ON THE MIMULUS. 123 



of leaf mould, well rotted, and half a peck of cows' dung, two years 

 old. These ingredients are well mixed together, and frequently 

 turned over, sprinkling them with lime water, so that no insects 

 remain in the soil, for if even they do not entirely destroy the plants, 

 yet they materially impoverish the compost, by their feeding on many 

 particles which would otherwise have sustained the flower. Drainage 

 of the pots is a requisite which I certainly think ought in the second 

 place to be looked after. This precaution to take away all super- 

 fluous water seems not to be generally appreciated, for how many 

 plants do we see in various quarters without any drainage, except 

 one potsherd to fill up the hole at the bottom of each pot, just as if it 

 would have done quite as well had there been no aperture at all. 

 Now, although this is a common practice, yet I can safely say that 

 no plant can live in perfect health without a proper portion of 

 drainage, and in this respect I must agree with Mr. Forsyth* when 

 he asserts that plants would grow much more luxuriantly if the pots 

 were made with a small rim under them, to allow more drainage; 

 but I must certainly disagree with him in his recommendations of 

 glazed pots, as I myself have tried them, and have found, as I 

 expected, that if used for a time all my plants must inevitably perish. 

 But to return to the subject : after having attended to drainage, about 

 the middle of March I take off a quantity of cuttings, which soon 

 make good roots, after which I plant them separately, in small pots 

 at first, and move them gradually into larger ones until May, when 

 they generally begin to show buds, and about June they are in most 

 beautiful flower. All the blooming season I roll canvass over the 

 greenhouse, so as to keep off the intense rays of the sun, which take 

 away the colours and dry the soil, so as to make the flowers small, for 

 the Mimulus delights in a damp earth, yet cannot be seen in per- 

 fection when over-watered. Placing water in saucers, under the pots, 

 I know to be a common practice, yet it is founded on a gross error, 

 for if we inquire why water is placed under them, we are told, " The 

 Mimulus thrives on the banks of rivers, therefore it is natural for it 

 to have water constantly by it." This is true, yet are we not to con- 

 sidcr that the Mimulus, in a pot, has not the same freedom of air and 

 Miil its it has on the banks of streams, for in the latter position the 

 watur runs away after the plant has satisfied itself, but in a pot it 

 * See Gardeners' Chronicle fur September, 1841. 



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