56 



fore it is made use of, during which period it will be 

 proper to turn it over two or three times, in order to 

 expose all its parts to the atmosphere. Composts 

 should always be kept free from weeds. {Maddoch's 

 Flor. Direct. 93.) 



The compost generally employed, and mostly made 

 use of by Mr. Hogg, was, l-3rd fresh yellow loam, 

 or maiden mould ; l-3rd cow-dung, well rotten ; l-3rd 

 night-soil, two years old; l-3rd leaf-mould; 1-1 0th 

 sea or river sand ; to be well prepared and incorpo- 

 rated. Auriculas, he says, grow very well in this 

 mixture, but adds, that they should be top-dressed 

 about six weeks before they come into bloom with a 

 compost of a stronger and more active manure. Em- 

 merton's compost of goose-dung and blood, night- 

 soil, loam, and sugar-baker's scum, of each one-third, 

 is well calculated for top-dressing in February. 

 Whoever grows Auriculas in low situations will, per- 

 haps, do well to use old frame-dung instead of cow- 

 dung, because it dries sooner than cow-dung, which is 

 better calculated for elevated situations. The circu- 

 lation of air is always brisker on the hills than in 

 vales ; and, besides, Mr. Hogg attributed the rot, 

 which in most summers and autumns very frequently 

 attacks the Auricula, to too great a portion of cow- 

 dung in the compost. Where a large stud of Auri- 

 culas (to use a Yorkshire term) is kept, it seldom 

 happens that the same sort of compost, precisely, is 



