V MANURES 85 



if healthy and doing well according to their habit 

 will take their full share and enjoy it, though 

 naturally not requiring so much as the stronger 

 growers. Comtesse de Nadaillac will require her 

 food and answer to it in size of glorious flowers, but 

 an extra dose will not raise her to the stature of 

 Ulrich Brunner. I mean either an evidently un- 

 healthy . plant, or one which though fairly healthy 

 does not from some unknown cause thrive and do 

 as well as the others. Such a one had always 

 better be removed than kept and nursed : try giving 

 it away; it does not sound very generous, but 

 removal to a different soil and situation will be 

 either kill or cure, and experience will show many 

 wonderful instances of the latter eventuality. 



Care should also be taken that newly moved 

 plants may have their liquid manure very much 

 weaker till they have made some strong growth 

 with large healthy new leaves. The wrong prin- 

 ciple, then, is the supposing that because a plant is 

 the strongest in the bed it therefore wants the least 

 of the liquid manure ; on the contrary, it wants, 

 because it can use, the most. 



The time for using liquid manure is May and 

 June, especially after rain if possible ; if some be 

 given in April, be careful of the young foliage, and 

 do not give any to " maiden " dwarfs till they have 

 made some growth, being extra careful in this case 

 that no drops fall on the plant itself. But will this 

 be sufficient for a whole year's food ? That would 

 depend a good deal on the soil, and whether 

 artificial or natural solid manures were used as 

 well. It is not advisable to apply any in the 

 autumn after July, as the second growth of wood 



