HOETICTLTUKAL PROCESSES. 53 



permit. Open the bed also to warm, gentle rains, but keep it 

 carefully closed against cold or heavy storms. At night keep 

 it well covered with matting or stravr. Transplant as soon as 

 danger from frost will permit. 



In the South this forcing process may be commenced early 

 in the winter, but at the North not till February or March, 

 according to the latitude and the season. 



lY.— SOWING SEEDS. 



The first thing to be attended to in seed-sowing is the prep- 

 aration of the bed by thorouglily pulverizing the soil ; and the 

 smaller the seeds the more finely should the earth be pulver- 

 ized. The soil should be freshly stirred and moist, but not too 

 wet. The depth at which seeds should be buried varies with 

 species and with the state of the soil. The objects are to ex- 

 clude the light and secure suflicient moisture for the purposes 

 of germination. The latter object requires large seeds, other 

 things being equal, to be covered more deeply than small ones. 

 If seeds are covered too deeply, unnecessary impediments are 

 thrown in the way of the ascending shoots ; and germination 

 may be prevented altogether by the exclusion of the air. 

 Most garden seeds are sown in drills. The earth should be 

 pressed upon them with more or less force, according to the 

 nature of the soil, in order to secure the necessary degree of 

 compactness to retain the moisture and to support the plant 

 after germination. Specific directions, where they are required, 

 will be given under the name of each plant. 



v.— TKANSPLANTING. 

 In transplanting, the principal points to be attended to are — 

 care in taking up, to avoid injuring the tender extremities of 

 the roots, through which, as we have seen, the plant receives 

 its nourishment ; planting firmly, to give it a secure hold of 

 the soil ; shading, when necessary, to prevent the evaporation 

 from its leaves being greater than the plant, in its enfeebled 

 state, can support ; and watering, that it may not lack moist- 



