JOURNAL OP HORTICDIiTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



341 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



AURICULAS. 



T has been a soui-ce of much grief to me to 

 read of the receut disasters occumng to our 

 most eminent growers of Auriculas. I tliiuk 

 it a very easy matter to avoid such dis- 

 asters, and as " England expects every man 

 to do his duty," I will, by your permission, 

 describe to my brother florists my mode of 

 potting this queen of spring flowers, for on 

 that operation success mainly depends. 

 Fu-st, I place the pots in ordinary drain- 

 age; on this I lay a second course of drainage until I 

 have entirely hidden the large pieces with fi-agments 

 varying in size from a large to a small pea. On this I 

 lay sound dry leaves, avoiding as a deadly foe every kind 

 of fibre which I formerly used. When these leaves are 

 crushed firmly down I find my pot filled to one-third ; 

 on this I sprinkle an even layer of email charcoal, and on 

 this 1 spread the roots of my plants, but if the tap root 

 is too short for this purpose I resort to a smaller pot. 

 I then put in number one compost, which is leaf soil, 

 small fragments of charcoal and potsherds, and sandy 

 loam in equal parts, never forgetting three or four tough 

 dry leaves rolled up so as to maintain cavities, which 

 always induce sensitive young roots, particularly so when 

 a little washed grit is added. In potting I allow space 

 for 2 or 3 inches of top-dressing of number two. This 

 number two consists of old cow dung and adhesive loam 

 in equal parts, with a Httle washed grit or rough clear 

 silver sand. 



I may add a word as to the purity of these composts. 

 I should as soon think of eating my dinner raw as to 

 administer uncooked food to my Auricula plants ; or, in 

 other words, I take advantage of the hottest weather to 

 spread my compost on boards until every particle of 

 moisture and apparent insect life is dried out of it; I 

 then store it in a dry outhouse until wanted for use. If 

 I find myself short of ingredients so prepared I thoroughly 

 dry more soil before a good fire, and pour boiling water 

 over the old cow dung in sufficient quantity to thoroughly 

 purify the same, taking care not to waste the liquid, but 

 adding the dry loam to absorb it. 



In case of special treatment of the delicate growers I 

 use charcoal solely for drainage, and lay two or three 

 very firm and adhesive lumps of leaf soil (provided it is 

 perfectly sweet) on the roots of the plants before putting 

 in thf usual compost ; for when the roots take hold of 

 this and the charcoal it is not a little drought that will 

 cause the plant to droop, and thereby hangs a tale, for 

 it is by withholding water that I obtain a firm texture of 

 foliage ; moreover, a thirsty plant will absorb in large 

 quantities, while a plant in a continual state of saturation 

 can take in little or no food to sustain it. 



Now, as to hquid manure. If I had viTitten the word 

 twenty years ago it would have been only to register 

 my disapproval of it ; but I find that plants potted as 

 above described will fare the better for three or four doses 

 during the blooming season of clear hquid manure made 

 Mo. »tl.-V0L, XXX IT., Ksvr Sbkiss, 



by pouring boiling rain water over a sufiicient quantity 



of old cow dung, stirring well, and using when cold and 



pretty clear. 



I am sorry to find that any grower should talk of 



' abandoning all dungs for pure loam, for it was written 



long before Privateer was raised that a good compost was 



the life and substance of the Auricula ; and I find by 



taking two plants of the same variety and top-dressing 



one with pure loam and the other with a mixture of cow 



] dung and loam, that the first perceptible difference in the 



two plants is that the one in the cow dung will soon 



throw oft a dehcate fragrance from the foliage ; and 



another more important advantage is that the mixture 



gives me larger flowers of greater substance, deeper in 



[ velvet, and far more dense in paste. 



This, Messrs. Editors, is my system, and if you or any of 

 your readers should be crossing the rural end of Cannock 

 'Cha6e you may see the result of it ; for here my plants 

 ' have stood ever since last May open to all weathers, 

 deeply shaded by a north gable where not a ray of sun 

 can touch them, yet all now seeming to laugh in luxu- 

 riance. This I do not mention as any part of the culture, 

 but results from inabihty owing to protracted illness to 

 give them more approved treatment. And here I would 

 remark upon the evil of standing the pots upon the ground, 

 or in any way plunging them. Hardy-grown plants wUl 

 do very well on slates or tiles for awhile where the 

 grower has not facility to keep them all staged with the 

 hghts ofi'. 



It is many years since " D., Deal" informed me that I 

 had something to learn if I intended to grow the Auricula, 

 which I have found to be perfectly true to my cost, 

 although both my father and grandfather were growers. 

 But the first thing I learned in the preparation of soils 

 was that particles of decaying wood in a heap of compost 

 lying on the ground would breed white threads, and these 

 white threads in their turn would breed the perfect fungus; 

 and, moreover, these white threads are most destructive 

 to many soft-rooted plants, as I have proved by experi- 

 ment both within the precincts of a pot and in the open 

 border. But aU difficulties have long been overcome, and 

 my hospital treatment for the Auricula will rally a plant 

 when very little vitality remains in its circulation. This 

 treatment, not yet described, I always submit my new 

 importations to, come from what grower soever they may. 

 If you think proper to insert this record of my practice in 

 your pages it is possible someone may give the system a 

 trial. Some growers may be unable to obtain leaf soil, 

 in that case I advise the use of sandy loam and an in- 

 crease of the charcoal. Again, others may be found to 

 say that they cannot obtain the charcoal. This difficulty 

 may be soon overcome. Lay sticks upon a slow fire, and 

 as they assume the appearance of red-hot bars take them 

 out and immerse them quickly in a vessel of water, plunge 

 them suddenly, or the operator will inhale a very irritating 

 vapour. A large part of broken fragments will sink to 

 the bottom of the vessel, and here may arise a danger, 

 as a large portion of this is alkali, and is as destructive to 

 this sensitive plant as the carbon is fertilising ; it should 



No. IIUS.— Vol. LVII., Old Sekieb. 



