farmers' miscellany. 305 



deeper and more scattered. As a general rule, no seed should be 

 planted deeper than one half inch below the surface. 



Seeds should not be sown in the open ground till it has become 

 warm and the weather settled. As almost all annual plants may 

 be expected to bloom in from eight to ten weeks after they are 

 sown, there is no reason for inordinate haste in getting them into 

 the ground. From the first to the middle of May in this climate, 

 ■will be soon enough. They may be sown in drills or patches, so 

 that when they come up they can easily be distinguished from the 

 weeds. When large enough they can be thinned out, and those 

 that will bear it can be transplanted. Those which will not bear 

 it, must, of course, be left in the spot where they grew. As a gen- 

 eral thing, except in cases of severe drought, no artificial water- 

 ing should be given to seeds, but they should be left to the natural 

 moisture of the ground. Many, however, may be soaked with 

 advantage in warm water before they are sown. 



The process of transplanting should be performed with care, 

 as the plant depends upon its roots for its supply of nourishment, 

 I and especially the tender fibres which form their extremities, and 

 ! are their proper mouths. If any of these are injured or broken 

 I off, it will take some time to recover from it, or the plant may 

 die. It is, of course, a bad plan to pull up the plant by force. 

 It should be carefully raised up by a trowel or sharpened stick and 

 taken with as much earth as possible attached to the roots, and re- 

 moved to the place where it is to be deposited, and there placed 

 in as natural a manner as possible, and the earth pressed gently 

 around it. A little water may be given to settle the earth about 

 the roots. Transplanting should be done in cloudy weather and 

 the plants protected for a few days from the direct rays of the 

 sun. 



, As some plants do not ripen seed, and others do not reproduce 

 jtheir own kind, artificial methods have been devised for propagat- 

 ing them. This may be done in several ways. 

 I 1. By gums, bulbs or offsets. Some plants, such as the lily 

 Itribe, the capen and bignonia, produce in the axil of the leaf, a 

 small conical bulb or gum, which, if planted, will take root and 

 grow. Bulbous roots throw out offsets from their sides : these, 

 whether growing from the stem or root, should be planted as soon 



