6 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF GARDENING [en. 



Potting. Perhaps one of the very best tests of an ex- 

 perienced amateur is to be found in his method of potting. 

 I am sure failures result more frequently from ignorance 

 and carelessness in the potting shed than in almost any 

 other department of work. In the first place, care should 

 be taken that the old pots have been well cleaned, and 

 scoured inside and out before being again used. Dirt 

 and moss clog the pores of the earthenware, and hinder the 

 free transmission of air and moisture to the roots of the 

 plant ; besides, if old fibres remain and adhere to the inside, 

 the new young roots get entangled, and for soft-wooded 

 plants make it difficult to repot without violent treatment. 

 Then it is a safe rule to " pot small," the smaller the pot 

 (within limits) the more vigorous the plant indeed it 

 never really thrives until the young roots have got well 

 through the soil, but they should be shifted before they 

 get turned too much by coming in contact with the pot. 

 There should be a liberal drainage of broken pot-sherds at 

 the bottom, with a thin layer of old moss over it. Next, 

 fill in with the coarser part of the compost, finishing with 

 the finer and the stuff is all the better if it has not been 

 run through a fine riddle. In potting soft-wooded plants 

 they are best merely shaken down and gently pressed ; 

 with hard-wooded you can scarcely be too firm. When 

 the operation is completed, a good watering consolidates 

 the soil and the roots of the plant, and if the pots are 

 clean, one may come to know by the outside appear- 

 ance, or by a rap of the gardener's knuckle, when more 

 water should be given. 



