TRANSPLANTING AND PLANTING. 



325 



723. Methods of planting small plants. — We have seen that in transplant- 

 ing all large plants, a pit is opened of dimensions proportionate to the size of 

 their roots, and this is also the case in planting single plants of small size ; 

 but when small plants are planted in numbers together, different modes are 

 adopted for the sake of expedition, and to save labour. Such of these modes 

 as are in general use, we shall shortly describe, premising that in almost 

 every case v/hen plants are planted in considerable numbers in gardens, they 

 are placed in rows, but that in plantations and shrubberies they are generally 

 planted irregularly or in groups. The rows should in almost every case be 

 placed in the direction of north and south, for reasons easily understood, 

 when we consider the influence of the sun on the soil between the rows 

 and on the sides of the plants in this case, as compared with rows in the 

 direction of east and w^est. All small plants, as well as large ones, when 

 transplanted, are not inserted deeper in the soil than they were before 

 being taken up. 



724. Planting with the dibber we have already (392) mentioned as suitable 

 for seedlings and very small plants. The soil ought to have been previously 

 dug, or stirred by some other means, so that the fibres of the young plant 

 may strike readily into it. In performing the operation, a hole is made with the 

 dibber with one hand, then the root of the plant is inserted to the proper depth, 

 and held there by the leaves, or stem, with the other hand, while, by a second 

 movement, the dibber is inserted by the side of the hole in such a manner as 

 to press in one of its sides to the root of the plant, taking care that the pres- 

 sure on the roots shall be greatest at its lowest extremity, and that it should 

 be such as to hold the plant so fast that when slightly pulled by one of its 

 leaves it does not come up. Large seeds, bulbs, and cuttings of tubers, or of 

 roots without leaves, as of the potato, Jerusalem artichoke, &c., are fre- 

 quently planted with the dibber, which, in these cases, is furnished with a 

 blunt point (fig. 18, in p. 131). Newly-rooted small cuttings, on the other 

 hand, are planted with small pointed sticks (fig. 16, w, in p. 131). All 

 common seedlings, such as those of the cabbage tribe, are planted with the 

 large dibber, and most small seedlings with the small one. 



725. Planting with the trowel. — The trowel is entered in the soil perpendi- 

 cularly, so as to open a hole, against one side of which the plant is placed, 

 and the soil returned and firmly pressed against it if the soil be dry, or 

 gently if it be moist. Very succulent seedlings, or transplanted plants, such 

 as balsams or geranium cuttings, when turned out into the open border, are 

 planted by this mode. 



726. Planting in drills. — The drill is drawn with a draw-hoe, fig. 20, in 

 p. 131, and large seeds such as beans, or sets such as cuttings of the potato, 

 are placed along the bottom at regular distances, pressing them against the 

 soil, and drawing the soil over them with the hoe. Root-stocks such as 

 those of the asparagus, and root-cuttings such as those of the sea-kale and 

 horse-radish, are sometimes planted in this manner. 



727. Laying in by the heels is a temporary mode of planting, in v/hich 

 a notch or trench is made in the soil, sufficiently deep to cover the roots of 

 the plants which are to be laid in it, but not their tops. An opening 

 or trench is made, as if the land were to be dug, and the roots of the 

 plants are laid in the furrow, with their tops standing out in a sloping 

 direction ; after which the digging is continued till the roots are covered, 

 and the soil is then pressed down Avith the foot, and another trench pre- 



