250 



shall prevent the action of the sur-. 

 rounding air in heating or clrj-ing 

 the outside of the pot, and conse- 

 quently the soil and roots within. 

 Every pot, tub, or vessel, in which 

 a plant is grown, contains a hole or 

 holes in the bottom or lower sides ; 

 and these are to be prevented from 

 being closed by the soil by a cover- 

 ing of potsherds, shells, or small 

 stones, covered witli turfy matter, 

 over which the soil in which the 

 plant is grown is to be placed. To 

 prevent the sides of the pot or vessel 

 in which the plant is grown from 

 being scorched or dried by the heat 

 of the sun, the pot is plunged in 

 soil, or in moss, or some other po- 



I rous matter, or the pots are placed 

 sufficiently near together to shade 

 one another. Different kinds of 

 plants require different degrees of 

 drainage, and of protection from 

 the sides of the pot. For example, 

 all Orchidaceous plants, succulents, 

 and hair-rooted plants, such as the 

 Ericaceae, require a great deal of 

 drainage ; and all plants which re- 

 quire rich moist soil, such as the 

 Scitamineas and many of the most 

 vigorous-grovring tropical herbaceous 

 plants, require the sides of the pot 

 to be protected by plunging it in 

 tan, sand, ashes, soil, moss, or 

 some other non-conducting medium, 

 which will not be readily permeable 



! by draught or heat. 



I "With respect to the operation of 

 potting plants, when seedlings or 

 plants newly-rooted by cuttings, 

 layers, or other means are to be 

 potted, a small pot is chosen, either 

 of the least size, or a size somewhat 

 larger, according to the bulk of the 

 plant to be planted, or its known 

 vigour of growth. The hole in the 



j bottom of the pot being covered 

 with one or more potsherds, and 

 vnth. some rough, turfy, rooty, or 

 mossy matter, or with coarse gravel, 



some soil is put in over it. On this 

 the roots of the young plants are 

 placed and spread out, and soil is 

 placed over them till the pot is 

 filled, as before mentioned under 

 the article Planting. The soil in 

 the pot is then consolidated by 

 shaking, and lifting up, and setting 

 it down once or twice with a jerk, 

 the soil round the edge of the pot 

 being rendered firm by the thumb, 

 or by a stick, as already mentioned. 

 Plants of larger size, without balls 

 of earth attached to the roots, are 

 planted exactly in the same manner, 

 excepting that the pots chosen are 

 larger in proportion to the size of 

 the plant. Plants which have 

 grown in the free soil during sum- 

 mer, such as Pelargoniums, Fuchs- 

 ias, Myrtles, and such other plants 

 as are turned out of pots into the 

 open garden in the beginning of 

 summer, and taken up and repotted 

 about the latter end of autumn, are 

 commonly taken up with balls ; 

 and when this is the case, the pot 

 chosen must be of a sufficient size 

 to admit of the ball of earth with- 

 out breaking it. Previously to the 

 taking up of these plants, more es- 

 pecially when they have grown with 

 great vigour, it is found advanta- 

 geous to cut the roots all round 

 about the same distance from the 

 main stem as the size of the ball 

 was when put into the ground ; by 

 which means the plant receives a 

 check before it is taken up, and is 

 prepared to endure the still greater 

 check which it will unavoidably re- 

 ceive when potted. This XJ-ecau- 

 tion is more especially requisite for 

 such strong-growing plants as the 

 Brugmansias, Fuchsia fiilgens. Scar- 

 let Pelargoniums, Stocks, Wall- 

 flowers, kc. All plants, after being 

 newly potted, should receive a suf- 

 ficient quantity of water to moisten 

 the whole of the soil in the pot ; and 



