IV PLANTING 57 



the whole in depth ; and if manure is to be added, 

 let it be mixed freely with the upper part of this 

 lower portion. If the bed is meant for Tea Eoses, 

 heavy soil is not necessary, though good loam is 

 desirable, and a large proportion' of the lower part 

 should consist of the best manure, remembering 

 the more manure is added the more the beds will 

 sink eventually as it decays. 



The upper third of the bed should next be formed. 

 If the imported material be loam, a good deal of 

 this may be used ; but if it be clay it should be 

 added very sparingly, and as well worked in as 

 possible with a good deal of the lighter soil and the 

 chopped turf, the upper two inches in all cases 

 being of soil that the hoe will pass through freely 

 and easily. The bed is now made up, with the 

 strongest soil and much of the manure forming the 

 larger lower part over the drainage, and the upper 

 one-third of rather more friable material, getting 

 gradually more porous towards the top, for the 

 admission of air and warmth and the encourage- 

 ment of fibrous roots. The beds should not be 

 trodden more than can be avoided, if there be time 

 for them to settle ; it will be better if they are 

 pressed gently from time to time, or allowed to sink 

 naturally of themselves. 



By the first or second week in November the 

 purchased plants ought to arrive, and these should 

 have been selected beforehand, if possible in the 

 nurseryman's quarters, or at least ordered very 

 early, as the good plants are sure to go first. They 

 should not be sent before November, for though 

 you may move your own plants with care in 

 October, they do not stand a long journey well 



