14 THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



Potting into 6-iii. Pots (or 33' s). 



Soil : To every bushel of good, yellow, fibrous loam, 

 which has been cut six months or more and chopped about 

 the size of walnuts, add two gallons of leaf mould, two 

 gallons of rotten manure, two gallons of old mortar 

 rubbish or charcoal, not larger than nuts, and two gallons 

 of wood ashes, half a gallon of ground bones, and half a 

 gallon of coarse sand. The latter need not be added if the 

 loam has plenty of fibre in it. If mortar rubbish cannot 

 be had, add more sand, but sand has not the nourishment 

 that old mortar rubbish contains. This quantity will be 

 sufficient for about fifty plants. Commence by putting one 

 good-sized crock, hollow side down, over the hole of a 

 clean -pot, and cover this with a layer of old mortar 

 rubbish about the size of nuts to the depth of about three- 

 quarters of an inch, then fill in another layer of the 

 roughest or turfy parts of the soil. Ram this pretty firmly 

 with the blunt end of the potting-stick ; sprinkle a handful 

 of finer soil loosely over this for the roots to rest upon ; turn 

 the plants out of the 4-in. pots by giving them a tap on the 

 bench, catching them with the left hand ; and then stand 

 each one in the centre of the pot, and with the crown fully 

 half-an-inch below the rim of the 'pot. Hold the plant in 

 position until sufficient soil has been put in to keep it 

 upright, ramming it gently and evenly all round until the 

 pot is filled level to the crown of the plant, not more. Be 

 careful that your stick is not too wide, and do not punch 

 too closely to the old ball, or with one punch you may cut 

 through the roots all down one side. This will bruise every 

 ro6t, and the plant will take some time to recover. 



Hints on Watering. 



Some growers shade their plants after this potting, but 

 if the operation is carefully done shading is unnecessary. 

 Sprinkling the plants once or twice daily will be all that 

 is required for a few days. The plants should be returned 

 to the frames after this shift, and may be kept a little 

 close for a day, to keep the wind from blowing directly 



