NOVEMBER. 251 



the temperature of the atmosphere to range from 70° to 75°, being 

 careful, when an increase of heat occurs from the action of the sun, 

 to shade and to admit air. As I find in practice that oft-repeated 

 minor shifts are preferable to large pottings at greater intervals, in the 

 end of May or the beginning of June I give them another removal, 

 using the same description of soil, and carefully observing that the 

 fresh material be properly pressed around the soil and roots of the 

 previous shift. I now, and previously if necessary, look over my 

 plants, stopping all that may require it, as attention to this point, in 

 the first season of their growth, is highly necessary to obtain the 

 form desired by the cultivator. The shape of the plant, of course, 

 is a matter of taste — some prefer the pyramidal, some the globular. 

 For my part I prefer the former, as I think it displays the beauty of 

 the flower, singly as well as collectively, to greater advantage than 

 the latter shape ; and I also am of opinion that a group of pyramidal- 

 shaped plants is more effective than a mass of plants of a globular 

 form. I do not wish to be understood that a stiff mathematical figure 

 is intended — a plant may be trained in an easy, natural form, and yet 

 display a pyramidal contour. 



In August I give my plants another and final shift for the season. 

 During the period of their growth, I use the syringe freely, but dis- 

 continue it as the wood ripens, gradually admitting more air till it 

 be thoroughly matured, when I place them in the open air on a piece 

 of ground covered with sifted ashes or some other material calculated 

 to prevent the access of worms. By following the above plan, in the 

 space of two years I have obtained plants two feet in height and two 

 feet in diameter at the base. In the case of blooming plants, an 

 annual shift will be quite sufficient, though that must depend on cir- 

 cumstances. In the case of large plants, I have used a portion of 

 one sixth pure virgin loam with advantage. 



I may mention, in conclusion, that some object to sifting the soil, 

 as they consider that the process, to a very material extent, deprives 

 it of it's fibrous matter ; and that, if even after the sifting, the fibre be 

 returned, it cannot, without considerable difficulty, be again so com- 

 mingled as to produce a material equal to what could be obtained by 

 a careful chopping — a process they recommend in preference to sift- 

 ing. On this point, however, much depends on the nature of the 

 material used ; for there is a wide difference, for instance, between 

 the peat found in the North of England and the peat found on Wim- 

 bledon Common. The former is of a poor sandy description, requir- 

 ing a portion of leaf-mould to render it fit for use ; and the latter is 

 full of fibrous vegetable matter, such as the cultivator delights in. 

 It must therefore be clear that, in preparation for use, the two peats 

 would require a different treatment ; and I am certain that a sieve 

 with a mesh of the dimensions I use (1 inch by ^-inch), and my mode 

 of passing the whole of the material through it, must accomplish all 

 that could be effected bv the process of chopping, be it ever so care- 

 fully done; and at the same time 1 feel sati.-fied that it would secure 

 a greater uniformity of texture, the advantage of which in pot-culture 

 I need not point out. Zkta. 



