DECORATIVE VARIETIES. 
29 
immediately they are ready, see to them at once. Subse- 
quent batches of plants should be constantly overlooked, 
and taken in hand from time to time, when ready for their 
shift into pots of larger size. 
Crock with potsherds or crushed oyster shells ; the 
latter are to be preferred in all cases. One flat shell over 
the hole in the bottom, and a layer of the crushed shells or 
potsherds arranged neatly over it, answers very well. A 
piece of turfy loam to cover the crocks, or some of the 
rougher portions of the soil, will effectually prevent the 
compost from working down into the drainage. A hand- 
ful of compost placed in turn over the last-mentioned will 
find everything ready to receive the plant to be repotted. 
Turn out the plant with care, removing the crocks with- 
out damaging the tender roots, and place in position on 
its base in the larger pot. Fill in all round with the 
com{x>st, working this down by the aid of a wooden label 
or wedge-shaped rammer to answer the same purpose. 
Pot with increasing firmness, consolidating the soil with 
the rammer just referred to. Finish off neatly on the 
surface, label, and stand in a cold frame, on sifted ashes, 
and keep close for a day or two. For a time at least, 
the plants, may stand close together, after which they 
must have more room. A day or so after the repotting, 
give the plants a thorough watering, using a fine-rosed 
can, moistening the ball of soil throughout. 
This is a simple detail, yet so much depends upon it 
being carried out at the proper time. From the earliest 
stages, after the young plants are potted up and subse- 
quently established, spacing out should be observed. It 
is customary, in the first instance to stand the plants pot 
to pot in their respective batches. In a little while, when 
they begin to grow, their prospects are improved by giv- 
ing them more room, technically known as “ spacing 
out.” As a result of this treatment, air is made to cir- 
culate between both pots and plants, drying the former 
and encouraging the latter into healthy growth ; the two 
functions combined also encouraging healthy root action. 
