For Planting And Transplanting

Transplanting fork. This can be had in malleable iron for fifteen

cents and as it is not submitted to hard strains, like a trowel, will do

as well as the seventy-five-cent imported sorts. It will save the life

of innumerable seedlings, in lifting them from the seed box.



Dibber. You can make two or three of various sizes in a few minutes

from a piece of soft pine. They are used for pricking off and repotting.

It will often be convenient to have one end bluntly pointed and the

other rather flat.



Sub-irrigation tray. The use of this convenient method of watering is

described on page 24 and illustrated facing page 28. The tinsmith will

make you a tray for fifty or seventy-five cents. It will certainly pay

to have one if you attempt to grow many fine-seeded flowers.



Watering can. As this accessory is more used perhaps than any other,

and as the quality of the work it does is very important, it is poor

economy to buy a cheap one. The Wotherspoon type, sold by most seed

houses, is the best. It has brass fittings which will not rust, tighten

or rot out and a coarse and a fine brass nozzle with each pot. They

cost from two to three dollars, according to size, but are well worth

the money.



Pots. A good smooth red pot adds not a little to the looks of a plant.

For the ordinary collection of house plants three shapes, quite

distinct, are desirable: "Standard" the sort ordinarily seen; "Pans,"

very shallow for their width and used for bulbs, or ferns (facing p.

116); and "Rose" pots, or those exceptionally deep. The latter are good

for plants requiring large root room, such as single bulbs, or plants

demanding exceptionally thorough drainage.



Bulb glasses. These are constructed especially to support the bulb,

while permitting the roots to grow down into the water. They come in

different shapes and colors and are not expensive.



Hanging baskets. Attractive baskets can now be had cheaply. They are

made of wire, rustic work or earthenware, and no plant lover should be

without one or two, as they offer a most effective way of displaying

plants. Use picture wire to support them, as cord is apt to rot and

break. They should be hung so as to be easily taken down.



Boxes. While these may be homemade, as described on page 9, it is

often desirable to purchase one of the ornamental sorts now on the

market. Many of them are hideous, but there are artistically designed

ones. The "self-watering" box is a great labor-saver and well worth

getting where one can afford the investment, as they will last for

years.