120 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
be placed underneath to raise the surface of the old ball of soil high 
enough to require little or no soil over it. In all cases the soil must 
be pressed firm, and composts consisting entirely or chiefly of peat ■will 
require much more pressing than would be desirable for composts 
of which loam is the staple. In potting off from cutting pots there 
will be no difficulty in pressing the soil firm enough with the 
hands, but in shifting established plants from one pot to another a 
potting stick will be necessary. This can be readily made, and the 
most convenient size will be fifteen inches long, an inch and a half 
wide, and between a quarter and half an inch thick at the top, to 
admit of its being more readily grasped with the hand ; the corners 
can be shaved off with the knife. With this the soil must be 
worked regularly round the ball, so that no vacant space may be left 
between the old ball and the side of the pot. The soil must also be 
pressed to an equal degree of firmness all round the ball ; for if less 
firm on one side than the other, the water will drain away down that 
side and the other side will be only partly moistened. In repotting 
plants growing in peat it is well nigh impossible to ram it too firm, 
and unless the new soil is made quite hard the water will run 
through it before the old ball has become properly moistened. It is 
owing to a neglect of this precaution that so many cultivators fail in 
growing hard-wooded plants satisfactorily. It is not less important 
for the old ball of soil to be of a proper degree of moisture for the 
well-being of the plant before it is transferred to a fresh pot, for 
when the soil is in a dry state there is a considerable amount of 
difficulty in moistening it afterwards. In the event of a difficulty 
in making the soil equally moist, whether in the case of a plant that 
has been long in the same pot, or one newly potted, make an end of 
the difficulty, by dropping it gently into a bucket of water, and 
leaving it there for half an hour, by which time the roots will be 
well wetted throughout. S. H. 
GAEDEN GUIDE FOE APEIL. 
Kitchen Garden. — Owing to the wet weather during the 
winter, the work of the last month has been delayed, and seeds sown 
early will not be much behind those sown last month. Sow 
Windsor, Longpod, and Johnson’s wonderful beans; Marrow and 
Prussian Blue peas, and a few rows of the earliest sorts, to come in 
before the late peas are ready. In small gardens, the dwarf kinds 
are always to be preferred. Sowings should also be made of Horn 
carrot. Savoy cabbage, Brussels’ sprouts, Scotch kale, broccoli, cauli- 
flowers, and cabbages, for autumn use ; a succession of such things 
being preferable to a glut all at once for the private grower. 
Among cabbages, Atkin’s Matchless, Wheeler’s Imperial, Early 
York, and West Ham are good sorts to sow now, but the main crop 
of cabbages should be up by this time, and must be hoed between, 
when the ground is in a fit state. Beet should be sown in the 
second week, in ground deeply dug, but not manured ; the main 
