WATERING PLANTS IN POTS. 



If we cultivate the foreign varieties, even in cold houses, we may have fruit matured 

 and readj'^ for the table by the 15th of August. Then the native grapes come into use 

 about the Ist of October, and may be kept till January, so that the season of this deli- 

 cious fruit, has a duration of four and a half months. Some prefer the flavor of our 

 natives, because it is so iiighly aromatic and pungent, and agreeably seasoned with acid; 

 but others choose the European, because of their perfect sweetness and superior delicacy, 

 and because thcj'- are crisp, melting, and free from a tough core. I think, however, all 

 will agree with me in choosing a large variety, rather than being shut up to one sort. And 

 when your friends call, and you invite them to look into the garden and conservatory, 

 would it not be gratifying to treat them with the fruit not only, but with a panoramic 

 view of the finest countries of the Old world! 



" The quality of mercj' is not strained, 



It droppetli like the gentle dew from heaven, 



Upon the earth beneath ; it is twice blessed ; 



It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes." 



And this sentiment you may illustrate, by sending a few fresh clusters to that sick 

 fiiend, who is languishing with fever, and to whom they will be more refreshing than 

 the fabled nectar of the gods. It is no mean emblem of the millennium so long foretold, 

 when " every man shall sit under his own vine and fig-tree, and none to molest or make 

 him afraid." A. Messer. 



Chneca, N, 1', November. 1852. 



ON THE WATERING OF PLANTS IN POTS. 



BY AN OLD AMATEUR. 



IMany of my friends, who are commencing floricultural persuits as an amusement for 

 their leisure hours, are continually applying to me, as an old amateur, to know how and 

 when to give water to plants cultivated in pots. The subject is perhaps to the novice, 

 one of the greatest troubles that besets him; although to the experienced, one of the least 

 so. A few general instructions, I think, may elucidate it suflBciently to guide in some 

 measure the young amateur, although from its nature, there is no possibility of giving 

 specific rules by which to act. 



All plants, because they are in pots, by no means require the same supplies of water; 

 and consequently the indiscriminate watering of the general collection of plants, which 

 usually constitutes the amateur's collection, is at all times injudicious, and frequentl}"- 

 very injurious to their well doing. A little reflection will satisfy any one that this must be 

 so. In their natural state, some of our floral favorites are inhabitants of hills, and others 

 of swamps and valleys; some of light sandy soil, others of stiff clay, or of decayed veg- 

 etable matter; some again are evergreen, growing more or less all the year; others are 

 deciduous and dormant for many weeks together; some natives of places where the rain 

 falls for months, others of a humid moist climate. From these considerations it must be 

 evident that for plants to be preserved in health and vigor, when confined to the limit of 

 a small pot, upon the contents of which alone it is dependent for the support of vegetable 

 life, the supply of water must be varied to the different species, so as to approximate in 

 some degree to that condition of growth, for which they have been respectively fitted by 

 nature. 



vot. VII. 8. 



