DKAINING POTS. 439 



qnantity of crocks is but a clumsy proceeding, and one which, if it 

 affords an opportunity for roots to spread themselyes freely, affords 

 also a harbour for ■worms, slugs, woodlice, and other vermin.^ To 

 remedy this, I put at the bottom a piece of perforated zinc, an inch and 

 a quarter, or more, square, according to the size of the pot, so as com- 

 pletely to cover the hole ; this perforated zinc may be had for a trifle of 

 any brazier or tin-plate worker, and may, by the help of a strong pair 

 of scissors or small shears, be readily cut to the requisite size ; upon 

 this I place a small potsherd, with its convex side upwards, taking care 

 that by resting partly upon the zinc it renders it immovable. I then 

 put in a quantity of good moss so as to form a layer of a third of 

 an inch, or more, thick, when pressed together by the mould, and 

 proceed to finish as usual the operation of potting the plant. I have 

 found this method to succeed perfectly : constant drainage is effected ; 

 the moss, particularly with the addition of the potsherd, prevents the 

 earth from choking the holes of the zinc, and by partial decomposition, 

 where it is in contact with the soil, affords an agreeable receptacle for 

 the roots of the plant, in which they appear to delight. All sorts of 

 vermin are excluded ; the operation of shifting is facilitated, as the 

 earth comes out of the pot unbroken ; and it is, moreover, a much more 

 cleanly process than the one commonly used. I must, however, add, 

 that if the pots thus treated are placed out of doors, it will stiU be 

 desirable that they should be put upon tiles or slates, or something of 

 the sort ; because, as the compost is generally rich, the worms will be 

 attracted by the water which drains from it, and although they cannot 

 get into the pot, if the bottom, inside, be level so as to keep the zinc 

 close all round, they wiH fill the hole below it with their casts, and 

 thus impede the drainage." 



Materials for drainage abound among the refuse of aU gardens. 

 Broken pots, called crocks, are usually employed, and, if not burnt too 

 hard, are amongst the more useful. It is, however, of considerable 

 importance that the material, be it what it may, should be soft and 

 porous. Burnt clay, pounded bricks, fragments of charcoal, all which, 

 by virtue of their porosity, retain gaseous matters, are among the best, 

 inasmuch as they not only drain soil, but feed plants. For the same 

 reason bones, crushed with a hammer into pieces varying in size from 

 that of a hazel nut to a walnut, may perhaps be regarded as the best 

 of all. 



If woody plants are allowed to remain growing in the same 

 pot for many years, as is sometimes the case, one of two things 

 must happen: either the roots, matted into a hard ball, 

 become so tortuous and hard as to be unfit for the free passage 

 of sap through them; or they acquire a spiral direction. In 



