22 
POTTING AND SHIFTING. 
of space between the surface and the rim of the pot 
to allow for watering them. Take the Plant to be 
shifted, placing the left hand across the pot, letting the 
stem of the Plant pass between the two middle 
fingers, then invert the pot and tap the rim of the pot 
gently, till the Plant is loose, and takeoff the pot with 
the right hand, then let the thick matted roots at the 
bottom and sides be pulled off with the hand or a 
knife, loosing the ball, and shake off what old soil you 
can, without injuring the roots, then set the Plant into 
the fresh pot, and fill up the space with fresh soil, 
pressing it down with a piece of stick or the finger, 
and rapping the pot on the bottom to settle the soil, 
then give it a watering. Any young Plants potted in 
small pots in Autumn, when the roots grow out of 
the hole at the bottom, which they will do early in 
Spring, should be shifted into a size larger pot, and 
they will flower much finer; those in larger pots may 
have a little of the old soil taken off the top and a 
little fresh added to it; this is generally termed top 
dressing, which will help them considerably just 
before they come into flower. 
As a general rule in potting Plants, it is best not to 
put them into too large a pot, but into pots just large 
enough to admit the roots without bruising them, as 
they will do better in moderately small pots than larger 
ones. The mould for potting should not be sifted but 
chopped up finely with a spade, as it keeps much 
looser and allows the roots of the Plant to spread, and 
the water to penetrate; for if sifted, it is apt to harden 
in the pot and become sour. When peat cannot be 
bad, decayed leaves or rotten wood may be substituted, 
