SOILS — POTTING PLANTS. IT 



Loam best adapted for house-plants is to be found 

 under sods that have grown a long time, as in the 

 corners of old fences. Sods piled up and rotted, 

 thus combining loam and decayed vegetable matter, 

 make an excellent potting earth that is extensively 

 used by florists. 



Stable or barn-yard manure, thoroughly rotted, 

 the strength of which has not leached away by ex- 

 posure to the weather, should be secured if possible, 

 as a fertilizer of such plants as Roses and Carna- 

 tions, which require an extra rich soil. The sweep- 

 ings of paved streets, if moistened and allowed to 

 rot, forms a good manure or partial soil, available 

 in cities. 



Clean, light leaf-mold from the forest is almost 

 indispensable for lightening soils, and furnishing a 

 food that is necessary to many plants, as the Ivy 

 and Calla. It is also the best covering for small 

 seeds. 



Sand is also an important constituent of soil, 

 rendering it friable and less liable to become packed 

 or baked. 



The different ingredients should be thoroughly 

 incorporated by stirring together and sifting 

 through a coarse sieve — a coal-ash sieve will do. 



POTTING PLANTS. 



The light colored (soft baked), porous pots, known 

 as greenhouse pots, are perhaps the best for house 

 plants, if they can be set in a box of sand to pre- 



