52 



the edges of the pot. By so doing the quantity of 

 soil which the pot holds keeps much longer moist, and 

 consequently much trouble is avoided in watering ; and 

 another advantage gained is, that the plants grow so 

 much quicker, and soon become blooming plants, 

 when they are planted in pots of the same size as 

 these, and are treated similarly. 



SOIL AND MANURES. 



The greatest error into which the cultivators of the 

 Auricula wandered some thirty years ago was the 

 employment for its growth of highly stimulating ma- 

 nures and composts. No treatment could be more 

 repugnant to its natural habits, and the usual results 

 of over-excitement were the consequence — too much 

 luxuriance of foliage — deficiency and uncertainty of 

 bloom — canker and, its speedy consequence, death. 

 So precarious did the successful culture of the Auri- 

 cula become under such treatment, that it was gra- 

 dually being neglected, until Mr. Hogg, Dr. Horner, 

 and others, restored to it the attention it deserved, by 

 adopting a more natural soil and nourishment, and 

 thereby rendering it a more certain reward for the 

 florist's care. 

 The compost in most general use among Auricula 



