Ferns and Fern Culture. 29 
from a 6in. pot is being put into a Tin. or 8in., without 
one of these sticks there would be difficulty in getting 
the new soil all round the ballin a proper manner. By 
means of the stick there is no difficulty whatever. 
One stick should be 14in. or 15in. long, lin. wide, and 
lin, thick, rounded at the bottom, and the rough edges 
smoothed; another should be 10in. or 12in long, lin. 
wide and 3in, thick; and one Sin. or Yin. long, jin. wide, 
and jin. thick, made slightly thinner at the bottom for 
small pots. When these are used the potting is better 
performed, and there is no risk of breaking the roots. A 
piece of slater’s lath will do for the largest, a double 
thick plasterer’s lath for the medium, and an ordinary 
lath for the smallest. They should be smoothed at the 
top, so that they may be handled with comfort. 
