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parts (radiculae) are strictly annual; 

 they decay as winter approaches, and 

 are produced with the returning vigour 

 of their parent in the spring. Hence 

 the reason that plants are transplanted 

 with most success during the season of 

 their decay : for, as the root almost 

 exclusively imbibes nourishment by the 

 mouths of these fibres, in proportion 

 as they are injured by the removal, so 

 is the plant deprived of the means of 

 support ; that sap which is employed 

 in the formation of new fibres, would 

 have served to increase the *size of 

 other parts. 



Boots always travel in the direction 

 where most food is to be obtained; 

 therefore, for carrots and parsnips let 

 a little manure be turned in with the 

 bottom spitwhen the ground is trenched 

 for them. So, if it be desirable to pre- 

 vent the roots of any plant travelling 

 in a certain direction, the soil on that 

 side should be excavated, and the cavity 

 refilled with sand, or some other un- 

 fertile earth, whilst the soil on those 

 sides of the plant whither the roots 

 are desired to tend should be made as 

 fertile as is permissible with its habits. 



Whatever causes an excessive de- 

 velopment of root, prevents the pro- 

 duction of seed; and vice versd, the 

 production of seed, especially in tuber- 

 ous-rooted plants, reduces the amount 

 of root developed. Thus, frequent 

 transplanting the young plants of the 

 lettuce, brocoli, and cauliflower, causes 

 the production of numerous fibrous 

 roots, and is found effective in pre- 

 venting the mature plants advancing 

 early to seed. 



The early varieties of the potato do 

 not. naturally produce seed ; but if 

 their tubers are removed as soon as 

 they are formed, these early varieties 

 blossom and bear seed as freely as the 

 latter kinds, a fact suggesting many 

 experiments to the cultivator of shy- 

 blooming tuberous - rooted flowers. 

 Again, if the blossoms of these later 

 varieties are plucked off as they appear, 

 the weight of tubers produced will be 

 very materially increased. 



BOOT -PRUNING, first adopted as a 

 systematic practice by Mr. Errington, 

 has, for its object, a check to over-luxu- 



riance. This it does effectually, for 

 such excess of growth arises from the 

 roots imbibing too much food; by 

 pruning, and thus reducing their num- 

 ber, therefore, we reduce their imbibing 

 power, and it is found that such pruning 

 checks the production of leaf -buds, 

 and will cause any kind of fruit tree to 

 j produce blossom - buds, provided the 

 tree is healthy, and that its barrenness 

 arises from over-luxuriance. To know 

 what proportion of the roots to cut 

 away, we may suppose the trees thrown 

 into three classes. First, trees of mo- 

 derate luxuriance ; second, those which 

 may be termed robust ; t'hird, those of 

 gross habit. To give a further idea, we 

 would say that the first class will make 

 young shoots on an average a foot in 

 length ; those of the second two feet ; 

 and the third nearly, or quite, three 

 feet, the latter, indeed, frequently 

 burst into lateral or side-shoots, from 

 the young shoots of the same season. 



From the first class, therefore, we 

 advise the cutting away about a sixth 

 part of the roots ; from the second class 

 a fourth part ; and from the third class 

 a third part. It must be borne in mind, 

 that the extremities of the roots alone 

 should be cut off, for, while we advocate 

 this mutilation, we equally advocate the 

 preservation of the surface roots by 

 every possible means ; nay, more than 

 that, we recommend their encourage- 

 ment by extra appliances of manure 

 to the surface-soil. 



ROPA'LA. (From roupala, the Guia- 

 nan name. Nat. ord., Proteads [Pro- 

 teacese]. Linn., k-Tetrandria 1-Mono- 

 gynia.} 



Greenhouse evergreen shrubs from Guiana. 

 Cuttings of ripe shoots, in sand, under a bell- 

 glass, not hurried, but freed from damp, and 

 placed in bottom-heat after a few weeks ; fibry 

 loam and sandy peat. Winter temp., 45 to 

 48 ; a rather sheltered place in summer. 

 R. denta'ta (tooth-leaved). 10. Green. June. 

 1802. 



me'dia (mediate). 10. May. 1823. 



monta'na (mountain). Fellow. April. 1828. 



ni'tida (shining). Pale yellow. 1821. 



I sessilifolia (stalkless-leaved). 10. Green. 

 1803. 



KO'PERA. (Named after J. Roper, a 

 German botanist. Nat. ord., Beancapers 

 [ZygopbyllaceaB]. Linn., 8-Octandr'ui 

 1-Monogynia.) 



