PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 
ered into pits after they fall by the action of frost, and left until they decay; but the 
mold is found more abundantly in the woods, particularly in hollows where the winter’s 
wind has drifted the leaves, and where they lie in the damp and perish. Only think of 
gathering into a flower-pot, to nourish a new plant, what has been the shade of perhaps a 
hundred years, with all its vanished glories of crimson and gold! 
Turf, or grass-sods, is another article much recommended for potting plants, and 
should be cut about three inches thick. This of course must have time given it to rot 
before it is fit for use. Spring or summer is the best time for cutting, when the grass is 
growing, as there is more nutriment in it. The sods should be packed in a heap, the 
grassy surfaces toward each other. In this state fermentation commences, and the vege¬ 
table portions decay. When this process begins, the heap should be turned and stirred 
repeatedly with a fork, until it finally becomes a pulverized or crumbled mass. It may 
then be mixed with about an equal proportion of manure and of leaf-mold, when it is fit 
for growing most kinds of plants. 
Peat is a soil of vegetable origin, found mostly in low lands, especially in swamps or 
what are known as bogs. It is a black mold consisting of roots, wood and kindred sub¬ 
stances in an entirely decomposed condition, or undergoing the process of decay, and is 
more or less saturated with water. Some few plants, like the Venus’s Flytrap, Pitcher 
Plant, Heath, and many varieties of Ferns and young Azaleas, require this soil in its 
normal condition or slightly mixed with sand; or, what is still better, as well as more 
definite, a soil composed of four parts peat, two of sand, one of garden-loam, and one 
of leaf-mold. In the greenhouse and hothouse it is mixed in smaller proportions for 
numerous plants. 
MANURES. 
Manure should be entirely decomposed, and from two to three years old, and if 
still older it will be all the better. Cow-manure is far superior for most uses, as it is finer 
and a more gentle stimulant. The coarser manure from the stables answers well for cov¬ 
ering flower-beds in fall and putting around shrubs to keep them from frost, roses rejoicing 
particularly in its great strength. In using airy solid manure for the stimulation of plant 
growth, especial care should be taken to incorporate it thoroughly with the various other 
elements of the prepared soil. Manure-water is prepared by placing the manure in a tub 
or other vessel and pouring boiling water thereon. After letting it stand until it cools, it 
can be drawn off for use, reducing its strength by the admixture of two parts pure water 
to one of manure-water; it is better to apply it “weak and often.” Manure-water, or 
liquid manure, may be made from most of the domestic manures or cattle-droppings, as 
well as from guano, phosphate of lime, etc. Sheep-droppings also produce excellent 
liquid manure for many plants. 
It may seem troublesome to think of using so many ingredients for the cultivation of 
flowers, but they are necessary to form the different requisites for various plants if one 
proposes to keep many. Country amateurs can find most of them close at hand; and 
persons living in the city, if they keep only a few plants, will find it more convenient to 
go to some florist and purchase a sufficient quantity already prepared, always naming 
the plants they wish to raise. The florist’s experience is of great value to the amateur. 
