CULTIVATION OF INCURVEDS 75 



former roots generally giving a closely built, solid flower, 

 so much admired in the Incurved type. 



The finest flowers I ever saw were grown in turf only 

 cut from the meadow about a month or so before it was 

 used for the final potting ; but it is not often that turf of 

 such excellent quality can be obtained, and cultivators 

 must content themselves with the best procurable. 



Yellow, fibrous loam of a fairly heavy nature should 

 form the basis of the compost, adding leaf mould, road 

 grit or silver sand, and a little wood ashes, this compost 

 being sifted for the earlier pottings, though -for the later 

 or final potting it should be broken up as advised for the 

 Japanese, adding a little mortar rubble, broken oyster 

 shells, and bone meal, and leaving out a portion of the 

 leaf mould if the nature of the loam renders this de- 

 sirable. 



The young plants should be potted on as they require 

 it, the same system being followed as advised for the 

 Japanese, but care must be taken not to over-pot or to over- 

 water them, and it may be necessary to give the weaker- 

 growing plants a size smaller pot than the others, this 

 applying also at the final potting, when pots of 9 to 10 

 inches in diameter may be used. Many people favour the 

 use of crushed bones in place of small crocks, but so many 

 failures have occurred through the use of insufficiently 

 cleaned, or I may say too fresh bones, that I strongly 

 deprecate the use of them (except as bone meal or flour 

 mixed in the soil), good clean crocks being preferable. 

 These should be covered with the fibrous portions of the 

 loam, which will keep the plants well drained in the 

 wettest of seasons. 



