III.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 89 



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. 



172. 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. 



173. However, there are some very tender plants ; 

 plants so soft a,nd 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 in- 

 stance, and some plants of flowers. These which 

 lie in a small compass, must be shaded at least, if 

 not watered, upon their removal ; a more particular 

 notice of which will be taken as we proceed in the 

 Lists of the Plants. 



174. 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 

 growth, and even the life, of the plant, depend on 

 great care as to this particular. See Cabbage, Pa- 

 ragraph 200, for a minute description of the act of 

 planting. 



175. As to the propagation by cuttings, slips, lay- 

 ers and ofl?*sets, it will be spoken of under the names 

 of the sfeveral plants usually propagated in any of 

 those ways. Cuttings are pieces cut off* from 

 branches of trees and plants. Slips are branches 

 pulled off* and slipped down at a joint. Layers are 

 brandies left on the plant or tree, and bent down to 

 the ground, and fastened, with earth laid upon the 



8* 



