b^ THE AMATEUE S GEEENHOUSE 



hollow side downward, a concave piece of crock large enougli 

 to cover the hole. Over this place a layer of crocks, the thick- 

 ness of which must be regulated by the size of pot and the 

 character of the plant. "We will take a six-inch pot or " thirty- 

 two." If a soft-wooded plant, such as a geranium or fuchsia, 

 is to be potted, it will sufl&ce to place five or six rather large 

 crocks over the one which covers the hole. On the other 

 hand, in preparing the pot for a hard-wooded plant — such, 

 for example, as the heath, the crocks should be broken up 

 small and placed in the pot somewhat regularly to a depth 

 of about an inch. For large pots it will not be necessary to 

 break the crocks so fine, but in no case must they be used too 

 large. Over the crocks put a layer of the rougher portions 

 of the compost, flaky leaf mould or dried moss, to prevent the 

 finer portions of the compost running down between the crocks 

 and choking up the drainage. If precaution is not taken to 

 prevent this mishap the superfluous water will be unable to 

 escape, and the soil will soon become sour through remain- 

 ing in a saturated condition. 



To form a nice bed for the ball of the plant to be potted 

 put in the bottom a sufficient quantity of the compost to raise 

 the plant to the desired height. No rules on this point can 

 be given, but in no case should the crown of the plant be 

 buried very deep, and in the case of large specimens of hard- 

 wooded plants sufficient soil should be placed underneath to 

 raise the surface of the old ball of soil high enough to require 

 little or no soil over it. In all cases the soil must be 

 pressed firm, and composts consisting entirely or chiefly of 

 peat will require much more pressing than would be desirable 

 for composts of which loam is the staple. In potting oif 

 from cutting pots there will be no difficulty in pressing the 

 soil firm enough with the hands, but in shifting established 

 plants from one pot to another a potting stick will be neces- 

 sary. This can be readily made, and the most convenient size 

 will be fifteen inches long, an inch and a half wide, and between 

 a quarter and half an inch thick at the top, to admit of its 

 being more readily grasped with the hand ; the corners can 

 be shaved off" with the knife. "With this the soil must be 

 worked regularly round the ball, so that no vacant space may- 

 be left between the old ball and the side of the pot. The soil 

 must also be pressed to an equal degree of firmness all round 

 the ball ; for if less firm on one side than the other the water 



