Digging is the first operation necessary in gardening, as nothing can be done in the way of cultivating the soil till it has been first pulverised, so as to allow the fine delicate roots of the plants to penetrate among its particles. It is also necessary that the air should have access to the roots of plants, as they depend for their nourishment almost as much on the carbon and other elements which they absorb from the air, as on those which they obtain from the soil. On this account it is necessary, not only to dig the soil well before any thing is planted in it, but also to fork it over occasionally whenever its surface becomes hardened and impervious to the air and rain. When manure is applied also, it is customary to dig it into the soil; and ground is occasionally trenched in order to bring up fresh soil to the surface, whenever the surface soil appears to be exhausted and to want renewing. The operation of digging requires considerable strength, as it requires first to be able to force the spade into the ground, and then to raise as much earth as will lie upon the blade and turn it over. It is, however, a fine healthy occupation, not only from its calling the muscles into vigorous action, but from the smell of the new earth being particularly invigorating; and you might have a lady's spade, with a smooth willow handle, that will enable you to dig a small bed without much difficulty. You will be surprised, however, to find, if you try the experiment, that there is an art in digging as well as in every thing else; and that it is extremely difficult, both to dig in a straight line, and to make the ground look even tolerably level after it has been dug over. Raking, though it appears so simple, also requires considerable skill to make the ground look smooth and perfectly level. Forking is not so difficult, as it merely requires to have the fork pressed into the ground, and then pulled backwards and forwards, so as to loosen a portion of the soil without turning it over.
There are two sorts of hoes: the draw-hoe, which is used for drawing up the earth to any plant that is to be earthed up; and the thrust-hoe, which is principally used for destroying weeds. There are many varieties of both these forms, but the common kinds, I think, you will find the best. The most useful instrument, however, for you will be a trowel, and this you will find indispensable, as, without it, you will not be able either to transplant or pot a single plant. Some persons use what is called a transplanter, to enable them when they take up a plant, to remove it without disturbing the roots; but, as far as my own experience goes, I think these instruments are more troublesome than advantageous, and I prefer using a trowel. You will also want a budding-knife, and a sharp knife for making cuttings; and you will find a pair of pruning-shears with a sliding-joint extremely useful for cutting off dead wood, or removing any badly-placed branches.
Plants are propagated either by seed, or by division. When they are to be propagated by seeds, the ground must be either dug or forked over and made level. It is then firmed by beating it with the flat part of the spade, rolling it, or in any other manner; and the seeds are scattered over it, if they are to be sown broad-cast, and covered with earth the same thickness as themselves. When seeds are to be sown in drills, a narrow furrow must be made, by drawing a stick along the ground in a straight line, or in any other way so as to make the bottom of the furrow firm, and the seeds must be dropped into it at regular distances. The furrow is then filled in, so that the seeds may be covered to the same depth as their own thickness; and the earth is slightly pressed down, and afterwards raked over. Larger seeds are sown in separate holes made by a dibber, as are the sets of potatoes; but the after processes are the same in all. Bulbs and tubers are also planted in the same manner; taking care that the eyes of the tubers are uppermost, and the flat part of the bulbs downwards. In planting Ranunculus tubers the claws should be downwards, and if any are broken they should be cut off smooth with a sharp knife.
There are several ways of propagating plants by division, viz. taking off suckers, making layers and cuttings, and budding, grafting, and inarching.
Propagation by suckers is very simple. Many plants have a portion of their stems under ground, from the buds in which new upright stems rise into the air and fibrous roots descend into the ground. It is thus only necessary to divide the horizontal underground stem by the spade, or by opening the ground till the stem is found, and then cutting it through with a knife, and to take up the young plant which has sprung from it carefully and without injuring its roots, cutting off the remains of the old plant before the new one is replanted. Suckers sometimes spring from the collar of the old plant, and when this is the case they require more care in removing them, to avoid injuring the plant from which they spring.
Runners are suckers proceeding from horizontal stems above ground, and offsets are the suckers of bulbs, as they proceed either from the root-plate, which is the compressed stem of the hyacinth, or from the main body of the corm, which is, in fact, the stem, as in the crocus.
Layers are produced by imitating the process of nature in making suckers; as, in making layers, a joint of the upper stem is buried in the ground, and kept moist to induce it to throw out roots; the buried stem being generally slit or twisted at the joint, so as to prevent the return of the sap, and to occasion it to expend itself in roots instead of circulating in its ordinary way through the branch. As soon as a layer has produced roots it becomes the same as a sucker, and may be treated in exactly the same manner.
Cuttings are portions of a plant cut off just below a bud, and buried in the earth to induce them to throw out roots; which is done most effectually by exposing them to warmth and moisture, and shading them from the light, as that has a tendency to draw the sap towards the leaves, whilst warmth and bottom heat dispose the cuttings to throw out roots. On this account cuttings always strike most readily when the pots, in which they are planted, are plunged into a hotbed, and covered closely with a hand-glass. It must be observed in making cuttings, that they ought in most cases to consist of two buds; from the lower one of which the new roots are to spring, while the upper one is to produce the stem of the new plant. Cuttings must always be made quite firm at the base; and they generally strike most readily when the bottom of the cutting, which is cut through a joint and quite flat, rests against a piece of the drainage, or even the bottom of the pot, being in both cases pressed so closely against its earthenware support as to exclude the air. When a cutting is made, most of the leaves are removed, as the evaporation from them is greater than the plant can support while it is without roots. Cuttings of succulent plants are generally laid upon a shelf to dry before they are put into the ground, as if this is not done the wounded part is apt to become rotten, and to decay. Cuttings are generally struck either in sand or very light earth, in order that the young roots may meet with as little obstruction as possible.
Pipings are portions of pinks and carnations pulled asunder at a joint instead of being divided with a knife, and afterwards planted, and treated exactly like cuttings.
Budding is taking off a single bud or eye, called a scion, from one plant, and inserting it in another plant called the stock. This operation is generally performed in July or August. In the first place, a slit is made on each side and above and below a leaf which has a healthy bud in its axil, that is, just between the foot-stalk of the leaf and the branch on which it grows. The bark of the branch containing the bud and the leaf is then detached from the branch, by passing under it the bone handle of the budding-knife, which is made flat and thin on purpose, and raising it gradually up. If the bark has been raised carefully and properly, there will generally be a little bit of wood just under the bud, which must be carefully taken out, so that not the smallest particle of wood is left on the under side of the bark. A long slit is then made in the bark of the stock, with a cross slit at the top, and, the bark being gently raised at each of the corners made by the intersection of the long slit and the horizontal slit, the piece of bark with the bud attached is carefully introduced under the bark of the stock, which is closed over it, and bound tightly with a bit of bast mat, in order that the bark containing the new bud may be pressed as closely to the wood of the stock as possible. If the operation has been properly performed and the bud was a healthy one, it will soon begin to swell; and, when it does so, it will push off the foot-stalk of the old leaf that was taken off with it, so that when this foot-stalk falls it is a sign the bud has taken. When the bud has developed itself into leaves, the ligature should be loosened to allow the branch of the stalk to expand. The operation of budding requires a good deal of nicety: first, to avoid wounding the wood of the stock in slitting the bark; and, secondly, to make the bark of the scion fit quite closely to the wood of the stock, as, if the least vacuity is left between them, the bud will wither instead of beginning to grow.