119 



CHAPTER XII. 



,-Ve add this chapter, which we have select^. 



jm Mrs. Laudon s Ladies Companion to the Flower 



farden, that our readers may have the benefit of 



;er very excellent remarks on Planting, and on the 



Gathering and Preservation of Seeds. 



i* * 41. 



PLAN 7 TING. 



Planting is the operation of inserting plants in 

 the soil, either in the free ground or in pots. The 

 simplest kind of planting is that which consists in 

 removing small seedling plants, or such as have 

 been struck from cuttings or layers ; and this is 

 commonly performed by making a round hole with 

 a dibber, and putting in the root of the plant to the 

 same depth as it had been covered with earth be 

 fore, and making it fast by thrusting the dibber into 

 the firm earth beside the hole, and pressing it to the 

 root. In this operation, the great art is to make 

 the root fast at the lower extremity. Thus, in 

 planting common seedlings of annuals, or even 

 cabbage-plants, if the earth be pressed close to the 

 root at the upper part, and not at the extreme points, 

 the success will hardly be complete ; and in tender 

 plants, or in a dry season, a failure will be the re 

 sult. In planting plants of a larger size, a small 

 pit should be opened by the spade or trowel ; the 

 bottom of the pit having been formed into a cone 

 or small hill, the plant should be placed in the cen 

 tre, and the roots spread out equally over it on ev- 



