254 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
give a good watering, and replace them in their old situation, keep- 
ing them close for a day or two. In shifting, be careful not to 
break the ball, for if that is done it is a long time before the plants 
recover, and then it is ten to one if ever they make fine specimens. 
In potting, I drain well and place some moss (sphagnum) over 
the crocks, then some of the roughest of the compost, which (after 
the January shift) consists of one part silver sand, two parts turfy 
or fibry peat, and one part dry cow-dung, all well mixed together 
with the spade, and used without sifting. 
When I resided near London, I used mould from Wimbledon 
Common with as good success as the above mixture, but as yet I 
have found no such mould to equal that in this locality. As the 
season advances, I pot rather firmly, and I find it a very good plan 
to put some of the moss on the top of the soil ; when potted, the 
roots seem quite at home in it, and it prevents the mould from being 
washed over the pot. I use rain water both for the soil and for 
sprinkling the plants overhead with. In the latter operation I am 
guided by the weather, and in the former by the wants of the plant. 
I also water about once a week with manure-water, not over-strong. 
I train on the single stem system, allowing them to branch out 
right and left, never pinching the side-shoots back, except when one 
seems to take the lead of the others. By following these directions, 
I am certain that every success will attend your labours. 
THE SEED OF BUNKER BEANS. 
JARE should be taken in saving the seed of runner beans, 
for it generally degenerates very much with those who 
save it from year to year, the usual practice being 
merely to trust those pods for seed which happen to 
escape in the picking. To preserve this seed properly, 
a few runners should be especially reserved for seed, and left un- 
touched, as the first pods formed are generally the finest, and they 
get well ripened before the season closes ; whereas if the first pods 
are used for the table, it is only the later that can be used for seed, 
and these are never so good as the first. Hence the seed gets 
smaller every year, and the plants cease to be so prolific or to pro- 
duce such good pods. 
REMINDERS FOR GARDEN WORK IN AUGUST. 
HEARTSEASE. — Still propagate by cuttings, and plant out seedlings. 
Pelargoniums that have been in may be taken out of their large 
pots, root pruned, and put into smaller. 
Pinks. — Plant out the struck pipings into nursery beds for 
moving, or into their permanent beds for flowering ; rich loam and 
dung will make the best soil. 
