POT PLANTS AND GARDEN FRAMES. Ill 



the summer and winter treatment of the plants in question is 

 something different in this climate, and this being often con- 

 troverted, is the principal error complained of. For instance, 

 in summer, most plants require large pots, with a compost of 

 good mellow loam and well rotted manure, or leaf mould, 

 with a little coarse sand, to give a moderate drainage to the 

 fibrous roots, in order that the earth may not become saturated 

 by heavy rains, or over-watering: the object should be, to 

 keep the roots of plants in summer, cool and moist, and in a 

 temperature as uniform as possible, without much repeated 

 watering, that washes away the nutriment contained in the 

 soil, which the plants ought to imbibe. In the winter, plants 

 require small pots, to be well drained, and their roots in a 

 moderately warm and dry state. 



It is a great item of economy for florists to cultivate flowers 

 in small pots, in order to grow and accommodate a great 

 number in a small space, and to give the pots a quantity of 

 drainage at the bottom, in order that, when over-watered, the 

 superfluous moisture may be carried off when in a flowering 

 state, and in this state the plants are offered for sale. In 

 their new home, the plants are often exposed to the hot sun, 

 or where bricks or other dry materials attract the sun, and 

 cause their leaves to droop ; in this state the earth in the pots 

 becomes dry, and often so much contracted as to leave a cavity 

 between the ball of earth and the pot, in such a manner that 

 when watered it passes through between the earth and the 

 pot, and leaves the plant as dry as fine dust. In this state, 

 the fibrous roots between the inside of the pot and the ball of 

 earth perish with drought ; the plant continues to live in a 

 sickly state during the summer, the leaves turn yellow, and 

 if over-watered, when taken into winter quarters, it finally 

 perishes owing to the mismanagement it has received in 

 summer. 



It should be a general rule with those who purchase plants 

 in spring, to repot many kinds into larger pots, for them to 

 thrive well during the summer, such as, all kinds of Roses, 



