SOIL. 
17 
SOIL. 
A suitable soil for Plants is indispensable for their 
successful treatment, but as Exotic Plants are gath¬ 
ered from all parts of the world, and grow in vari¬ 
ous soils, it is necessary to plant them in as suitable 
ones as can be obtained. In the artificial cultivation 
of the different kinds treated of in this book, the soils 
I have found to suit them best will be mentioned under 
their respective genus, but the generality of Plants 
commonly grown in Green Houses, will succeed in a 
light, sandy soil, enriched with decayed manure, or 
vegetable mould, such as Myrtus, Jasmine, Heliotro- 
pium, Passiflora, Geranium, Senecia, Maurandia and 
any Plants of a free growth. Plants of a more shrubby 
growth, with roots of a stronger texture, as Acacia, 
Ardisia, Daphne, Orange, Lemon, Pittosporum, &c.> 
require some peat soil mixed with the loam, about 
equal parts, and Plants with hard woody stems and 
very tender fibrous roots as Camellia, Rhododendron, 
Erica, Chorizema, require sandy peat or black soil, 
such as is usually got from swamps and ponds. It 
should be exposed to the sun, and air, and frost, and 
turned over with the spade to ameliorate it, for when 
first taken from ponds it contains an acid inimical to 
vegetation. After it has been sweetened by exposure 
to the weather for at least six months, or the longer the 
better, and mixed with some mould and thoroughly 
decomposed manure with sufficient sand to keep it 
from binding too hard in the pots, it will make a fine 
soil for Camellias, Azaleas, Ericas, Strelitzia, and all 
