402 
PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING. 
has soaked away. "With care, any tree or 
shrub may be transplanted successfully at 
almost any period ; but the winter season, 
extending from September to March, is gene- 
rally preferred. Early autumn is the best of 
all seasons ; and mild open weather in the 
early part of winter is preferable to late 
spring planting for all kinds of trees and 
shrubs. It is important to prevent, by any 
and every means, the drying of the roots 
while the plants are out of the ground. 
Planting Herbs. — Herbaceous perennial, 
biennial, and annual plants, are necessarily 
removed at various periods throughout the 
year. In spring and autumn, and dull show- 
ery weather in summer, they may be removed 
without being subjected to much inconve- 
nience, owing to the limited area occupied by 
their roots ; but when it is required to trans- 
plant them, during ordinary summer weather, 
it is necessary to adopt such means as may 
be available of protecting them from injury 
through exposure to hot sun-rays ; this is 
done by planting towards evening, giving at 
the same time a good watering, in which 
case, if the plant was well rooted, it will 
almost establish itself in the course of the 
night, and, at all events, will not suffer ma- 
terially in the following day. Or if a showery 
day intervene, it should always be turned to 
account, in forwarding all planting at that 
time requiring to be done. Shading by means 
of various contrivances, applied during the 
hotter poi'tions of the day, is also a useful 
help, and should be adopted when practicable. 
Further than this, dependence must be placed 
on the free application of water, the removal 
of the plants without damage to their roots, 
and the careful re-adjustment of them in their 
new situations. The tools most generally 
used in planting subjects of this description, 
are the dibble and the trowel. For the smaller 
plants the former is the more expeditious tool; 
but in all other cases, the trowel is calculated to 
do its work better, and a modification of it, in 
the shape of a small hand-fork, is perhaps the 
most perfect instrument that can be used. Be- 
fore the plants are taken up, the soil should be 
well watered, if at all dry naturally. The fork 
should then be inserted behind them, and the 
plants — roots and all — carefully lifted out of 
the soil, retaining as much soil about the 
roots, and as many roots uninjured, as may 
be possible. These roots must not be allowed 
to dry from exposure to sun or wind, but 
should be planted immediately, or as soon as 
possible after being taken up. For all plants 
with a little tuft of roots and soil, the trowel 
or fork should be used in planting ; a hole 
should be taken out larger than the " ball," 
— the ground being either entirely dug or 
trenched, or loosened around for some dis- 
tance, — the plant set into it, without having 
any of its roots bent under or cramped, and 
then the fine, soil taken from the surrounding 
surface is to be filled in carefully around the 
roots, and slightly consolidated by pressure, 
either with the hand, foot, or back of the 
tool. If this takes place during dry weather or 
under circumstances in which watering is 
required, — that is, if either or both the soil 
and atmosphere be parched, — the water should 
be applied when about three parts of the soil 
is filled in ; and when it has soaked away, the 
remaining soil is to be filled in loosely, and 
levelled. Enough water should be given to 
soak the soil thoroughly all round the roots. 
If after-waterings are required, the surface 
soil should be drawn aside, and returned again 
after the applied moisture has soaked in. 
A temporary shade of evergreen boughs, 
stuck into the ground on the sunny side, is, 
in dry hot weather, and in the case of choice 
plants, often very desirable. Very small 
plants may be transplanted after the method 
described under the head, Planting Seedlings. 
Planting Bulbs, cj'c. — Bulbs and tubers are, 
with very few exceptions, planted when in 
their inactive condition. There are two plans 
followed in planting them ; either the surface 
soil is displaced before and replaced after the 
bulbs are distributed over the ground ; or 
holes ai'e made with a blunt-ended dibble, and 
the bulbs dropped in, and then covered over. 
The latter is an objectionable plan, especially 
on soils inclined to be adhesive, and in all 
cases where the soil is at all overcharged with 
moisture ; for by the compression of the soil 
at the sides and bottom of the hole, a basin is 
formed, which more or less effectually retains 
moisture about the bulbs, which is in all cases 
injurious, and sometimes fatal to them. When 
the bulbs are to be planted in detached patches, 
the soil should be removed to the proper depth 
by the hand-fork, and below this should be 
loosened up ; the bulbs are then to be placed 
at the proper distances apart (which varies 
according to size and habit), and covered over 
with soil, which should be finished off neat 
and level on the surface. Where they are 
planted in a connected form, as in beds, there 
are two plans adopted. The bed is first to 
be dug up, or what is better, if practicable, 
laid up in rough ridges for some time pre- 
viously, and then forked down level at plant- 
ing time. Then, either broad flat-bottomed 
drills are made with the hoe, and the bulbs 
placed along the bottom of the drill, and 
covered by levelling the displaced soil with 
the rake : or, the whole of the surface soil 
is taken off, — either drawn off with the hoe, 
and removed with a spade or shovel, to 
the proper depth, the bulbs set at the desired 
distances, and covered by carefully replacing 
