DRAINING. 



437 



Of Eendle's pots (Fig. XCV., a and h), a differs in no material 

 degree from Brown's, except that, its lower angles are made stronger, 

 and it is better contrived for drainage ; the other (S, which was pro- 

 posed for striking cuttings) has a central hollow space which enables 



Fig. XCV. 



the bottom-heat to be better maintained. Neither of the plans seem, 

 however, to have found favour among gardeners, probably on account 

 of the expense ; indeed, it is manifest that three common pots of unequal 

 size can be readily so arranged as to produce all the effect of even 

 Eendle's second sort. 



Of course the inconveniences thus described are principally 

 sustained by plants ia small pots. "When the quantity of earth 

 is considerable, as in tubs or the largest kind of pots, the loss 

 of water through the sides is of little moment, and the variation 

 of temperature is more than counteracted by the large surface 

 exposed to the direct influence of the solar rays. In these, as 

 in all other cases, perfect drainage is of the greatest service, and 

 should be carefully secured by placing an abundance of broken 

 tiles, potsherds, &c., in the bottom of a pot, so as to prevent the 

 stagnation of water about the roots. 



Mr. Macnab, in his excellent practical .treatise upon the 

 cultivation of Cape Heaths, points out very forcibly the value of 

 good draining to that class of plants. There is scarcely any 

 danger, he says, of giving too much draining ; and, in order to 

 effect this essential object still more perfectly, he, in shifting 

 his Heaths, constantly keeps the centre elevated above the 

 general level of the earth in the pot or tub, so that at last 

 each plant stands on the summit of a small hillock. 



