32 



HOUSE PLANTS 



some more soil, and tamp it down with a pot- 

 ting stick. It is possible to get the soil too 

 firm, so use the potting stick with moderation, 

 and be careful not to strike the roots. 



A potting stick is usually made from a 

 piece of nine about a foot long, an inch wide, 

 and an inch thick, with the corners and ends 

 rounded off. A piece of a broom handle 

 is sometimes used. 



If the soil contains many lumps or coarse 

 pieces of sod (as sometimes happens when 

 the sod is not completely rotted), screen 

 them out before potting. This will be neces- 

 sary if the pots are small — six-inch and 

 smaller — with larger pots it will make but 

 little difference. The ordinary ash sieve is 

 just the thing for this. Or you can make a 

 sieve from a small box, say about eighteen 

 inches square, cut off at a depth of three 

 inches, and the bottom covered in with wire 

 screen netting which has a quarter-inch or 

 three-eighth-inch mesh, and sift the dirt 

 through this. Save the coarse material, it 

 will be useful when potting. 



In the bottom of each pot put some coarse 

 drainage. Broken pots are usually used 

 for this, but coal clinkers or stones are just 



