THE REJECTIONS OF PLANTS. 
207 
consider it to be the effects of repletion ; or in other words, that those plants 
which are supplied with, and are capable of imbibing, a larger quantity of liquid 
sustenance, must necessarily eject a greater portion of that food in the form of 
excrement ; and in this opinion we think we are borne out by the fact, that those 
plants which possess the strongest and most juicy roots, are productive of the 
greatest injury to the soil. If this hypothesis be correct, it follows that when by 
any means a plant is furnished with a superabundance of moisture, it will become 
so completely saturated, as to cause an unusual discharge of excrementitious 
matter ; which, accumulating about the roots, renders the plant unhealthy, and is 
in fact the cause of what is usually termed " sour " soil, instead of the stagnant 
water, as is generally supposed. Plants in pots may frequently be observed to 
become sickly from this cause, and we have repeatedly taken them from the pot 
when such has been the case, removed part of the soil, and placed them in another 
pot with some fresh soil, without producing the slightest beneficial effects ; but 
when the roots have been cleared of every particle of soil, and potted in a fresh 
compost, the plant has speedily recovered its usual health and luxuriance, and 
flourished with its wonted vigour and energy. Still further, we have seen orange 
trees, the roots of which had been so much injured by superfluous moisture as to 
lose every leaf, and in this state they have been taken from the soil, their roots 
carefully cleaned and washed several times in soapy or other water, after which 
they have been replaced in tubs in a fresh soil, and by being kept in a moist 
heat have speedily commenced growing, and in a short time have been again 
clothed with healthy and luxuriant foliage. Nor are orange trees alone to be 
mentioned here, for we have seen many other plants in a similarly unhealthy state 
treated in precisely the same manner, with equally beneficial results ; and we 
believe the system of washing the roots of plants is frequently practised by the 
growers of Heartsease, though probably without any knowledge of the principles 
which render such a process necessary. 
These facts, if they do not establish the opinion we have above expressed, at 
least demonstrate the existence of certain functions in plants which are capable of 
discharging any refuse matter, and also that these rejections are highly detrimental 
to the plant emitting them. The question therefore naturally arises, how are 
these injurious influences to be counteracted or rendered nugatory ? In the first 
place it has been clearly ascertained, that the rejections of plants are only injurious 
to those of their own species ; while they are perfectly innocuous, perhaps nutri- 
mental, to all others. This is a very important discovery, and as far as kitchen- 
garden practice is concerned, establishes the propriety of attending to the alter- 
nation and rotation of crops. In the flower-garden, however, the case is widely 
different, the majority of the plants being of perennial duration ; attention to this 
object is therefore of still greater importance, and its attainment more difficult, as no 
plant should be allowed to remain in the same spot for more than two years, otherwise 
it will inevitably degenerate. These remarks are especially applicable to bulbs and 
