4o8 



JUNIOR Naturalist Monthlv. 



open ground and prepares it for life 

 indoors he calls it plant surgery. 



His first step is to give the plant a 

 thorough drenching with water. He 

 says that he has found in his practice 

 that drenching lessens the shock. 

 (Perhaps your teacher will he able to 

 tell you what surgical shock is.) 



When cutting about the plant with 

 his spade he cuts hundreds of roots 

 which he fancies to be as hard for 

 the plant to bear as cutting that many 

 nerves. The plant surgeon says to the 

 Sweet Alyssum : " Grin and bear it 

 like a Major. It 



won't last long." 



That is what the dentist once said 

 to Teddy wdien he had a tooth pulled. 



Here you see Doctor Teddy with 

 his patient on the operating table. 



The pot in ivhich he will put the 

 plant is six inches in diameter. There 

 is a hole in the bottom for drainage. 



The doctor says that his experience 

 as a plant physician has led him U> 

 know the absolute necessity of drain- 



age for the comfort of all dry land 

 plants. 



A tin tomato can with good drain- 

 age is better than a hand-painted terra 

 cotta vase with none. 



Drainage is making it possible for 

 water that does not stick to th.e grains 

 of soil may leak away. 



The plant of Sweet Alyssum is 

 carefully lifted from the table into the 

 pot. The reason for so much care is 

 to save the very small roots from in- 

 jury. They are sometimes called the 

 working roots. 



Whatever new earth the doctor uses 

 is mellow potting earth. It contains 

 an unusually large percentage of de- 



