BLOSSOM OF THE JARGONELLE PEAR. 3 
produce so wonderful a variety of hardy and de- 
licate forms, of fragrant and splendid flowers, 
or of wholesome and delicious fruits. 
The important investigations of vegetable 
structure and reproduction which are in progress 
by eminent botanists in this country and abroad, 
must undergo much familiar illustration before 
they can be generally useful to gardeners. I be- 
lieve however it may be considered as clearly 
demonstrated that the access of a certain portion 
of common air is as necessary to the roots as to 
the leaves of plants, and therefore it is unreason- 
able to expect that trees will bear much fruit 
when they are surrounded by thickly matted 
grass or hard gravel walks. 
The advantages of transplanting are founded 
upon the same theory. Cabbages, celery, and 
many other useful vegetables if suffered to re- 
main in the seed beds, however much they may 
be thinned and separated from each other, sel- 
dom grow to a large size. By transplanting 
them we destroy the tendency of the roots down- 
wards, and increase the number of those fibres 
which have an horizontal direction, thus giving 
them a more free access to the air as well as to 
the water which falls in showers, and enabling 
A2 
