112 THE PINK. 



' thick of rotten dung passed through a coarse sieve, 

 ' in which was a small quantity of one-year old 

 ' sheep-dung, the sweepings of the St. John's Wood 

 ' Lane sheep-pens. 



( I watered them freely with the pipe of the water- 

 ' pot between the rows, when the pods were swelling 

 ' and showing bloom ; for if the plants lack moisture 

 ' at this stage of their growth, when the weather is 

 ' generally hot and the ground dry, the flowers seem 

 * to languish, and never attain that degree of perfec- 

 ' tion they would do if the beds were kept moist and 

 ' cool. The top-dressing prevents the ground from 

 ' cracking, and the rains and water given from the 

 ' pot passing through it, convey gradually a whole- 

 f some nourishment to the plants. 



' The effect of careful, over careless cultivation, was 

 ' never perhaps more clearly evinced than in an in- 

 ( stance in my own neighbourhood in this season. 

 ( A friend of mine, who had received from me all the 

 f superior varieties of Pinks, planted them in a bed 

 ' in the common way ; and though they were pretty 

 ' healthy, and sent forth sufficient blooms., they pre- 



