188 SUBURBAN GARDENS 
Be careful — scrupulously careful — about all 
these little things; they count. When just the 
right depth is secured and all the roots are 
adjusted over the earth cushion around the en- 
tire plant, with none turned under or up at the 
tips for lack of space to lie straight out, begin 
filling in with the light and richer top soil, 
throwing it into the pockets and crevices which 
will show around and within the root mass, 
and firming it down and in against the rootlets 
by hammering it gently with a roundheaded 
stick. An inverted broom handle is excellent 
for this. 
It is safe and right to do this packing down 
of the earth or tamping much more firmly than 
the beginner usually thinks proper, for even 
with the greatest care there will still be tiny 
interstices here and there where rootlets will go 
hungry. So do not be apprehensive of over- 
doing it, unless the soil is moist and heavy — 
that is, like putty or dough. Do not plant at 
all when soil is in this condition; it takes an 
expert to do that, and even he runs chances of 
failure. 
But of course earth should not be beaten 
down into a state resembling cement, however 
dry it is. The idea is simply to overcome the 
looseness which follows its turning over and 
