220 THE MANSE GARDEN. 



brown, rich blue, bright pink, crimson, or glowing 

 scarlet. A green edging is fine ; but that combined 

 with a crimson ground colour, being very rare, is 

 probably on that account prized the most. 



Florists have given recipes for composts with the 

 trifling exactness of invalids who pore upon dietetics 

 and weigh their food. Sound earth, vegetable earth, 

 peat earth, decayed willow-wood, and wood ashes, are 

 recommended in proportions from a half down to 

 twelfth and twentyfourth parts. No doubt such a 

 commixture may be very good, but some other will 

 do just as well. Let the compost be rich and light, 

 consisting of one half of old rotted cow's dung, either 

 from a spent hotbed or gathered from the fields, and 

 the other half black mould from the garden, adding 

 more or less of peatmoss and sand according as the 

 soil is light or heavy the whole mass to be so 

 blended as to assume a uniform consistence. With 

 this fill the flowerpots within an inch of the top, 

 taking care to cover the hole in the bottom with a 

 piece of slate to prevent the intrusion of worms. 

 The pots should be six or seven inches wide and 

 about the same measure in depth. Smaller ones 

 may be used for bringing forward young plants, 

 whether seedlings or offsets. The proper time for 

 planting or repotting is in August. Strip every 

 plant of its decayed leaves and of all stumps of roots 

 beneath the young fibres, and, having firmed the 

 earth with the hand, give a plentiful watering. The 

 pots may then be closely set together in the frame, 

 which should be half filled with sawdust, in which 

 the pots are to be immersed to the lip. The glass 

 cover may be put on at the first to encourage striking, 



