REMARKS ON THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS IN CHARCOAL. 125 



laborious mechanical pulverization. In this finest of all states, carbon, 

 if used at all by the living vegetable, could be most easily appro- 

 priated. My experiments were, therefore, all made with the finest 

 pulverized wood charcoal I could procure, such as is used in making 

 gunpowder. 1st. I planted a young thrifty plant of Daphne odora in 

 this charcoal altogether ; in twelve months it was alive, the leaves 

 quite yellow. On examining the roots they had not in the least 

 increased or altered. I then repotted it in loam, with one quarter 

 charcoal, and watered with a very weak solutiou of nitrate of soda. 

 In four weeks the leaves had become of a dark blackish green, and 

 the plant was beginning to push vigorously. 2nd. I planted a fine, 

 root of Fuchsia fulgens, with a stem, in charcoal alone. It imme- 

 diately began to vegetate ; the leaves were, however, extremely dimi- 

 nutive, and soon dropped cff ; the flowers appeared also diminutive, 

 and finally dropped off likewise, just after opening. It then, with 

 the others, went to rest; but, to my surprise, in August, it again 

 began to vegetate, and went precisely through the same process as in 

 spring, others which were by its side remaining dormant; after this 

 it went again to rest. 3rd. I potted several seedling Camellias in 

 one quarter charcoal, one quarter old manure, one half loam; these 

 grew with great luxuriance, and the colour of the foliage was dark 

 healthy green. 4th. I potted several young Pelargoniums with 

 various quantities of charcoal, never exceeding cne quarter, often very 

 much less. In these the effect was the same, both coming very near 

 to the luxuriance and size of foliage of those treated with guano. In 

 August last I made up my mind to re-pot and top-dress a large 

 number of exotic plants, of various kinds, many of which were in a 

 bad state from neglect ; of these the chief number were Camellias. 

 I made up a compost, consisting of about two-thirds Roxbury fresh 

 loam, and one-third a compost chiefly consisting of old manure. To 

 this I added about one-fortieth part of charcoal, and had the whole 

 very carefully and intimately mixed ; with this I operated. In Sep- 

 tember, when I thought the earth had got well settled round the roots, 

 I began to water, every Saturday, with water in which guano had 

 been mixed, in the quantity of about one ounce to ten gallons. I was 

 perfectly astonished at the alteration which appeared in about four 

 weeks, in the general health of all the plants; it seemed to me like 

 magic; and many who visited the public conservatory, previous to 



