190 , General Notices. 



The first point to be attended to, in the process of potting, is to put a 

 crock over the hole in the bottom of the pot, and to do this in the proper 

 way requires attention. An oyster-shell answers well for large pots, keep- 

 ing the concave side downwards. Pieces of broken pots answer equally 

 well, provided they have a concave and a convex side, otherwise a very 

 small portion of the soil, which might, perchance, get washed down to the 

 bottom through the drainage, would clog up the crevices, and prevent the 

 escape of the water. This, simple as it may be, is the first important step 

 in potting ; and let it never be forgotten, that a house owes much of its sta- 

 bility to a good foundation-stone ; and this, be it remembered, is the foun- 

 dation-stone in potting. The next particular demanding attention is drain- 

 age, which should be of broken pots, varying in size according to the 

 dimensions of the pot. In ordinary cases, the depth of drainage should be 

 from an inch to an inch and a half. The potsherds which constitute the 

 drainage should be nearly of one size, which will render the object more 

 perfect. The broken pots can be easily separated, so as to suit the different 

 sized pots, by means of sieves having large and small meshes ; using the 

 larger shreds for the large-sized pots, and the reverse for the smaller ones. 

 In order that the soil may be prevented from intermixing with the drainage, 

 a little chopped moss should be sprinkled carefully over the shreds ; this 

 will effectually keep the soil and drainage apart ; a considerable portion of 

 moisture is at the same time retained by the moss, to which roots cling with 

 singular obstinacy, because they rest on a healthy, well-drained bed. This 

 condition secures to every plant healthy and vigorous action, whether it be 

 in the tiny pol in a Ward's case, or over the thousand acres which minister 

 largely to the wealth of nations in every hemisphere. Drainage is the soul 

 of gardening ; it is, in fact, life itself to every green leaf under the cultiva- 

 tor's care. No plant can be productive, either in the garden or in the field, 

 unless this is secured in a positive degree. Plants in pots, therefore, re- 

 quire the greatest care in this respect, because they are in every way arti- 

 ficially circumstanced ; and this extraordinary deviation from Nature 

 requires, on the gardener's part, all his energies and all his talents to over- 

 come. Perfect drainage secures to the superincumbent soil, under every 

 circumstance, the means by which vigorous action is induced, or can be 

 maintained for any length of time Imperfect drainage destroys this action, 

 by producing a glut of watery matter, and places the plant in a puddle of 

 soured soil, when nothing but the very worst effects are produced. 



In former days, the kind of soil used in potting was of a very fine de- 

 scription ; in these latter times, when cultivation is attended to, this kind of 

 soil is entirely discarded, and rough turfy material, full of fibre, is now 

 sought after, whether it is peat or loam ; the reasons for this preference are 

 obvious ; the fine screened soil soon becomes a compactly close body, which 

 neither air nor water can pass through; and we have already shown, that 

 unless both these elements have free access, we are swimming against the 

 stream. It may be said, that potting loosely, and not pressing the soil too 

 firmly in the pot, would neutralize the effects of fine sifted soil; so it would 



