PEOPER TREATMENT. 43 



humble " workers together " with Him who cares for all 

 His hands have made. 



I have said, heretofore, that our plants have a way of ex- 

 pressing their wants, and thus telling us how to treat 

 them. But how much they can tell, depends altogether 

 upon how well we can understand ; and to understand it 

 all, requires long and patient study and practice. All 

 that the most accomplished florist knows of the proper 

 treatment of plants, he has learned from the plants them- 

 selves, either directly in his own experience, or indirectly 

 by the experience of others. Only in this way can any one 

 become a master workman. As we, however, are mere 

 apprentices to the art, we may be glad, for the present, 

 to get its rudiments well in hand. So let us begin at 

 the beginning with 



THE PROPER SOIL. 



This is a matter of primary importance, because the 

 soil in the pots is to contain the material, which, when 

 dissolved in water, becomes the food of the plants. Prob- 

 ably you know already that plants always take their sus- 

 tenance in liquid form. Now, if the soil consists wholly 

 or chiefly of clay, it becomes so compact and hard that 

 the water can not penetrate to the roots, but runs off be- 

 tween the "ball" and the pot. We must therefore mix 

 with the clay sufficient sand to make it porous and open. 

 But to this mixture we must also add the real or chief 

 food of the plant, namely, well-rotted manure combined 

 with leaf-mould from the woods, or with decayed and finely 

 pulverized sod from a loamy pasture. 



As the soil in the pot is comparatively small in quantity, 

 you can see that it ought to be of a richer quality than 

 any you would be likely to take up at random from an 

 ordinary field or garden. A good sandy loam thus taken 

 will generally answer the purpose, if thoroughly mixed 

 with an equal or larger part of a compost made of the two 



