556 State Board of Agriculture, &o. 



inches or less in lieiiJ:;]it. This is to enconraore new nction 



<J CD 



in the roots ; and I liave found, by inquiring, that this is a 

 principle all florists act upon, with all kinds of plants, where 

 the growth has been checked from any cause ; for, if you 

 give more soil than is actually needed to a plant, where a 

 share of the roots are inactive, it damages the active 

 ones by getting sour, on account of not taking up the moist- 

 ure contained in it. 



After potting, set in the shade for a day or two ; or, if 

 in winter, on a window after the direct rays of the sun 

 have passed, for this reason : the air of our rooms is not apt 

 to be as pure and fresh in winter, and the sun will correct 

 this in a measure where it has a chance. 1 have found it 

 necessary sometimes to fasten a newspaper up to the win- 

 dow, and let it hang over on the inside, next to the room, 

 forming a hood like, facing the light and over the plants, 

 thus excluding the heated air of the room, in a measure, 

 also insuring a little more moisture to the invalids ; but 

 one must have a care to let in fresh air occasionally, as 

 this is about the only medicine they will accept of at iirst. 



Then, in a few days, if they keep comfortable looking, 

 you can give them a little stronger sunlight, by letting 

 them remain there wliile the sun shines in that direction, 

 by putting a thin curtain between them and the glass. In 

 a week or ten days more, if they are naturally robust, the 

 roots will have started enough to re-pot them into a size 

 larger pot, first giving them a good watering. 



In case they are quite stocky and dwarfish to begin with^ 

 it might, perhaps, be preferable to put them into two or three 

 sizes larger pots, and so avoid re-potting them too many times. 



