GROWING PLAJNTS IN P0T8. 167 



If the old draining breaks away when the ball comes out of 

 the pot, it is of no consequence ; but if it comes all a^v^^ay 

 together, do not j^ourself disturb it ; great care must therefore 

 be taken to make, as nearly as it may be, the new soil about 

 as haixi as the old, and not more so. Again, it is absolutely 

 necessary that the new soil be the same as the old, unless it is 

 Intended to wash out the old soil altogether, and grow a plant 

 in new. 



The shifting of a plant that has been neglected and become 

 pot-bound, and the roots matted into a hard mass, is attended 

 with some difficulty. It has first to be soaked in water until 

 the whole of the soil can be washed out, and the roots must 

 be disentangled as weU as possible, and whatever are damaged 

 in the attempt must be removed. If the damage is to any 

 extent, the plant must be pruned in accordingly, to dimi- 

 nish the demand made upon the roots. The plant should 

 then be potted like any of those which are potted for the first 

 time ; that is, the roots should be spread all round, as well 

 as they can be, in a much larger space than they occupied 

 before; and, if this be well managed, the plant will go on 

 with fresh vigour and make healthy growth ; but if we leave 

 this shifting until the plant looks sickly, it may be too far 

 gone to bear the operation. The principal object, however, is 

 to get rid of the sour soil by washing it out, to remove all the 

 roots that have perished, to open out the healthy ones, if 

 there be any, and let them occupy twice the space in a new 

 pot, with good soil between them all, so that any healthy 

 portions may send out new fibres to supply the deficiencies of 

 those lost. 



General Management. — One of the most prolific sources 

 of mischief is the crowding of too many plants into a given 

 space ; yet thousands (though this is saying a good deal) fall 

 into the error. We rarely go into a private greenhouse vdtln- 

 out seeing twice as many plants as ought to be there, and 

 never without seeing those most formidable enemies, the damp 

 and mildew, at work upon some one or more plants. We 

 need not say that the more moist earth there is in a confined 

 place, the more damp must prevail. Remember that every 

 time you distribute a few pails full of water, you are giving 

 so much to the atmosphere within the house, because the 

 work of evaporation begins dii-ectly ; and if the space be not 

 Large enough to hold it in harmless vapour, it must condense 



