48 Ferns and Fern{Culture. 
eget : 
It is by far the better plan to repot several times as 
required, giving a slightly larger pot each time, than to 
put a plant out of its pot into one much larger, with the 
object of saving the trouble of repotting in a month or 
two. The first plan will result in the plant obtaining 
the full value from each small supply of new soil, while 
the latter plan—which is really overpotting—will pro- 
bably cause sickness and death. The reason for this 
is difficult to understand, yet it is a stubborn fact ; there- 
fore, amateurs may take! warning, and professional 
gardeners, too, for overpotting is a very common 
practice. 
Plants require repotting less frequently the larger 
they become and the larger the pots are in which they 
are growing. This operation may be continued through 
spring and summer, but it is as well to cease at the end 
of September. After that time little growth will be 
made, and the adding of new soil, if it did not cause 
injury to the plant, would be of no use, for its properties 
would be washed away before the spring by the con- 
tinued watering in the meantime. 
Pots must be clean when used. If new, they should 
be dipped in water until they cease to absorb it. Those 
used before must be scrubbed with a brush and hot 
water both inside and out, then allowed to dry before 
being used again. Pots dirty on the outside look 
slovenly ; if dirty inside, they are sure to cause injury 
to the plant when next it has to be removed. A wet or 
a dirty pot will cause theZnew soil to adhere so tena- 
ciously that it will be impossible to turn the plant out, 
for repotting, without leaving behind a lot of soil and 
roots, and breaking up the ball, thereby causing injury. 
If « new pot is used without first being dipped to a 
sufficient degree in water, when the plant has been put 
in, it will quickly absorb moisture from the soil, and 
probably cause the plant to suffer before the evil is 
detected ; the soil will also adhere to a new dry pot, as it , 
will to a dirty old one, and lead to mischief in that way. 
Pots become green when in use as the result of vegeta- 
tion growing upon their damp surfaces. This should be 
removed by frequent washing with a scrubbing brush 
