306 THE GREENHOUSE. [CHAT. XL 



and, shaking the earth from them, cut in the 

 roots, and repot the plants in smaller pots; or 

 tie them up by the roots, and hang them in a 

 cellar till the time for repotting in spring. 

 Some persons, after taking them out of the 

 pots, lay them in rows in a cellar, and cover 

 the roots with sand, till February, when they 

 are repotted and placed in a hotbed to start 

 them, as the gardeners call it, that is, to make 

 them begin to grow. No plant has been more 

 improved than the pelargonium by the new 

 system of rough potting, and mixing the soil 

 with charcoal. According to the old plan, the 

 loamy soil in which the geraniums were planted 

 soon caked together, and became so hard as to 

 be alike impervious to water and air. I have 

 myself found the ball of earth of a geranium 

 hard and dry in the centre, though I had 

 watered it every day. When this is the case, 

 the plants, being deprived of their proper 

 supply of carbon, become weak and etiolated, 

 and are more disposed to produce stems and 

 leaves than flowers. By the system of rough 

 potting, on the contrary, air and water are 

 admitted freely to the roots; and the conse- 

 quence i£ that the plants are compact in shape, 

 and covered with superb flowers. Pelargo- 

 niums require a great deal of air; and when 

 about to flower they should have a great deal 

 of water, but at other seasons very little. They 

 are killed with the slightest frost ; and they are 

 very liable to damp off, if watered too much, 

 and not allowed sufficient air, in winter. Air 

 is, indeed, quite essential to them. The best 



