176 



THE CULTURE OF HEATHS. 



Where this deposit cannot be obtained, 

 a good substitute will be found in turves 

 from old pastures, cut thin, collected in dry 

 weather, and piled in a heap two or three 

 months before using, so that the vegeta- 

 tion on it mry be slightly decomposed. 

 Both in its chemical and mechanical pro- 

 perties, such a soil is nearly all that can 

 be wished. In preparing it, however, it is 

 better to chop it up rather fine, securing a 

 proper mechanical texture by the admix- 

 ture of coarse sand, broken charcoal, or 

 even a few rubbly pebbles; or broken pots- 

 herds, I have used with advantage in keep- 

 ing the soil open, to allow free admission 

 for atmospheric gases, — an essential point 

 to be kept in view in the cultivation of all 

 plants, more particularly those in pots ; for 

 they are then entirely dependant on the 

 cultivator for those conditions which they 

 receive in their natural habitats. Such a 

 soil as here recommended, kept sufficiently 

 open by any of the above mentioned ingre- 

 dients, is easily penetrated by air, thereby 

 increasing its temperature, and facilitating 

 the decomposition of organic matter ; during 

 which process, various healthful gases are 

 supplied to plants. In a soil thus condi- 

 tioned, experience has convinced me that 

 all kinds of green-house plants can be 

 grown to great perfection, if properly man- 

 aged in other respects. 



Preparing the pots is also a matter of 

 gome importance. These ought to be tho- 

 roughly clean, and properly drained. This 

 is effected by placing a piece of broken pot, 

 with its convex side downwards, fitting 

 closely to prevent the ingress of insects. 

 Over this lay a stratum of the same mate- 

 rial, varying in depth from one inch to 

 three, according to the size of the pot. 

 Large pots are often drained by inverting 

 a small one in the bottom, and filling around 

 it with charcoal, or whatever is used for the 



purpose. Over this put a thin layer of 

 moss, or the rougher parts of the soil, to 

 prevent the smaller particles being washed 

 down among the drainage. 



As regards the best time for shifting 

 Heaths, those who are adepts in practice, 

 and look after their plants themselves, will 

 be guided by the health and vigor of growth 

 of the plants. In all cases, however, where 

 the principles of vegetable physiology are 

 imperfectly understood, I would recommend 

 the early part of spring. If the plants are 

 thrifty, with foliage of a dark green healthy 

 hue, and when turned out of the pots, pre- 

 senting a good portion of healthy roots, 

 they will be in good condition for a liberal 

 shift. If, for instance, they have been 

 growing in 4-inch pots, they may be trans- 

 ferred into 8-inch sizes, and so on in pro- 

 portion. 



On the other had, if the plants appear 

 sickly, with the points of the shoots of a 

 yellowish colour, and, when turned out, pre- 

 sent no appearance of healthy roots, it will 

 be necessary to remove as much as possi- 

 ble of the old soil. In all likelihood, this 

 has been caused by improper drainage ; 

 and no plant will flourish well in a soil 

 soured by stagnant water, even under the 

 best counterbalancing treatment. In this 

 case, pots of the same size that they were 

 previously growing in will be large enough 

 until they make healthy roots, when they 

 can be shifted into larger, with reasonable 

 hopes of success. 



Although transferring a plant from one 

 pot to another may in itself appear a very 

 simple operation, yet there are various par- 

 ticulars connected with the proper perform- 

 ance of it, on different plants, which re- 

 quire strict attention. On this subject I 

 may, at some future time, offer a few re- 

 marks. To proceed with those under con- 

 sideration, having everything in readiness, 



