CULTIVATION OF GREEN-HOUSE PLANTS. 



257 



displaced every particle of atmospheric air, 

 and by its own specific gravity the earth, 

 in the event of drying, subsides, and ac- 

 quires a degree of adhesion by which the 

 roots of plants are invariably destroyed. 

 Moreover, when they are placed in the 

 house, and thereafter subjected to the in- 

 fluence of fire heat, they must continue in 

 their condition of uncomfortable sourness, 

 by the necessary application of water ; or, 

 if allowed to become dry, and the excess of 

 water expelled, the roots will then be em- 

 bedded in a substance approaching pretty 

 nearly to the consistence of a brick-bat. 

 Every cultivator is aware that in such a 

 condition the plants can neither be healthy, 

 vigorous, nor bloom abundantly. In these 

 cases, it will be advisable to turn out the 

 plant, and take away as much of the inert 

 soil as possible, without damaging the 

 roots, and replace it in a clean well drained 

 pot, filling up with good rough turfy soil, 

 mixing it with pieces of charcoal about the 

 size of a walnut. Indeed, many plants will 

 stand a liberal shift at this season, if large 

 specimens be desired. Those not shifted 

 should, nevertheless, be turned out and 

 well examined, to see if they are all right 

 as regards drainage. Some may object to 

 this turning out and shifting of plants in 

 the autumn. It may have its faults, like 

 most other systems ; but it has also its ad- 

 vantages. And upon the whole, I see no 

 necessity for adhering rigidly to established 

 rules as to the time or season for shifting 

 plants, merely because it was the custom 

 of our grandfathers to turn out all their 

 plants, and shift them at particular seasons 

 of the year. For my part, I shift a plant 

 always when I find it requisite, any day all 

 the year round, providing I have materials 

 at hand in a proper condition for doing so; 

 a circumstance that should be provided for, 

 by having a quantity of peat and loam in 



a turfy stale, secured under cover for winter 

 use. 



Whenever the weather assumes an un- 

 favorable aspect, plants in pots, standing 

 out of doors, should receive attention. I 

 have seen good specimens damaged irreme- 

 diably by a sudden change of weather. 

 Dashing rains, followed by a slight frost, at 

 a time when the plants are in a bad condi- 

 tion to bear it, will completely nullify all 

 the care of the preceding summer. 



I presume it will hardly be necessary for 

 me to mention, that previous to housing the 

 plants, the house must undergo a thorough 

 cleansing ; every shelf-nook and crevice 

 should be well scrubbed out, so that all in- 

 sects, with their eggs and deposits, may 

 be exterminated. The most effectual me- 

 thod of doing this, is by fumigating the 

 house with sulphur. This can only be ac- 

 complished, however, when the house can 

 be entirely cleared of plants ; as the sul- 

 phurous gas, even in very small quantity, 

 destroys vegetable as well as animal life. 

 Therefore, when there are climbers or large 

 plants that cannot be conveniently removed, 

 the house may be fumigated with tobacco 

 instead. In either case, the house must be 

 thrown open, and well aerated for a day or 

 two after smoking. The crowd of summer 

 flowering plants, such as Gloxinias, Achi- 

 menes, &c, will now be losing, or will have 

 lost their beauty, and may be stowed away 

 on back shelves and any other dry airy place 

 to ripen their tubers, withholding water 

 gradually as the foliage fades. It is like- 

 wise of great importance to have any altera- 

 tions and repairs done in plant structures 

 at this time. The heating apparatus, of 

 whatever kind, should be examined and 

 put in good working order. Attention to 

 these things, at this season, will probably 

 save a good deal of time and trouble, after 

 we are once fairly fettered by the " ice 



