52 



PROPAGATIO>' AND 



[cHaP. 



the middle of the land. And in order to have the lands fiat, not 

 arched at all, the ground ^vas ploughed twice in this shape, which 

 brought the middle of the lands where the furrows were before. If, 

 however, the ground had been fiat-ploughed, without any furrow, 

 there would have been no difficulty. I should have started on a 

 straight side, or on the straightest side, leaving out any crook or 

 angle that there might have been. I should have taken two distinct 

 objects, found, or placed, beyond the end of the work, and should 

 have directed the head of the ox in a line with those two obje<:ts. 

 Before I started, I should have measured off the width to find where 

 the ox ought to come to again, and then have fixed two objects to 

 direct his coming back. I should have done this at each end, till 

 the piece had been finished. 



96. ^^ hen the seeds, in the garden-sownig, are properly, and 

 at suitable distances, placed in the drills, rake the ground, and, 

 in all cases, tread it with your feet, unless it be very moist. Then 

 rake it slightly again ; for all seeds grow best when the earth is 

 pressed closely about them. ^Yhen the plants come up, thin them, 

 keep them clear of weeds, and attend to the directions given under 

 the names of the several plants. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



97. The weather for transplanting is the same as that for sow- 

 ing. If you do this work in wet weather, or when the ground is 

 wet, the work cannot be well done. It is no matter what the plant 

 is, whether it be a cucumber plant, or an oak-tree. It has been 

 observed, as to seeds, that they like the earth to touch them in 

 every part, and to lie close about them. It is the same with roots. 

 One half of the bad gro\vth that we see in orchards arises from neg- 

 ligence in the planting : from tumbling the earth carelessly in upon 

 the roots. The earth should be as fine as possible ; for, if it be not, 

 part of the roots will remain untouched by the earth. If the ground 

 be wet, it cannot he fine. And, if mixed wet, it will remain in a 

 sort of mortar, an^ v> ill clii:g and bind together, and will leave 

 more or less of cracks, when it becomes dry. 



98. If possible, therefore, transplant when the gronnd 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 



