618 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 



long, 16 ft. wide, 14 ft. high ; with a Portland stone table in the 

 centre, the whole length of the house, 2 ft. 10 in. high ; likewise 

 a Portland stone shelf all round the house, 2 ft. wide. You noted 

 down my method of potting heaths, I believe; likewise my plan of 

 training the plants by tying them into shape with green threads, 

 which appeared to interest you much. [We hope Mr. Barnes will 

 be good enough to describe his method in some future letter.] You 

 told me you had not seen it practised anywhere else in Devonshire 

 to the same extent and perfection ; only partly adopted by a 

 neighbour or two of mine, that had been to see me. You said 

 that you never could have believed, if you had not seen it, that 

 the roots of heaths could be coaxed up amongst stones and rough 

 sods of earth. Now you have seen the roots of the heaths 

 here under my care actually all coaxed up in one mass of white 

 fibres, from 4 in. to 10 in. above the rim of the pot, and the 

 branches, in like manner, coaxed below the rim of the pot. I need 

 not trouble any one further with my own observations, except to 

 say that we have only to go to any common, where the native 

 heath grows for an example. They do not have soil sifted for 

 them ; they do not have all the stones picked out of the 

 earth to make them grow : no ; they grow amongst the stones 

 and vegetation continually springing up round them; and decay 

 with the season, with their roots about them to nourish them. 

 Again, go to the common, take a spot where the heath grows, 

 dig the ground up, pick all the stones out of the earth, sift the 

 soil, replant the heath plants, water them, nurse them, attend to 

 them, &c. Do you think that would be assisting nature ? Far 

 from it. You would soon find that you had been acting in com- 

 plete opposition to it in everything that you had been doing, in- 

 stead of assisting; and I fear we may soon see that we have all 

 so acted, in almost every thing we have hitherto practised. 



On second thoughts, that you may have it from my own pen, I 

 will take the present opportunity of making a few Remarks on 

 Potting, not only heaths, but every thing, and leave you to make 

 any observations you think in favour of, or against, my system. 



My second letter explained to you how my potting-bench is 

 furnished; and my practice is not to mix up any soil beforehand, 

 except for such plants as balsams, chrysanthemums, pelargo- 

 niums, and plants of that description : but for orchideous stove 

 plants, New Holland plants, heaths, &c, I handle and pot 

 them, according to their constitution, with loam, heath mould, 

 ■pebbles, broken stones, whole ones, charcoal and charcoal dust 

 (which is the life and soul of almost all plants, as you will see 

 as I go on), soot, lime, sand, bone-dust, &c. Now, for ex- 

 ample, do you not think it would appear ridiculous of me, 

 if I were going to fresh pot my New Holland plants, if I were 

 to say to one or more of my men, Get so much heath mould, so 



