14 THE FAEM. 



ards arises from negligence in the planting ; from tumbling the earth 

 carelessly in upon the roots. The earth should be fine as possible; for, 

 if it be not, part of the roots will remain untouched by the earth. If 

 ground be wet, it cannot be fine ; and, if mixed wet, it will remain in a 

 sort of mortar, and will cling and bind together, and will leave more or 

 less of cracks, when it becomes dry. 



If possible, therefore, transplant when the ground is not wet; but 

 here again, as in the case of sowing, let it be dug, or deeply moved, and 

 well broken, immediately before you transplant into it. There is a fer- 

 mentation that takes place immediately after moving, and a dew arises 

 which did not arise before. These greatly exceed, in power of causing 

 the plant to strike, any thing ito be obtained by rain on the plants at 

 the time of planting, or by planting in wet earth. Cabbages and ruta- 

 baga (or Swedish turnip) I have proved, in innumerable instances, will, 

 if planted in freshly-moved earth, under a burning sun, be a great deal 

 finer than those. planted in wet ground, or during rain. The causes are 

 explained in the foregoing paragraph ; and there never was a greater, 

 though most popular error, than that of waiting for a shower in order 

 to set about the work of transplanting. In all the books that I have 

 read, without a single exception ; in the English gardening books ; in 

 the English Farmers' Dictionary, and many other works on English hus- 

 bandry ; in the Encyclopaedia ; in short, in all the books on husbandry 

 and on gardening that I have ever read, English or French, this trans- 

 planting in showery weather is recommended. 



If you transplant in hot weather, the leaves of the plants will be 

 scorched, but the hearts will live; and the heat, assisting the fermenta- 

 tion, will produce new roots in twenty-four hours, and new leaves in a 

 few days. Then it is that you see fine vegetation come oii. If you 

 plant in wet, that wet must be followed by dry ; the earth, from being 

 moved in wet, contracts the mortary nature — hardens first and then 

 cracks — and the plants will stand in a stunted state till the ground be 

 moved about them in dry weather. If I could have my wish in the 

 planting of a piece of cabbages, ruta-baga, lettuces, or almost any thing, 

 I would find the ground perfectly dry at top ; I would have it dug 

 deeply ; plant immediately ; and have no rain for three or four days. I 

 would prefer no rain for a month to rain at the time of planting. 



This is a matter of primary importance. How many crops are lost 

 by the waiting for a shower ! And when the shower comes, the ground 

 is either not dug, or it has been dug for some time, and the benefit of 

 the fermentation is wholly lost. 



However, there are some very tender plants, plants so soft and juicy, 

 as to be absolutely burnt up and totally destroyed, stems and all, in a hot 

 sun, in a few hours. Cucumbers and melons, for instance, and some 

 plants of flowers. Those which lie in a small compass must be shaded 

 at least, if not watered, upon their removal. 



In the act of transplanting, the main things are, to take care not to 

 bury the heart of the plant ; and to take care that the earth be well 

 pressed about the point of the root of the plant. To press the earth 

 very closely about the stem of the plant is of little use, if you leave the 

 point of the root loose. I beg that this may be borne in mind ; for the 



