36 
POTTING CARNATIONS. 
Carnations and Picotees delight in a friable generous soil: let 
the loam be got as nearly this as possible, and the beginner will 
have no trouble in improving it sufficiently with the kind of sand 
mentioned, and thoroughly rotten hot-bed manure, depending on 
the judgment of some one who knows good soil, to determine 
the quantity of either necessary. Did I know any simpler mode 
of preparing the compost, it should have the preference, for I am 
convinced the most elaborate mixtures are in general the least 
satisfactory. 
In working the several ingredients together, a great deal of 
care is necessary, not only to have them thoroughly blended, hut 
also to observe that no insects escape destruction, especially that 
dreadful pest the wire-worm, for as certainly as one of them gets 
into a pot, so surely will it kill at least one plant, and if detected 
before further mischief is done, it may be regarded as fortunate; 
these creatures are usually from a quarter to three quarters of an 
inch long, have a smooth jointed body of nearly equal thick¬ 
ness throughout, straw-coloured, with a small, black, or deep 
brown head, and are most voracious, killing whatever they 
attack, as they cut completely into the centre of the stem, and 
often mine a way up its entire length. Another equally de¬ 
structive insect, is the gutter grub, a dirty, brown, fat looking 
thing, nearly three times the size of the preceding, and very 
sluggish in its movements. Both must be carefully looked for 
and destroyed, as also should worms and other creeping things. 
A quantity of fresh lime may be turned in with the mass, which 
will assist greatly in extirpating these pests, and to ensure 
a complete riddance of insects from the soil, it should all be 
carefully examined a single handful at a time, which an active 
lad will readily accomplish. It is usual to sift the mould, a 
practice I am opposed to as being useless in clearing the earth 
of insects, and unnecessary as a means of mixing it after it has 
been examined by hand, the latter mode performing the work 
infinitely better. 
The pots generally employed are those called sixteens, and are 
capable of holding three plants. The bottom should be filled for 
a couple of inches with drainage, on which the roughest portion 
of the soil is to be placed, and then the mixture till high enough 
to receive the plants; these must be carefully separated, pre- 
