ts, or by a short one, in the hands of the setter;
the plants are dropped into them a little deeper than they had stood in
the bed, the earth closed about the roots, by pressure from the side.
Especial care should be taken that this is well done, particularly at
the bottom; the earth should be so firmly pressed to the root that the
plant cannot be easily pulled from the soil. In some sections
transplanting machines (Fig. 20) are used and liked, but most planters
prefer to set by hand and the additional cost is not great. An expert
with one or two boys to assist in handling the plants can put out as
many as 5,000 plants in a day. A machine requiring more help to run it
can set from 15,000 to 20,000.

=In the home garden=, when but a few plants are to be set, it will be
better to put them in after 4 P. M. and use water in setting, but the
wet soil should be covered with some dry earth to prevent its caking.

=In the greenhouse.=--Plants are better set in the places where they are
to fruit just before their first blossoms open and should be set in
accordance with the suggestions given for transplanting to the field.

[Illustration: FIG. 20--PLANTING TOMATOES ON A DELAWARE FARM (Photo by
courtesy of _American Agriculturist_)]

CHAPTER XII

Cultivation

=For maximum crop.=--As soon as plants are set the ground should be well
cultivated to the greatest depth practicable. We should remember that
the tomato needs for its best development a very friable soil, while the
tramping necessary in setting out the plants and gathering the fruit
tends to compact and harden the soil. Often transplanting has to be done
when the soil is wet, and we need to counteract the injury from tramping
by immediate cultivation; but, at the same time, we must avoid the
disturbing of the plants any more than is necessary, and all of our
cultivation should be done with these points in mind. Just how it can be
done best will vary not only with the location and the facilities
available, but with the weather conditions, so that it is not well to
attempt to give explicit directions any further than that one can hardly
cultivate too deeply for the first seven days nor too often for the
first 30 days after the plants are set, provided he avoids turning the
soil when it is too wet. Even walking through the field when the soil is
wet is injurious and should be avoided, in proportion as the soil is a
clayey one.

=At least expenditure of labor.=--