PRACTICAL GARDENING. 
OPERATIONS FOR AUGUST. THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
The potting of Auriculas is an operation 
which requires care and judgment, and is done 
by different successful cultivators in different 
months. We prefer August to any other, but 
we should not repot any but those which had 
insufficient room. Turn out the full balls 
carefully, and if the roots be not all about the 
sides, and beginning to mat, let them remain 
another season ; but if you observe the fibres 
all round the outside, another pot is necessary. 
The mode of shifting from one pot to another 
is also varied by even good cultivators. Some 
invariably shake out all the mould from the 
roots, and if the centre or tap goes far down 
into the pot, they shorten it to about an inch 
below the lowest leaf, but so as not to damage 
a single fibre that is on the portion remaining. 
Then fill a proper sized pot with, in the first 
place, crocks or broken pots one-third full ; 
next with a compost made of half cowdung, 
decomposed into complete mould, and well 
cleansed of every grub or insect likely to be 
mischievous ; such as the wireworm, black 
maggot, centipede, and other ground insects ; 
and the other half sandy loam, formed of turfs 
rotted. If this be sandy enough, or light 
enough, when mixed, to let water pass freely, 
it will be right ; but if it be too adhesive, 
(which depends entirely on the nature of the 
loam formed by the rotted turfs) add silver 
sand well cleansed from all kinds of impurity, 
in the proportion required to render it proper 
in that respect. This compost may be put in 
the pot lightly, to form a sort of cone in the 
middle, as high as the edge of the pot, but 
much lower on the side next the pot ; place 
the fibres all round the slope of this cone, and 
press the centre of the root down, so as to 
bring the base of the lowest leaf about half an 
inch below the edge of the pot, and filling it 
up with the compost closed down a little all 
round the sides, to press the fibres all lower 
down the sides of the pot, and to close the 
earth well about them at the same time. When 
we say press, we do not mean violently, so as 
to confine the roots, or prevent the water from 
going through well, but merely to close up 
all vacancies. The mould is then to be filled 
up to the base of the lowest leaves, which will 
be a third or half an inch short of the top of 
the pot. The plants are then to be placed in a 
frame, and the whole of them watered, the 
glasses shut down, and shaded for twenty-four 
hours ; but the shading should be with some 
material that will not take away the light ; 
even a mat takes away too much for the 
\v.;li-being of any plants, if covered over com- 
pletely with it : light calico, or the waterproof 
transpai*ent materials so much in use, are 
better. In this frame they may have air after 
the first day, and be shaded only in the hottest 
part of the day; they may also in a few days 
be entirely uncovered, mornings, evenings, 
and all night. The bottom, or ground under 
these frames, should be hard enough to throw 
off the water, and sufficiently sloping to let it 
run away directly it goes through the pots. 
Other cultivators object to the severity of root 
pruning here recommended, and unless there 
is some indication of ill health about the roots, 
do not disturb the balls of earth at all, but 
simply remove them with the crocks about 
them, to another pot a size larger ; first putting 
in a few crocks to raise the ball to the proper 
height in the pot, and then putting the fresh 
soil carefully all round it, and pressing it 
tolerably close with the finger, or a piece of 
wood, without disturbing the fibres. There is 
no objection to this last plan, if you have 
plenty of plants ; the only evils that we know 
of are, first, that of the blooms coming out 
of season, which a few of them will; and 
secondly, the possibility of the tap of the root 
being affected with an insidious canker, which 
might, under the other plan, be removed, but 
which will take the plant off, almost without 
notice, if allowed to remain on. Those plants 
which do not require moving, may be placed 
with the fresh potted ones, for they want 
shading from the heat of the sun, which can- 
not be of use, and may do much harm. Put 
all offsets that are growing into proper sized 
pots, and look well to seedlings. Give them 
room enough, and as soon as they are suf- 
ficiently large to have only a single plant in a 
pot, let thern be placed in large sixty-sized 
ones, where they may almost remain till they 
flower. Prick out seedlings that may be large 
enough in the seed- pans, and which, in a seed- 
pan, continue to come up at all times; we have 
known them to continue coming up for more 
than eighteen months after they are sown, so 
that it is not wise to throw away a seed-pan, 
even after you think you have stripped it. 
Annuals in pots require watering and shad- 
ing, trimming off their dead leaves, tying some 
up to sticks to support them, and giving them 
air. Balsams are in perfection with many 
persons ; they should be shaded to keep their 
flowers from damaging by the sun; so also 
should Cockscombs, Egg plants, and Globe 
Amaranthus. Clintonia pulchella, and many 
other very beautiful subjects in pots, may be 
kept a long time in flower, by shading and 
c c 
