=Fruit at the least expenditure of labor.=--The plants are prepared for setting by scant watering, and are taken up so as to secure as much root as possible with little soil adhering to them. Great care should be taken in taking the plants from the bed, and in handling them, _to avoid twisting the stems_, as to do so very seriously injures the plants, often to such an extent that they will fail to grow, no matter how carefully set out. Some growers dip the roots in a very thin clay mud, hardly thicker than thin cream, but I have not found this of advantage except, sometimes, when the roots are to be exposed for a longer period than usual and I do not recommend it for general use. In setting, holes are made either with a long dibble, in the hands of the one who distributes the plants, 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