10 GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 



earth adhering to the roots as convenient. This should 

 be done when the ground is moist, and in a cloudy day, 

 at evening, or just before a shower. This care becomes 

 more necessary, partly from the fact, that a plant, when 

 removed from the soil in which it was reared, generally 

 loses a portion of its roots, and partly from the difference 

 between the original and new soil. It is well in all 

 cases to shade the plant, for a few days, from the mid- 

 day sun. The earth should be slightly pressed down 

 about the roots, so that they may readily imbibe moisture 

 therefrom. 



If the plant is to be transferred to a pot, it is generally 

 recommended to place a piece of earthenware over the 

 aperture in the bottom, that the superabundant water 

 may drain off, lest remaining, it should injure, and 

 perhaps destroy the plant. The pots should be nearly 

 filled with rich earth, the plant placed in the centre, 

 and the earth moderately pressed in contact with the 

 roots. 



Cultivation. Plants raised from the seed are gene- 

 rally sown in greater abundance than the ground can 

 support, and consequently require to be thinned out while 

 they are small : for if left too near each other, they 

 become weakly and slender ; such should be picked out 

 as the plants increase in size, until they stand at a proper 

 distance, so that the air may circulate freely among 

 them, and the sun may have free access to the plant, 

 and as much as practicable to the earth in which it is 

 nourished. All florists and gardeners, recommend to keep 

 the earth loose about the plants ; this should be done in 

 dry weather ; the earth about them may be kept moist 

 for a long time, by covering it with old hay or straw. 



Weeds of every description should be carefully re- 

 moved as soon as they appear, and should never be 

 allowed to flower in the garden, nor about it, and all 

 decayed plants should be removed as soon as possible. 



Cuttings are pieces cut from trees, shrubs, or plants 

 of the last year's growth, and should generally retain a 



