THE COCKSCOMB, ITS PROPERTIES AND CULTIVATION. 
531 
mould ; that is, mould formed of decayed 
vegetable matter ; because the grass and its 
roots form, when decayed, one half of the 
substance ; but if they are cut thicker, the 
loam will form so much the larger proportion. 
Besides this loam and vegetable mould, there 
is a portion of animal manure, though not a 
large one. If, therefore, loam from rotted 
turves cannot be had, and you have only clear 
loam, you must begin by adding its equal 
bulk of leaf, or vegetable mould, and mixing 
it well together ; this is a fair equivalent for 
loam from rotted turves. The decomposed 
dung from an old melon bed is generally 
mentioned as the best to use for potted plants, 
because its fermentation renders it fit for use 
almost at the end of the first season, and 
because it is generally very clean. Nor is it 
the worse if leaves or grass have been mixed 
with it, which is frequently the case ; but the 
equivalent for this would be any clean stable- 
dung that has lain together till rotted into 
mould ; we might as well, therefore, have 
said well-decomposed horse-dung. In all 
cases, therefore, when the compost for any 
thing is described, and the identical articles 
cannot be had, make an equivalent as nearly 
as possible. 
The cockscomb requires rich, light soil ; 
that which we have described is such. The 
water will percolate through it without diffi- 
culty, which gives us an opportunity of apply- 
ing liquid manure with advantage, because 
it will reach every part of the root ; and 
this soil will retain its moisture long enough 
for the plant to take it up. The soil being 
provided, let it be well incorporated. It 
would be all the better if it lay together after 
mixing, and it should be remembered that 
the very best method of mixing soil after it 
has been turned over and incorporated, with 
the spade, is to run it through a very coarse 
sieve, not small enough in the openings to 
stop anything larger than a hazel nut. 
SHIFTING GENEKALLY. 
Fill up one- fourth of the thirty-two-sized pot 
with crocks, and a little soil on the top of them, 
just enough to let the ball of soil from the forty- 
eight pot come even with the edge, and by a 
gentle pressure go a little below it ; do not dis- 
turb a fibre, but put the soil all round and press 
it gently down, so as to fill all round between 
the ball and the pot solid, but not hard. And 
now prepare the hot-bed, so that bottom heat 
can be applied with advantage. There should 
be enough tan on the top of the dung to enable 
you to plunge these thirty-two-sized pots, and 
the heat should not be less than from 80° to 85°, 
and the plants be within three or four inches of 
the glass. They should have all the light ; air 
whenever it can be given without reducing 
below 80°; and during the most fierce heat 
of the sun, a calico over the glass would be of 
the greatest advantage, because without depriv- 
ing the plants of light it will keep off burn- 
ing heat. As soon as the roots fill these pots, 
shift again to size twenty-four, going through 
the same process in every respect ; keeping the 
heat up by means of new linings or otherwise, 
and plunging them to the rims as before. 
When, by trying one of the balls, you find 
the roots have reached the side, and you wish 
to continue the same pots, the equivalent for 
a change must be given, namely, liquid 
manure. We have seen all sorts of muck 
used for this, and no two people recommend 
alike. McEvoy — whom we quote, because we 
have seen him grow the cockscomb better 
than anybody else — uses sheep's or deer's dung 
steeped in soft water, and the vessel which 
contains it put over the flue where it is 
warmest ; he considers this warmth dis- 
solves the particles more completely. The 
dung being stirred about and the liquor 
poured off, the latter is used twice or thrice 
a-week. Dr. Saunders found one of the best 
liquid manures to be, half an ounce of sul- 
phate of ammonia dissolved in a gallon of 
water, and this, used once as the roots ap- 
proach or rather reach the side, will produce 
immediate effect, and should not be used again 
until the plant has been watered six or seven 
times with plain water. But if the foliage of 
the plant more than covers the pot when the 
roots fill it, by all means take the next sized 
pot and shift again ; because it encourages the 
growth more than any liquid manure can, 
though one watering with the liquid manure 
when the roots have reached the side, and 
before they have fairly filled the pot, will 
give extra nourishment at the very period 
that the soil, though not exhausted, is at all 
events giving less. As only a certain 
quantity of hot-bed room can be found, every 
shift renders it necessary to remove some of 
the plants from the frame : we need hardly 
say, let these be the worst, the least hand- 
some, those most distant from the standard 
required ; these may be disposed of in other 
ways. McEvoy used a three-light frame, 
which held some hundred sixty-sized pots, 
but not more than thirty-six full grown 
specimens, and these were the most hand- 
some, and were intended for exhibition. He 
says, he sometimes put three or four ounces 
of nitre in four gallons of his liquid manure, 
and watered the plants three times a-week 
with it ; but it is quite certain that if the 
plant is shifted as soon as the roots begin to 
mat between the pot and the soil, they require 
very little further excitement, because the 
constant supply of rich earth at every shift 
will give all the plant actually requires. 
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