POTTING. 



392 POTTING STAGE OR BENCH. 



erocked, it is considered desirable by some 

 to place a little moss or cocoanut fibre, or 

 even a few leaves, over the crocks before 

 putting in the soil, so as to prevent the 

 interstices between the crocks being choked 

 by aggregation of the finer particles of 

 earth that : lay be carried down from time 

 to time by the water during the process of 

 watering. There is, however, no absolute 

 need to do this, as the very presence of the 

 shells and potsherds at the bottom of the 

 pot secures the escape of surplus water, 

 even though a little earth be carried down 

 among them. The better course is to place 

 a little coarser mould immediately over the 



consolidating the earth by knocking the 

 pot as before, and pressing it round the 

 sides with a potting stick or with the 

 thumbs, which is most convenient when 

 dealing with the smaller sizes of pots. 

 Also press the earth firmly about the collar 

 of the plant with the thumbs. With the 

 generality of plants it is desirable to pot 

 firmly, not to ram the earth down hard, 

 but sufficiently firm to find that the plant 

 offers resistance if slight pressure be 

 applied to it to pull it upwards. Lastly, 

 never fill a pot with earth right up to the 

 edge, but only to about inch below the 

 edge of smaller pots, and I inch for larger 



POTTING BENCH. A. END ELEVATION ; B. FRONT ELEVATION. 



crocks, and use finer soil for placing imme- 

 diately around the roots of the plant and 

 filling the pot. Thirdly, in potting, the 

 crocking being done and a little course 

 mould thrown over them, some fine mould 

 should be put in and shaken together by 

 gently knocking the edge of the bottom of 

 the pot against the potting bench, or by 

 striking the sides of the pot gently with 

 the hand. If the plant is well rooted, 

 and most of the old earth surrounding the 

 roots has been removed, draw up the 

 mould already placed in the pot in a 

 conical form, so that the plant may- be 

 placed on the apex of the cone, and the 

 roots disposed about its sloping sides. 

 Then fill up the pot by throwing soil 

 over the roots with the hand or the trowel, 



pots. This should be done in order to 

 afford sufficient room for water when the 

 plant is watered. 



Potting Stage or Bench. 



To every greenhouse of sufficient size a 

 potting shed should be attached, furnished 

 with a shelf or stage of suitable height, on 

 which plants can be potted or repotted, as 

 the case may be, before removal to the 

 greenhouse. This should be of sufficient 

 height to prevent stooping ; the height 

 must of course be regulated by he height 

 of the person who mostly uses the stage; 

 it will vary from 2 feet 6 inches for short 

 persons to 3 feet for tall persons. In a 

 potting shed it is convenient to place 

 drawers below the shelf or stage to contain 



