MISCELLANEOUS EXHIBITION PLANTS. 101 



all the light and air they can stand without flagging, so as 

 to secure short-jointed sturdy growth. When the plants 

 nearly fill the pots with roots, they should be shifted into pots 

 an inch larger, using loam, leaf-mould, and sand, replaced in 

 the same position, and carefully watered until the roots have 

 penetrated the new soil. By the beginning of March all 

 rooted cuttings should have received their first shift, and the 

 most forward will be ready for the next, after which they 

 should be placed in cold frames, protecting them only from 

 frost and cold winds. It is a good jDlan to turn the plants 

 cai'efully out of the pots and examine their roots before shift- 

 ing them, as some varieties root quickly and may be ready 

 for shifting by the beginning of March, while others may not 

 require it until towards the end of April. Great care and 

 discrimination is required at this stage of their growth, and 

 any slow-rooting varieties should be brought forward with 

 heat, to be finally shifted along with the others. 



The second shift should be into 5i-inch pots, the strong 

 growers into pots an inch larger, using soil similar to that 

 employed at the last shift. When the roots have taken 

 possession of the soil, the plants should receive their final 

 shift into flowering pots, which may be 9 or 10 inches in 

 diameter for single plants, and 11 or 12 inches when three 

 plants are placed in a pot. Larger pots are unnecessary, and 

 should not be allowed in competition. The compost should 

 consist of two-thirds rich fibry loam, and one-third in equal 

 parts of leaf-mould and di'ied cow-manure, with the addition 

 of rough sand to make the whole free and open. To every 

 barrow-load should be added one peck of bone-meal and one- 

 half peck of any good artificial manure. In the case of exti'a- 

 heavy soil, a little charcoal nuts should be added, and the 

 whole well mixed together. A " potting-stick " should be 

 used to firm the soil round the side of the pot, so as to pro- 

 duce hard fibry roots, which give firmness and solidity to the 

 wood, a condition essential for the production of a quantity of 

 flowers of good quality. Over-crowding in the frames should 

 be avoided, and the sashes should be taken off in favourable 

 weather, but replaced in frosty nights or during heavy rain. 



