197 
watering-pau, and repeated it whenever watering was necessary; 
in the course of a fortnight its effects were truly astonishing; 
the plants became a fine healthy green — the flowers much 
larger, very brilliant, and perfect; some of which, exhil)ited in 
a stand in the amateur class, obtained a second prize at a pro- 
vincial Dahlia show, notwithstanding there were twenty-four 
competitors. 
193 Repotting Plants. The proper management of plants in 
pots requires not only attention, but also, some experience; or, 
in the absence of experience, a knowledge of the requirements 
of plants, when growing under such artificial circumstances. 
The following observations, copied from Lindley’s Theory of 
Horticulture, will prove useful to many cultivators, by exhibit- 
ing to them the reasons for adopting certain operations which 
arc so frequently recommended. “It is found that the roots of 
potted plants invaiiably direct themselves towards the sides of 
the pot, as must indeed necessarily happen in consequence of 
their disposition to grow horizontally. Having reached the 
sides, they do not turn back, but follow the earthenware surface, 
till at last they form an entangled stratum enclosing a ball of 
earth; then, if not relieved by repotting, they rise upwards to- 
wards the surface, or they attempt to force themselves back to 
the centre. The greater part, however, are always found in con- 
tact with the porous earthern side of the vessel; and especially 
all the most powerfully obsorbent, that is youngest, parts. 
They are, therefore, in contact with a body subject to great 
variations of temperature and moisture, in consequence of ex- 
posure to the sun, or to a dry air in motion, unless in those rare 
cases where the air is kept by artificial means .shaded, and uni- 
formly damp. By these means, in a dry summer day, when 
the leaves are perspiring freely, and therefore requiring an 
abundance of water from the roots, the latter are placed in con- 
tact with a substance whose moisture is continually diminishing; 
or in a greenhouse, where the pots are syringed, the heat of the 
earth in contact with the roots is lowered by a copious evapor- 
ation from the sides of the pot, just when, in nature, the bottom 
heat should be the greatest. The evil consequences of this are 
well known to gardeners, who however seldom take any suffi- 
cient precautions to prevent it. Greenhouse plants exposed to 
the open air in summer always suffer severely from the irregular 
199 ACCTABIDU. 
