GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



525 



plants; loam, from that which contains a 

 quantity of the roots of grasses, and is freer and 

 more open in its texture, to that which is of 

 a more adhesive nature; leaf-mould used largely 

 for soft-wooded plants; sand and manure. The 

 best time to lay in a stock of these is about July 

 or August. It is better not to lay in more 

 than sufficient to last a year. Both peat and 

 loam should be stacked in the open, not in a 

 dry shed, as they are difficult to work when 

 dust dry. The soil when used should contain 

 sufficient moisture to cause the particles to 

 adhere when pressed. On no account must 

 any plant ever be potted in soil that is too 

 wet. Loam of a yellow colour is generally the 

 best; it should be procured from a common 

 or old pasture that produces a thick, close 

 sward, and as a rule the better and finer 

 the quality of the grass the better the loam. 

 That which contains anything of a red, irony 

 nature should not be used, as it is unsuited to 

 most things. The sand should be pure, sharp, 

 and gritty. 



In preparing soil for potting, whether peat or 

 loam, it should be broken by hand for special 

 plants, or chopped with a spade and put through 

 a coarse sieve for ordinary plants — a sieve of 

 2-inch mesh is best for this purpose. In all 

 cases the fibrous portion contained in the soil 

 should be used amongst it, not discarding it as 

 is sometimes done, as it is unquestionably the 

 most important ingredient. For some things 

 it is necessary to sift a portion of the earthy 

 matter out, so that what is used may contain a 

 greater proportion of fibre. 



Open-air Treatment. — The majority of green- 

 house plants are benefited by exposure in the 

 open air for a few weeks after they have com- 

 pleted their growth, say from the last week in 

 July to the first in September. This with 

 most things gives ample time for ripening and 

 hardening the season's growth? It is necessary 

 to be careful for the first week or so not to 

 expose the plants to the full sun, as whilst under 

 glass they have been more or less shaded, and 

 the sudden change may be hurtful. Many hard- 

 wooded plants have their leaves injured in this 

 way, and although this is not immediately appa- 

 rent, they gradually assume an unhealthy brown 

 colour from which they do not recover. In the 

 case of delicate-rooted plants, especially those of 

 a hard-wooded nature, the pots should be pro- 

 tected from the action of the sun, for the roots of 

 a healthy plant lie thickly against the inner sur- 

 face of the pot, and if the full force of the sun 

 comes upon it injury is likely to result. The 



pots should therefore be partly plunged in ashes 

 or cocoa-nut fibre. A piece of old canvas or mat 

 tied round the pots is the best remedy for large- 

 sized plants; and in the case of small ones, if 

 they are placed closely together, the heads of 

 one row will generally afford enough shade to 

 the pots in the row behind them, or thin boards, 

 equal in width to the depth of the pots, reared 

 against them at the sunny side, will effectually 

 protect them. Heavy drenching rains may prove 

 harmful, especially if there is a spell of dull wet 

 weather. The simple expedient of laying them 

 down on their sides, the rim of the pot resting 

 betwixt a couple of bricks or small pots inverted, 

 will prevent this. Precautions must be taken 

 against the stopping of the holes at the bottom 

 of the pots by worm -castings, &c. A thick 

 layer, say 6 inches deep, of finely-sifted ashes 

 should be placed on the surface where they are 

 to stand; this is preferable to standing them 

 on pots or bricks, which deprives the plants of 

 the moisture and coolness at the root obtained 

 by contact with the ground. The surface of the 

 ashes should be damped every day in hot weather, 

 as also should the material advised to be placed 

 round the pots while standing out of doors. 



Stopping and Pruning. — If a satisfactory result 

 is to be attained the training of plants, with few 

 exceptions, must be commenced in their infancy. 

 If once a plant is allowed to run up with a long 

 lanky stem it is difficult afterwards to get it 

 into a satisfactory shape. In training pot-plants 

 it is necessary to look to the form they will 

 ultimately have. As a rule they should be so 

 treated in their early stages as to ensure their 

 being well furnished in after years with healthy 

 foliage down to the base. 



The observant cultivator will, in training any 

 plant, take into consideration its natural habit. 

 To ensure the requisite balance all shoots that 

 have a tendency to outgrow others should be 

 stopped back and bent down in a horizontal 

 position, so as to induce them to break back 

 freely, persevering in this treatment until the 

 foundation for the future specimen is laid. In 

 addition to the early training which plants re- 

 quire, many must also have their shoots short- 

 ened back yearly immediately after flowering. 



II. The Conservatory. 



The conservatory, to be enjoyable at all 

 seasons, and particularly in winter, should be so 

 situated as to be contiguous to, if not directly 

 connected with the mansion, by means of a 

 corridor, and so constructed and embellished 



