PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 71 



mixture of fine sand. This soil should not be sifted, but 

 lumpy, yet well mixed together. 



In potting, as much of the old soil as can be taken off 

 without breaking the roots, should be removed, and the 

 plant set just up to the neck or collar, on the new soil ; 

 settle the earth well around the plant, and give a gentle 

 watering from the fine rose of a watering pot. Pruning 

 should be done as required; the eyes will break any where; 

 therefore, whenever a branch becomes too long or un- 

 sightly, cut it in; there need be no fear of injuring the 

 plant. 



If they have been planted out in the garden during the 

 summer, on removal to the house in the autumn they will 

 need a severe pruning. Cut off the young wood to within 

 a few inches of the old wood, and give the plants a little 

 rest, by giving less water and little heat ; when you wish 

 them to bloom, bring them into full sunlight, give more 

 heat, and, as soon as the young branches have begun to 

 push, give plenty of water. Every eye will produce a 

 shoot, crowned with one or more buds ; after blooming, 

 shorten in the blooming branches about one half; new eyes 

 will push, and a second display of bloom be the result. .In 

 watering roses, care must be taken not to render the soil 



