5 THE CULTURE OF POT-PLANTS 



rushed into the market at the earliest possible moment. They 

 are too tender to bear exposure to the air, and when they are 

 placed in cold or draughty rooms they speedily collapse. 

 This is the more likely to occur when they have been taken 

 about the streets in barrows. Plants offered at the door 

 should be viewed with suspicion ; they may be all right or 

 they may not be. Fraud is, unfortunately, not uncommon in 

 such cases. 



Unless a plant is obtained from a respectable nurseryman, 

 it should be turned out of the pot to see if it is properly 

 rooted. If there is an outer ring of soil which does not 

 contain roots, it has recently been placed in a larger pot 

 with the object of making it look more important, and the 

 price asked for it is probably higher than it should be. If 

 the roots are confused and torn, instead of coiling round the 

 outside of the soil, it has just been lifted from the open 

 ground, and should not be bought at any price. Flagging 

 may be due merely to want of water. If the cause is more 

 serious, inspection of the roots may reveal it. If a plant is 

 wanted to last as long as possible in decorative condition, 

 it should not be in full flower at the time it is purchased ; it 

 should have plenty of buds to follow those already open. 

 It is most attractive, of course, when it is covered with 

 flowers, but a considerable part of its season is then over. 

 In suburban districts costermongers not infrequently offer 

 plants in exchange for old clothes. In such cases they 

 generally estimate the former at double their value and the 

 latter at half of what it should be, so a sale is for them such 

 extremely good business that they can afford to waste time 

 in haggling. 



But even when good plants have been obtained from a 

 respectable firm, they are certain to deteriorate unless their 

 wants are attended to properly. Those wants are food, 

 water, fresh air, light, a suitable temperature, cleanliness, and 

 certain other precautions for the preservation of health. 

 Perhaps the most important of all is water, for a plant may 

 be growing in the midst of food, yet unless water is present 

 it must starve. In other words, its food must be in a liquid 



