Planting, as applied to seeds, or seed-like roots, as potatoes,
bulbs, &c. is most frequently performed in drills, or in separate
holes made with the dibber; in these, the seed or bulb is dropped
from the hand, and covered with or without treading, according to
its nature. Sometimes planting is performed in patches, as in pots or
borders, in which case, the trowel is the chief instrument used.
Quincunx is a mode of planting in rows, by which the plants in one
row are always opposed to the blanks in the other, so that when a
plot of ground is planted in this way, the plants appear in rows in
four directions.
Planting, as applied to plants already originated, consists generally
in inserting them in the soil of the same depth, and in the same
position as they were before removal, but with various exceptions.
The principal object is to preserve the fibrous roots entire; to
distribute them equally around the stem among the mould or finer
soil, and to preserve the plant upright. The plant should not be
planted deeper than it stood in the soil before removal, and commonly
the same side should be kept towards the sun. Planting should, as
much as possible, be accompanied by abundant watering, in order to
consolidate the soil about the roots; and where the soil is dry,
or not a stiff clay, it may be performed in the beginning of wet
weather, in gardens; and in forest planting, on dry soils, in all
open weather during autumn, winter, and spring.