jt IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 117 



must be taken not to put the plant so low as for the 

 I earth to fall, or be washed, into the heart of the plant, 



nor even into the inside of the bottom leaves. The 

 jj stem of a cabbage, and stems of all the cabbage 

 |i kind, send out roots from all the parts of them that 

 jj are put beneath the surface of the ground. It is 

 J good, therefore, to plant as deep as you can without 

 I injury to the leaves. — The next consideration is, 

 I the fastening of the plant in the ground. I can- 

 I not do better than repeat here what I have said 

 I in my Year's Residence, Paragraphs 83 and 84. 

 ' " The hoie is made deeper than the length of the 

 f roots ; but the root should not be bent at the point, 



if it can be avoided. Then, while one hand holds 

 ; the plant, with its root in the hole, the other hand 



applies the setting stick to the earth on one side of 

 j the hole, the stick being held in such a way as to 

 [\ form a sharp triangle with the plant. Then, push- 

 i; ing the stick down, so that its point go a little 

 i deeper than the point of the root, and giving it a 



little twist, it presses the earth against the point, or 

 I bottom of the root." And thus all is safe, and the 

 i plant is sure to grow. The general, and almost 



universal, fault, is, that the planter, when he has 

 • put the root into the hole, draws the earth up 

 ; against the upper part of the root, and, if he press 

 ij pretty well there, he thinks that the planting is 

 j well done. But, it is the point of the root against 

 I which the earth ought to be pressed, for there the 

 I fibres are; and, if they do not touch the earth 



closely, the plant will not thrive. To know, 



whether you have fastened the plant well in the 



ground, take the tip of one of the leaves of the 



flant between your finger and thumb. Give a pull, 

 f the plant resist the pull, so far as for the bit of 

 leaf to come away, the plant is properly fastened 



