It has been observed, as to seeds, that they like the earth to touch them in every part, and to lie close about them. It is the same with roots. One half of the bad growth that we see in orchards arises from negligence in the planting; from tumbling the earth carelessly in upon the roots.



The earth should be fit as possible; for, if it be not, part of the roots will remain untouched by the earth. If ground be wet, it cannot be fine. And, if mixed wet, it will remain in a sort of mortar, and will cling and bind together, and will leave more or less of cracks, when it become dry.

If possible, therefore, transplant when the ground is not wet; but, here again, as in the case of sowing, let it be dug, or deeply moved, and well broken, immediately before you transplant into it.

There is a fermentation that takes place immediately after moving, and a dew arises, which did not arise before. These greatly exceed, in power of causing the plant to strike, any thing to be obtained by rain on the plants at the time of planting, or by planting in wet earth.

Cabbages and Rutabaga (or Swedish Turnip) I have proved, in innumerable instances, will, if planted in freshly moved earth, under a burning sun, be a great deal finer than those planted in wet ground, or during rain. The causes are explained in the foregoing paragraph; and, there never was a greater, though most popular error than that of waiting for a shower in order to set about the work of transplanting.

In all the books, that I have read, without a single exception: in the English Gardening books; in the English Farmer's Dictionary, and many other works on English husbandry; in the Encyclopedia; in short, in all the books on husbandry and on gardening that I have ever read, English or French, this transplanting in showery weather is recommended.

If you transplant in hot weather, the leaves of the plants will be scorched; but the hearts will live; and the heat, assisting the fermentation, will produce new roots in twenty four hours, and new leaves in a few days. Then it is that you see fine vegetation come on. If you plant in wet, that wet must be followed by dry; the earth, from being moved in wet, contracts the mortary nature; hardens first, and then cracks; and the plants will stand in a stunted state, till the ground be moved about them in dry weather.

If I could have my wish in the planting of a piece of Cabbages, Rutabaga, Lettuces, or, almost any thing, I would find the ground perfectly dry at top; I would have it dug deeply; plant immediately; and have no rain for three or four days. I would prefer no rain for a month to rain at the time of planting.

This is a matter of primary importance. How many crops are lost by the waiting for a shower! And, when the shower comes, the ground is either not dug, or, it has been dug for some time, and the benefit of the fermentation is wholly lost.

However, there are some very tender plants; plants so soft and juicy as to be absolutely burnt up and totally destroyed, stems and all, in a hot sun, in a few hours. Cucumbers and Melons, for instance, and some plants of flowers. These which lie in a small compass, must be shaded at least, if not watered, upon their removal; a more particular notice of which will be taken as we proceed in the Lists of the Plants.

In the act of transplanting, the main things are to take care not to bury the heart of the plant; and to take care that the earth be well pressed about the point of the root of the plant. To press the earth very closely about the stein of the plant is of little use, if you leave the point of the root loose.

I beg that this may be borne in mind; for the growth, and even the life, of the plant, depend on great care as to this particular.

As to the propagation by cuttings, slips, layers and offsets, it will be spoken of under the names of the several plants usually propagated in any of those ways.

Cuttings are pieces cut off from branches of trees and plants. Slips are branches pulled off and slipped down at a joint. Layers are branches left on the plant or tree, and bent down to the ground, and fastened, with earth laid upon the part between the plant and the top of the branch. Offsets are parts of the root and plant separated from the main root.