POTTING YOUNG PLANTS 71 



sweet, and in short is a most indispensable subject. Nothing 

 can answer the same purpose. Fine yellow sand which we 

 sometimes see used for cheapness is no substitute, for rather 

 than opening the soil it binds it together. Fine silver sand, 

 being harder, will not do that, but it cannot open the soil like 

 to the coarser. 



It has a further use with regard to cuttings, for it helps to 

 prevent damping off, and it is also an aid to the young roots. 

 We worked under an instructor many years ago who covered 

 his cutting pots with really dry silver sand, so that as he removed 

 his dibble from the hole and simultaneously inserted the cutting, 

 the silver sand ran in too and simply embedded that cutting in 

 sand. Beyond any shadow of doubt he was acting on a correct 

 principle. 



POTTING YOUNG PLANTS 



We now come to the actual potting, and will deal first with 

 the handling of rooted cuttings and seedlings. 



There is no stereotyped way of potting these, but there is 

 room for plenty of individuality. Every potter develops a 

 method of his own, and though differing from one another in 

 small matters of detail they all strictly adhere to the points that 

 matter. These are : 



(1) That the roots are not cramped or doubled up. 



(2) That they do not reach out to the side of the pot. 



(3) That they are not buried too deeply. 



(4) That the soil is uniformly firm from the top of the pot 

 to the bottom. 



(5) That the degree of firmness is decided by the known 

 requirements of the class of plants being potted. 



(6) That the pots are not too full. 



We have said that in matters of detail every potter is a law 

 unto himself, so in describing how to do it we will fall back upon 

 our own method. Given a large number of rooted cuttings or 

 seedlings with small roots, we will describe as nearly as we may 

 our own method of handling. 



The size pot we are dealing with is what is known as small 

 6o's. On the bench immediately before us is a heap of compost 



