ON DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF COMPOSTS. 151 



persons ajgly the water with a rose watering-pot, both winter 

 and summer; others I liave sen water the plants from one end of 

 the shelf or stage to f..e other, without deliberation, whether It was 

 winter or summer, or in what state the plants were in: instances 

 of this kind are not solitary. In the spring of 1831, I raised from 

 cuttings 200 plants of the following sorts : Gloxinia maculata, G. 

 speeiosa, G. caulescens, and G . alba ; and the display of fine 

 blooming plants for several months perfectly satisfied me for the 

 attention required. If your Correspondent will try the above 

 method, I am confident lie will attain what he is now far distant 

 f,om - G.H. 



ARTICLE IV.— On different Varieties of Cottiposta. 

 By Mr. F. F. Ash ford. 



Agreeably to my promise made in the Floricultural Cabinet, 

 \ ol. II. p. 270, I now forward for insertion the following paper on 

 the various composts that may be obtained by admixture, or adding 

 one kind of primary soil to another, so as to form soils or food 

 suitable to the roots of all kinds of plants, whether exotic or indi- 

 ous, woody or herbaceous, aquatic or succulent. 



It having been found that the most fertile soils arc those which 

 contain a mixture of various ingredients, the conclusion was ob- 

 vious, that soils artificially composed of the same or similar mate- 

 rials would prove similarly fertile. This gave origin to the various 

 compositions termed composts, whose value, of course, must be 

 tried by the two leading tests of their proportional quantity of car- 

 bonic acid gas, and humic acid, and their capability of taking up 

 and retaining water. It will probably be necessary again to repeat 

 il'e primary kinds of which the following compositions are formed, 



thai the reader of this paper will not be compelled to refer to the 

 other paper in another vol •. 



1 '" al " 4 Vegetable decaved substances 



3 Peat Sand 



■i Manurt 

 I- l.i-iht loam : equal portions of loam and peat. 



I ighl rid, loam : equal quantities of bam, peat, and decayed 



'lung. 



; ' ■-''" "' '' mnd ) l '* : ' 1 " : wme as foeabove, with the addition 

 ol one-sixth sand. 



