130 
WEST KENT GARDEN POT — NEW DAHLIAS. 
to thofe who are not familiar with the ope- 
ration, as to the amount of drainage which is 
to be given to a pot of any particular size. 
The drain-cup being a part of each individual 
pot, without which it would be incomplete, 
it should, of course, be made to accompany it ; 
and the cup of a smaller or larger sized pot, 
cannot, with facility, be substituted for it : in 
fact, it should fit tolerably closely, though not 
so tight as to prevent or obstruct the passage 
of water ; for if it does not thus fit, there will 
not be sufficient firmness to bear the mass of 
soil, and the cup would be very liable to be 
displaced, with much inconvenience, in mov- 
ing the plants. In all other respects, the pot 
is intended to be used in a manner precisely 
similar to that in which the common pot is 
employed. 
Where these pots are employed, the potting- 
bench is intended to be supplied with a block, 
i'or the purpose of facili- 
tating the removal of the 
plants — the large ones es- 
pecially — from the pots at 
the time of re-potting. 
These blocks are to be pro- 
vided of various sizes, ac- 
cording to the size of the 
pots. That which is em- 
ployed in each case, should 
correspond in size with the 
diameter of the drain-cup, 
and of the hole in the bot- 
tom of the pot. The blocks 
are formed of wood, and should be rather 
deeper than the sized pots they are used with, 
and are made smooth and cylindrical at this 
part ; they rest upon a broader portion at the 
base, to give them firmness and stability ; the 
whole may be turned out a single piece of 
strong wood, and may then be made a little 
ornamental, but this is, of course, not an essen- 
tial part of the plan. 
When a plant is to be re-potted, the pot 
containing it is set upon the top of this block, 
which is adjusted to the hole in the bottom of 
the pot. A continuous pressure — gentle, but 
more or less powerful, as the case may be — 
gradually disengages the ball of earth and 
roots from the pot, which drops to the base, 
while the ball of earth is left elevated at the 
top of the block : in this position it requires 
to be steadied by one person, while another 
examines the roots, and does what is necessary 
to be done. The plant is then to be removed 
with care, in the ordinary way, into the larger 
pot, which should have been previously got 
ready to receive it. 
But this is not the only use to which this 
contrivance is applicable. When plants are 
growing in large pots, and their roots are 
necessarily embedded in a large mass of soil, 
it is very often exceedingly difficult to keep 
this mass of earth thoroughly and equably 
moistened ; portions of it, as, for instance, the 
surface, will be quite moist enough, while 
below it is as dry as dust. The principal 
inconvenience arising out of this, is, that it is 
very difficult to ascertain when such a state of 
things exists, and, consequently, the plants 
often suffer from actual want of water, when 
the surface, perhaps, is even moister than it 
should be. The use of this pot will afford the 
means of avoiding much of the danger attend- 
ing this condition of the soil ; for, by means 
of the block, the ball of earth may at any time 
be elevated out of the pot, and examined, 
without disarranging it, (which cannot be 
done in ordinary cases,) and then returned 
into exactly the same position in the pot, sim- 
ply by lifting up the pot again, as it was ori- 
ginally fixed. When the plant is returned to 
its original position, a proper supply of water 
can be given to penetrate the whole mass. 
The pots may be made either quite plain, 
or ornamented by bands around the outside, 
according to taste ; this, of course, does not 
alter the principle or usefulness of these pots. 
The bands, however, very much strengthen 
the pots. 
There can be little doubt that when these 
pots are manufactured, aad brought into the 
market, they will become generally used by 
those who have plants of large size to manage. 
For the purpose of facilitating the operation of 
re-potting, and also of adjusting the supply of 
water to the wants of the plants, they will be 
of the greatest use to amateurs, and those who 
are not quite familiar with all the operations 
of plant culture. Whatever tends to do away 
with difficulties which stand in the way of 
success, deserves every encouragement that 
can be afforded to it. 
THE NEW DAHLIAS. 
It has been thought by many growers of 
this flower that some of the approved varieties 
are not sufficiently novel to bear the encomiums 
that have been passed upon them, nor to de- 
serve the prizes awarded. It is thought that 
they are so like some of our present varieties 
in colour as to present no variety in a stand. 
To persons who only value things by their 
striking novelty in colour, they may not 
appear sufficiently interesting ; but by the 
florist, who looks at form, they may be appre- 
ciated. Now the marked difference between 
the doubleness and closeness of the new varie- 
ties is so obvious, that it would be impossible 
to undervalue the new ones when placed by 
the side of their predecessors of the same 
colour. Our readers will remember the ex- 
traordinary advance which the Standard of 
