10 THE AMATEURS’ GUIDE 
ter or milk for fifteen or twenty minutes before being planted, they 
will vegetate much sooner and flower earlier than without. All 
flower-seed will generally make their appearance in three weeks 
after being sown. In dry weather, they should have occasional 
waterings; care should be taken, however, not to give them too 
much. Excessive moisture is injurious and causes the seed to 
rot. A small water-pot, having a very fine rose or nozzle, should 
be used for this purpose. 
TRANSPLANTING. 
This operation consists in removing plants, whether from seed, 
cuttings, or grafts, according to their kinds and other circumstan- 
ces, to a situation prepared to receive them. Transplanting, there- 
fore, consists of three things, viz: 
1. The preparation of the soil to which the plant is to be re- 
moved. 
The preparation of the soil implies, in all cases, stirring, loosen- 
ing, mixing, and comminution; and, in many cases, the addition 
of manure or compost, according to the nature of the soil and the 
plant to be inserted. 
2. The removal of the plant. 
The removal of the plant is generally effected by loosening the 
earth around it and then drawing it out of the soil, in all cases 
avoiding as much as possible to break, bruise, or otherwise injur- 
ing the roots. In the case of small seedling plants, by merely in- 
serting the garden-trowel and raising the portion of earth in which 
they grow will suffice; but in the removal of larger plants, it may 
be necessary to dig a trench around the plant. In some eases, the 
plant may be lifted with a ball of earth containing all its roots by 
means of the spade. 
3. The insertion of the plant in the prepared soil. 
In setting out plants, particularly seedlings, cloudy or rainy 
weather should be selected. Seedlings should be set out from 
