THE PLEASURE, OR [MARCH; 



come dry, and when sufficiently so, and wanted for use, pass if 

 through a coarse screen or sieve, to reduce its parts, and take out 

 stones, or any other extraneous substance which it contains. 



The pots made use of for spring potting, should be ten inches wide 

 at the top, five inches at the bottom, and eight inches deep in the 

 side, with a hole in the centre of the bottom, an inch in diameter. 



The pots are first to be near half filled with compost, previously- 

 placing an oyster-shell or such like, with its hollow side down- 

 wards, over the hole in the bottom of each : the compost is to be 

 higher at the sides than at the centre of the pots, and the plants 

 intended for them, which are supposed to have been wintered in 

 small pots, containing three plants each, are to be carefully turned 

 out with the earth adhering to them in a ball ; and after rubbing off 

 half an inch of the surface of the old mould round the plants, above 

 their fibres, cleaning them and cutting of the points of their de- 

 cayed leaves, the ball is to be carefully placed in the centre of the 

 pot, and the space between it and the sides filled up with the pre- 

 pared compost. 



If your plants have been wintered one plant in each pot only, a 

 size much smaller than the above, will be sufficient to shift them 

 into, but when three plants grow and flower together in a large 

 pot, they appear to more advantage. 



This being done, give the plants a little water, and observe that 

 the earth comes no higher up their stems than it did in the former 

 pots, nor should the compost come nearer than within an inch of 

 the top of the rim, after it has been gently shaken or struck against 

 the ground in finishing ; as an inconvenience will attend its being 

 too full, whtn the operation of laying, comes to be performed, which 

 requires some additional mould on the surface, for the layers to 

 strike into. 



When the plants are thus potted off for bloom, they should be 

 placed in an open airy part of the garden under an arch of hoops, 

 that in case of cold drying winds, heavy rains, or cold frosty nights, 

 mats may be thrown over, to preserve them from the effects of 

 such unfavourable weather. In this situation they are to remain, 

 always open to the air, except in the cases above mentioned, and 

 be kept regularly watered with soft water, as often as appears ne- 

 cessary, from a fine rosed watering-pot. For their further treat- 

 ment see next month, May, \?c. 



The plants which were planted in large pots last autumn, where 

 they are to remain to flower, should now have the did mould taken 

 out, as near to their roots as possible, without disturbing them, and 

 replaced with fresh compost ; after which, treat them as above. 



The common carnations in beds, borders, 8cc. may be removed 

 towards the latter end of this month, and planted where desired. 



Pin kg. 



The culture of pinks is much less difficult than that of carna- 

 tions : they are hardier, more easily propagated, increase more 

 abundantlv* and less liable to incidental casualties thun the latter. 



