118 THE ROSE. 
material, about four inches in depth. The 
plants should be syringed once a day to keep 
them healthy; if the surface of the soil be- 
comes green carefully remove it and fill up 
with fresh soil. When the pots are filled 
with roots we give the final shift for the sea- 
son, using eight, nine, or ten-inch pots ac- 
cording to the size and strength of the plant. 
If itis desired to grow the plants on benches, 
out of pots, this last shift isnot used. For 
this purpose the side benches should not ex- 
ceed three feet six inches in width, and next 
the front should be twelve or fourteen inches 
from the glass. The benches must be so 
made as to hold five or six inches of soil, and 
the bottom boards laid one-half inch apart, 
so as to secure good drainage; over the 
cracks are placed thin sods, the grass side 
downward; these prevent the soil from being 
washed away by watering. The first bench 
being nearer the glass than the others should 
be used for the more delicate growing kinds, 
like Niphetos, etc. If the house be not 
pitched too high, the middle bench can be 
made level, like the front one, using the back 
portion for the taller growing sorts. The 
third bench, if there be one, must be raised 
so as to bring the plants about the same dis- 
tance from the glass as does the first one. 
