8o THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



covering" will be required. Fermentation will proceed 

 gradually. 



Soil for Final Potting. 



About a fortnight or so before you commence potting, 

 chop the whole of the stack of loam to pieces in the fol- 

 lowing manner : Take cants of about a foot wide and cut 

 them through straight down with a spade. Chop the sods 

 to pieces with a very sharp hoe, by laying them grass-side 

 upwards. I have found this to be the easiest and quickest 

 way. Do not chop the turf smaller than cricket balls, for 

 it will get reduced in turning. When it is all chopped, 

 level it out a foot thick. It is then easy to measure what 

 quantity you have when it is remembered that twenty- 

 seven square feet make one cubic yard. To each yard add 

 four bushels of leaves collected the previous autumn ; a 

 barrow-load of old mortar rubbish (no pieces larger than 

 nuts), or coarse sand ; a barrow-load or two of ashes or fine 

 charcoal ; and twenty-eight pounds of artificial manure. 

 Thoroughly mix the whole of this together by turning it 

 over twice at least. Put this into a shed in a nice mound, 

 or cover it outdoors to keep off the wet, or, on the other 

 hand, prevent it from getting too dry ; and the whole mass 

 will become impregnated with the ammonia, etc., which 

 the different ingredients contain. 



Advice to Amateurs. 



For amateurs who do not require such large quantities 

 I would recommend one bushel of loam. To this add 

 about two gallons of rotten manure, two gallons of oak 

 or beech leaves, two gallons of old mortar rubbish or 

 charcoal, two gallons of wood ashes, half a gallon of 

 ground bones, and two pounds of artificial manure, made 

 either from blood, bones, fish, or fowl manure. If the 

 loam has not sufficient fibre a few more leaves may be 

 added, also a dash of coarse sand, making aibout two 

 bushels altogether. This quantity will be sufficient to pot 

 fifteen or sixteen plants into g-'m. pots (i6's). Various 

 makers' pots differ a little in size. 



