44 
6th. Use sharp sand, or other non -absorbent material, dur- 
ing the process of potting. Having premised these maxims, 
they should be considered in order. 
270 1st. — Wet Composts. No mode of potting, however scientihc, 
can obviate the evils which must arise from using wet composts. 
The conviction of this has, in later years, induced many gar- 
deners to keep a quantity of soil under cover, in a mellow state; 
this, however, has its attendant evils, as will be explained in the 
second maxim. The necessary consequence of using wet soils is 
stagnation, technically termed sourness, produced by an undue 
cohesion and closeness of the particles, by which the ameliorat- 
ing agency of the atmosphere is in a great part prevented. 
271 2nd. — Dry Composts. When soils have lain too long under 
cover they become dessicated, and in this state are almost 2 is 
unfit for potting purposes as those which are too wet; they do 
not, however, lead to such serious results, the chief evil being 
that it is most difficult to equally moisten them through. There 
is such a volume of dry air in the interstices, that before it can 
be displaced by gravitation of the water, or capillary attraction, 
the upper portion of the roots will be saturated and probably 
injured. 
272 3rd. — Pressure. This principle, in one shape or other, is 
applied by all practical men; one preferring a “ramming stick,” 
a second depending on his fingers, a third giving the pot bottom 
a rap or two on the potting bench, a fourth, the wisest of all, 
adopting all or either of the above modes according to circum- 
stances. The drier the soil, and the more lumpy, the more 
pressure may be admitted. The rationale of the practice is 
this — water carries off, by gravitation or otherwise, the soluble 
and finer particles of the soil; the more cavernous or porous 
the line of passage, the greater the robbery. But by a proper 
compression of the parts of a compost, no large cavities are left 
open, consequently no great amount of the nutritious properties 
of the soil can be readily carried downwards. 
273 4th. — Lumpy Turf. After all the recommendations as to 
mixed composts, this material occupies, and probably ever will, 
the most important consideration in the compost shed. When 
about six months old, having been piled in a ridge out of doors, 
and thatched or otherwise covered from rain, as described in 
the early portion of “Window Culture,” it is fit for removal to 
