HINTS FOR YOUNG GARDENERS, 



are, for the time, the sole supporters of the life of the young plant. They sustain 

 it till it has formed roots, and, if prematurely destroyed, or much injured, the plant 

 will die. 



Seeds will not germinate unless exposed to the influence of moisture, air, light, 

 and heat. They should, consequently, not be covered too deep, or they may fail 

 to sprout. 



It is, in ordinary cases, not profitable or advisable to raise your own seeds. Your 

 soil and your time should be of more value and importance to you than the cost 

 of new seeds. Besides, such as is raised on a soil different in composition from 

 your own, will most probably thrive better. 



The roots of very young plants are rarely hardy enough to bear transplanting 

 well. The best time for transplanting seedlings, is when they have formed five or 

 six leaves ; because, at about that period the young roots and radicles are able to 

 perform their proper functions more successfully than earlier. 



Roots essentially require the admission and presence of atmospheric air. The 

 surface soil should, therefore, always be kept loose and porous,'and clayey ground 

 should be frequently broken up or stirred in dry weather, or whenever it has become 

 parched or baked. 



When a bed has been dug over in the fall, it should be sufiTered to lie, during 

 the winter, in the roughest condition in which the spade has left it. A greater 

 amount of surface will thus be exposed to the effects of frost, and the ground 

 become more thoroughly pulverized in the spring. 



Frost acts with greater severity on roots or tubers which have been pulled 

 or dug up, than on such as remain in the ground. Hence they should either 

 be effectually protected, or remain altogether undisturbed. 



The various kinds of .plants extract different substances from the soil ; and a 

 well-chosen rotation of crops is consequently highly advantageous, and deserves 

 attention. 



Leaves absorb moisture from the atmosphere, and again part with it ; they in- 

 hale and exhale air, and thus constitute the more important organs of plants. If 

 injured or removed, the entire plant suffers accordingly. 



The pores of the leaves, through which air and moisture are transpired, are ex- 

 ceedingly minute, and very liable to be closed by dust. The foliage of stove plants 

 should therefore be frequently well sprinkled with pure water, to prevent or remove 

 obstruction to healthy action from this cause. 



In their natural condition or growth, the leaves and branches of plants rarely 

 touch or cross each other. We should hence learn not to crowd our plants close 

 together, or to place even a single plant in a confined position, where its leaves 

 and branches have not room to expand or develop themselves fully and freely. 

 Air and light are as essential to their vigorous and healthy growth as earth and 

 water. 



The falling off of the leaf of a newly-set cutting, is an indication that the cutting 

 has begun to grow. But, if the leaf wither and dry without dropping from the 

 stem, it is an evidence that the plant lacks vigor to effect the natural process of 

 shedding the leaf, and will probal)ly fail to grow. 



When bushy plants produce an abundance of foliage with few buds or blos- 

 soms, they should either be transplanted into a poorer soil, or some of the principal 

 roots should be pruned off. 



Drying winds are injurious, as they rob the leaves of plants of moisture more 

 rapidly than it can be su})plied I)y the roots. Plants need as careful protection 

 from such winds as from frost. 



When a grass-plot becomes pervaded by moss, apply some fine, rich manure to 



