66 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



that the ball of earth enveloping the roots of a plant 

 could be turned out of a flower-pot in the same way. In 

 most cases the slightest tap on the edge of the pot is suffi- 

 cient to turn out the ball of earth. Soil, in depth accord- 

 ing to the size of the plant, should be placed in the bottom 

 of the pot, the ball placed in the center, and the soil 

 packed moderately firm in the space between that and 

 the sides of the pot, either by the fingers or by a piece of 

 wood, made of suitable size for the purpose. When plants 

 are first potted off, or shifted, they should be stood with 

 the pots touching each other, if the diameter of the plant 

 is less than that of the pot ; but, as they begin to develop 

 growth, the plants should be spread apart, according to 

 their size or development of foliage, to allow the air free 

 circulation about the outside of the pots. The effect of this 

 is most marked in the greenhouse, and teaches us a les- 

 son as to the great necessity of the admission of air to the 

 roots in all our operations, whether under glass, or in the 

 open field. If we pot off a lot of Fuchsias, Geraniums, 

 or other large-leaved plants, with the pots touching each 

 other, and place them in a temperature of sixty degrees, 

 in eight or ten days they will have grown so as to cover 

 over the whole space, so that the pots can hardly be seen. 

 Examine those in the center of the lot, and it will be 

 found that the roots that have reached to the side of 

 the pot are few and feeble ; but move a portion of the 

 pots so that a space of an inch or two is made between 

 them, to give the air a free circulation around the pots, 

 and in six days after it will be found that strong and 

 healthy roots will have been 'emitted by those that have 

 been given the additional space, while the others, left 

 standing close, have made little or no progress in root 

 formation, and but a slender and weakly upward growth. 

 The roots in the open field, could we see them in their 

 unbroken state, as we can in turning out a plant from a 



