morning.

Since the weather is prone to be coy, if not fickle, the manual part of
transplanting should always be properly done. The plants should always
be taken up with as little loss of roots as possible, be kept exposed to
the air as short a time as possible, and when set in the ground have the
soil packed firmly about their roots, so firmly that the operator may
think it is almost too firm. After setting, the surface soil should be
made loose, so as to act as a mulch and prevent the loss of moisture
from the packed lower layer. If the ground be dry a hole may be made
beside the plant and filled with water--LOTS OF WATER--and when it has
soaked away and the soil seems to be drying, the surface should be made
smooth and loose as already mentioned. If possible such times should be
avoided, because of the extra work entailed and the probable increased
loss due to the unfavorable conditions.

IMPLEMENTS

When herbs are grown upon a commercial scale the implements needed will
be the same as for general trucking--plows, harrows, weeder, etc.--to
fit the soil for the hand tools. Much labor can be saved by using
hand-wheel drills, cultivators, weeders and the other tools that have
become so wonderfully popular within the past decade or two. Some
typical kinds are shown in these pages. These implements are
indispensable in keeping the surface soil loose and free from weeds,
especially between the rows and even fairly close to the plants. In
doing this they save an immense amount of labor and time, since they can
be used with both hands and the muscles of the body with less exertion
than the hoe and the rake require.

Nothing, however, can take the place of the hand tools for getting among
and around the plants. The work that weeding entails is tiresome, but
must be done if success is to crown ones efforts. While the plants are
little some of the weeders may be used. Those with a blade or a series
of blades are adapted for cutting weeds off close to the surface; those
with prongs are useful only for making the soil loose closer to the
plants than the rake dare be run by the average man. Hoes of various
types are useful when the plants become somewhat larger or when one does
not have the wheel cultivators. In all well-regulated gardens there
should be a little liberal selection of the various wheel and hand
tools.

Only one of the hand tools demands any special comment. Many gardeners
like to use a dibble for transplan