150 



CASSELL'S POPULAK GAEDENING. 



fiom ten inches in diameter for the second size, to 

 eleven or twelve inches for the strongest and best 

 plants. Pots above this size will he superfluous, and 

 the plants in the hands of the amateur will he more 

 liable to get out of order ; indeed, very -fine Pines 

 can be grown in much smaller pots than the sizes 

 here recommended, as success depends more upon 

 feeding at the proper time, and daily attention to 

 minor details, than it does upon a large mass of soil. 

 HaiTBg already discussed the soil, its preparation, 

 and the necessary corrective ingredients, it is only 

 requisite to say that it must be dry; but as this 

 is a vague term, it may be explained as meaning 

 a compost sufficiently free from moisture to admit of 

 any amount of ramming or pressing without be- 

 coming adhesive, or losing its elasticity. In many 

 instances early spring plants have been potted -in 

 soil which has been much too wet, and the unsatis- 

 factory progress which they have made has been 

 attributed to every cause but the right one. If, then, 

 the.compost is not thoroughly satisfactory, it is better 

 to defer potting until it is made so by the addition 

 of rough, dry charcoal, or burnt earth, and exposure 

 to the atmosphere of a house, where it can become 

 thoroughly warm before it is used. 



Preparation of the House. — If the house or 

 pit intended for the reception of the plants has been 

 previously used, it should be thoroughly cleansed, 

 the glass and woodwork well washed — the latter 

 painted, if necessary^and the walls whitewashed 

 with quicklime and sulphur, for the twofold purpose 

 of destroying all insect life, and aiding in the diffu- 

 sion of light and heat, two important points in the 

 management of plants at this early season. The 

 preparation of the plunging material will next re- 

 quire consideration. If new tan or leaves have to 

 be used for giving bottom heat, they should be 

 collected, and well worked out of doors, where they 

 can be protected from wet, to get rid of the violent 

 heat before they are placed in the pit, otherwise 

 they wiU give much trouble in the future by becom- 

 ing too hot for the well-being of the roots. It is 

 quite true that they will not be placed in immediate 

 contact with the plunging material, consequently a 

 strong bottom heat will not injure them so much 

 directly as by forcing a weak, elongated growth at a 

 time when it is all-important that the plants should be 

 kept dwarf and sturdy. To avoid this dilemma it is 

 the safest plan to sift all the old tan, at least once a 

 year, and add a moderate quantity of new, either to 

 the surface or, in larger quantities, near the back 

 and front walls of the pit, to be properly mixed with 

 the old when the bed again requires renovating. 

 When the old tan occupies the centre of the bed, and 

 the outside rows are plunged in the new, they are in 



the most convenient position for rocking or lifting 

 should this undesirable operation be found necessary. 

 Good, sound Oak-leaves, if obtainable in proper con- 

 dition in November, though certainly a Httle mori> 

 troublesome than tan, are considered^ by many the 

 best for plunging purposes, as the gases, together 

 with the moisture, which they are constantly giving 

 off, contain all the elements conducive to the vigour 

 and health of the plants. Therefore, when and 

 where these are constantly used, their preparation 

 should be commenced as soon as they are harvested; 

 then, as has been advised in the management of tan, 

 their introduction should be piecemeal, by placing a 

 small quantity of the new on the surface of the bed, 

 and leaving the lower stratum undisturbed. The 

 greatest drawback where leaves are used, and the 

 old leaf -mould is not removed annually, is the ra- 

 pidity with which worms increase, and, as a matter of 

 course, find their way into the pots. Now, notwith- 

 standing the fact that modem theorists have elevated 

 these subterraneous workers by proving that they 

 fertilise and improve our pastures by raising tons of 

 soil to the surface, plant-growers in general, and 

 Pine-growers in particular, dread their presence in 

 their plunging-beds, and very naturally use their 

 best endeavours to destroy them. The most effectual 

 way is to remove all the infected matter, and, after 

 well dressing the sides and bottom of the pit with 

 quicklime, replace with new. If this is impracticable, 

 then the whole of the bed should be turned over, 

 dressed with lime as the work proceeds, and made 

 firm and level, ready for the reception of the new 



Where hot-water pipes are used for giving bottom 

 heat, as is shown in the sections, all these difficulties 

 are reduced or done away with, as the valves can be 

 opened or shut at pleasure, and the heat regulated 

 to a degree. The plunging material, under this the 

 best of all arrangements, being just deep enough to 

 receive the pots, may consist of tan, cocoa-nut fibre, 

 or leaves, aU good Pine-growers much jireferring the 

 latter after they have once tried them. 



Potting. — With pots, compost, and plunging-bed 

 in satisfactory order, select a number of the best plants 

 from the pit ; but before turning them out of the pots, 

 strip off a few of the lower short leaves to allow of 

 their being placed a little deeper in the pots they 

 are about to occupy, as well as to encourage the 

 formation of more surface roots from the hard, 

 brown part of the stem. When turned out remove 

 all the old crocks, and every particle of loose, inert 

 soil. Carefully preserve the roots from injury, and 

 proceed to fill the new pot with the roughest part of 

 the compost, which must be moderately well rammed 

 until its level will admit of the top of the ball being 



