50 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 
in the selection of the proper soil, and in its preparation. 
There is no better material to form the main part of the 
compost than the top spit of an old. pasture, where the 
soil is a rich loam inclined to heaviness. Such loam 
should be stacked for a few months before it is used. It 
should be broken up by the hand and passed through a 
1-inch sieve. To mix with this staple, some leaf-mould, 
formed of decayed oak leaves, is desirable, and sufficient 
sand should be used to make it an easily handled compost. 
The leaf-mould, like the loam, should be passed through 
a sieve. A little soot, and a sufficient quantity of Thom- 
son’s vine and plant manure to fill a 5-inch pot, if added 
to each bushel of the compost, have stimulating effects, 
which should not be overlooked. The most suitable pots 
are those known as 60’s, which have a diameter of 3 inches. 
If they are quite new, they will require immersion for one 
hour in clear water; and if they are not new, they must 
be washed perfectly clean—in either case allowing them 
to become quite dry before use, Not much drainage is 
required at this potting, as the plants will soon need 
moving into pots of a larger size. A few pieces of broken 
charcoal, with a thin layer of moss placed over them, 
forms a very safe and effective means of drainage for the 
small pots. In lifting the layers from their rooting quar- 
ters, every care should be taken to preserve the roots from 
getting broken, and the root-mass should be so trimmed 
as to prevent any difficulty in placing the layer in the pot. 
A small quantity of the rougher portions of the prepared 
soil should be placed over the moss, and firmly pressed with 
the hand; then place the young plant in position, making 
it about half an inch lower in the soil of the pot than it 
