CHAP. XI.] PLANTS IN POTS. 293 



laid on the top. It was formerly the practice 

 to sift the soil for plants in pots, so as to ex- 

 clude every stone, and even every lump ; and 

 the consequence was, that in those plants which 

 require a loamy soil, such as the pelargoniums, 

 the earth in the pot became a solid mass, which 

 it was scarcely possible for water to penetrate. 

 Where the new system is not adopted, the pots 

 should be filled nearly a quarter of their depth 

 with little bits of broken pots, called potsherds, 

 so as to insure complete drainage. When plants 

 are shifted, they are turned out of their old 

 pots with their balls of earth entire ; the roots 

 are then examined, and if any are wxmnded or 

 decayed they should be cut off. The new pot 

 having had a layer of potsherds put at the bot- 

 tom, with a little earth laid over them, the plant 

 is placed in the centre, so that the bole or collar 

 may be just above the level of the rim, and the 

 new earth being put in, the pot is shaken to 

 make it settle; the plant is then slightly 

 watered, and set aside in the shade for the rest 

 of the day. Plants should never be repotted 

 when in flower ; the best time is, indeed, when 

 they are growing, before their 

 flower buds begin to swell, as, 

 when the flower buds have ap- 

 peared, they should be allowed to remain un- 

 disturbed till the flowering season is completely 

 over. Sometimes the soil in a pot becomes 

 covered with moss. When this is the case, the 

 moss should be taken off, and the soil loosened 

 with a pot-hoe {jig. 26.). This little hoe is 

 also very useful when the soil in a pot has be- 

 come hard and caked together, so as to be 



FIG. 26. POT-HOE 



