The Busy Woman s Garden Book 



days is of all times the worst for transplanting; 

 plants wilt and die in spite of one, fairly cooked 

 by the hot steam engendered by the rain and sun- 

 shine, and such planting weather should be 

 avoided unless the season is late and the planting 

 urgent. Only as many plants should be lifted 

 at one time as can be put into the ground be- 

 fore they wilt. Do not try to lift plants sep- 

 arately but lift them in clumps, pressing the 

 trowel well down below the roots and lifting the 

 plants with as little disturbance as possible — 

 never pull up the plants by the tops as one some- 

 times sees done ; this strips off the tender, fibrous 

 roots on which the plant depends for gathering 

 its food. The tap root which remains has little 

 foraging value, it serves, principally, to hold the 

 plant in the ground while the fine, lateral roots 

 are busy collecting food to feed the growing top ; 

 if these little feeding roots are destroyed the plant 

 must make a new supply before top growth can 

 be resumed. 



Do not attempt to separate the plants at once 

 but carefully release each plant as it is required; 



50 



