wa
that we handle cucumbers, and without en-
failing the nuisance of large stock of pots
always in the way and subject to breakage
believe the labor required to grow goo
plants and set them in this way would be les
than the labor of setting an early bed an
wedding it by the ordinary method, and tina
the berries could be grown cheaper thus tina
by any other plan. Plants set in August O
even early in September on rich land, We
hoed and not allowed to run at all this year
will produce a very abundant crop of yer
large fruit the following June. They can b
kept over another year if desired or renewc
rs above every year, as most gardeners woul
probably prefer, since land in a strnwberr
bed is very apt to become weedy and exper
sive TO keep clean.-W d. PhHJrick, i