] L> THE FLORIST. 



Bides; and the latter is engendered by the rapid succession of heat 

 and moisture 00 the foliage. Plunging the pots to the rim, in the 

 absence of a Bhady Bit nation, is the safest and best plan, resting 

 them od two brick's placed edgeways, to ensure good drainage and 

 to exclude worms. To grow heaths safely and well, Mr. Leach pro- 

 too large a shift, it were better to give them two slight 

 removes in a summer than the liberal one he proposes. I am quite 

 sure under Buch management the plant would make a larger growth, 

 and be more likely to keep in good health ; a vacuum of one inch 

 between the ball and pot is quite ample for a plant six or seven 

 years old; half that space for small ones is enough; and it is in 

 potting such, the assistance of a flat stick, which Mr. Leach con- 

 demns, is indispensable ; for when a space of only half an inch 

 i\i-ts between the ball and pot, the fingers cannot be inserted; 

 so that, without the aid of some such appliance, it is impossible 

 to fix the soil compactly throughout the surface of the ball; in 

 this mode of operation the roots, with ordinary care, will not be 

 disturbed. His recommendation of " West- Kent pots with mov- 

 able bottoms" is quite superfluous ; for, during a fourteen years' 

 experience, I never met with any difficulty in dislodging the ball in 

 my annual shift. It is true, that sometimes in potting a plant fresh 

 from the nursery, which had been starving nobody knows how long, 

 the roots have adhered to the sides ; but this is of such rare occur- 

 rence as not to render necessary the additional expense of buying pots 

 with " movable bottoms." 



In the next division of Mr. Leach's paper he says, speaking of 

 mildew r : "The sulphur may remain one, two, or three days ; it may 

 then be blown or brushed off." I say, do not be satisfied with a 

 mere puff of wind or a flick with a brush, but take a syringe and 

 souse the plant well, or lasting disfigurement will be the conse- 

 quence. 



And now I come to a recommendation which I must say I am 

 surprised at. But I must give it in Mr. Leach's own words : 

 " When large specimens have done blooming, I take a pair of 

 shears and clip them all over." I must be allowed to condemn so 

 severe an operation on the charming Erica. May I never see it 

 practised on any coming under my notice ; and let me recommend 

 all interested to use their shears for their hedges or box-edgings 

 rather than on their Heaths. 



Mr. Leach next directs attention to the watering, and says : " To 

 give much water to such varieties as Aristata, Hartnelli, Massoni, 

 &c, would be sudden death to them ; but, on the other hand, Per- 

 Bpicua nana, Westphalingea, the Ventricosas, &c. &c, require it 

 often, always giving enough at each watering to soak the whole 

 mass of soil." I cannot by any means agree to the distinction here 

 drawn ; the latter class of plants does not require more water than 

 the former ; nor will either or any of the genus, at this season 

 of the year, bear with impunity more water than is barely suffi- 

 cient to keep the mass of soil damp — I don't mean wet : more than 

 that is highly injurious; for as there is but little or no loss of 



