356 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[March 6. 
2nd. The soil should he rough and open —not close 
and fine. —Exceptions there are, such as a covering for 
small seeds, which must be fine; in fact, if just pressed 
into the appropriate soil, a dusting of silver sand scat¬ 
tered over, and then a square of glass put over the pot, 
it will answer better than the finest sifted soil. Even 
here, in potting, however, the path of safety is that 
between fineness and roughness. We would not use a 
sieve at all, unless a very fine one, to get rid of the mere 
dusty finely-divided portion ; and this should always be 
done before adding sand as a lightening agent. But in 
getting rid of the fine we must not rush to the opposite 
extreme, and use chiefly huge lumps. In turning out 
a pot I have sometimes found it crammed chiefly with 
three or four pieces of soil, of as many different 
qualities. This was rough-potting with a vengeance. 
These pieces, with plenty more of a smaller size, 
mingled with finer and yet not very dusty material, 
might have answered well in sixteen-inch pots; but 
was out of all character to squeeze them into one 
of six inches in diameter. There is ever a tendency 
to extremes. First, for all, even the largest pots, we 
sifted our soil as fine as if we were going to fill a thumb- 
pot; anon, the rage for roughness became so rampant, 
that a feeling of self-complacency could only be expe¬ 
rienced at the potting bench, when we gallantly jammed 
in pieces like a brickbat into a pot not more than four 
times larger. Could we wonder, then, that the old sifters 
gazed on with folded arms, and kept muttering to them¬ 
selves of ruin and rubbish heaps ! The extreme progress 
men, in their enthusiam for a new idea, could not stop 
to see that they were entailing upon their plants most 
of the evils arising from closeness of texture in riddled 
soils, whilst they deprived them of that complete previous 
aeration of the soil, and the thorough mingling and 
blending of separate ingredients, which the old sifters 
took care to secure. Hence great, in many respects, and 
for many peculiar purposes, as are the advantages of 
what is termed the one or the large shift system, num¬ 
bers of the failures and disappointments, especially in 
the case of plants intended to remain several years in 
the same pot, have arisen from the fact, that many of the 
disciples of this system were not only convinced of the 
importance of using rough soil, but also that the in¬ 
dividual parts of the compost could scarcely be too large. 
Rapid growth, in such circumstances, was very de¬ 
ceiving. So long as the fibres kept crawling round the 
sides of the lumps, “ all went merry as a marriage bell; ” 
but when in quest of room and fresh matter, the roots 
began to penetrate the large pieces that, however, aerated 
before, were getting soured by the gradual absorption of 
moisture, the plants often began to tell a different tale, 
even when considerable attention was paid to water them 
judiciously. The rule to follow, therefore, for general 
purposes, is to use rough and lumpy fibry soil, in op¬ 
position to that which is fine and sifted; but let that 
roughness consist in numbers of small, rather than a 
few of larger pieces, and when the latter are used, let 
them be in proportion to the size of the pot, and the 
size of the shift given. For instance, for a four-inch 
pot, the largest pieces may range from the size of peas 
to horse-beans ; for an eight-inch pot, the largest pieces 
may be like walnuts, but not many of that size; and 
| for a sixteen-inch pot, a few pieces may be as large 
as eggs, with every other size downwards, and well 
i packed with the finer soil from which the mere dust 
has been extracted. 
3rd. Securing and preparing suitable soil. —This was 
j adverted to last season. Heath soil, so necessary for 
hair-like rooted plants, can only be procured from upland 
commons where the heath naturally grows. Loam of 
almost every quality can be procured by taking the sur¬ 
face turf from pasture, and the sides of roads, and build¬ 
ing it in narrow ridges whon dry, and using it after being 
so built up for six or twelve months. Failing these 
sources, for all plants not requiring peat earth, suitable 
soil may be obtained from the sides of highways, and by 
skimming off the finely aerated flaky material from the 
tops of ridges that have been trenched up for some time 
in the kitchen garden. In using the latter, however, 
you must in general be content with small shifts, as you 
will not be able to get the soil rough enough for large 
ones. The plants,notwithstanding, will thrive beautifully, 
and size for size will often yield more bloom than if you 
had used large shifts and larger pots. If the latter is your 
wish, you may use pieces of charcoal, or what will an¬ 
swer extremely well, get a few fibry sods taken off quite 
thin, dry them over a furnace, or, what is better, char 
the grassy sides by putting them on an old spade or 
other iron, and then place them over a fire; allow the 
sods to be exposed a few days to sweeten, and then, if 
broken into small pieces, they will not only be useful for 
placing over the drainage, but also for mixing with any 
but chiefly fine soil to keep it open. Most plants seem 
to like such cliarred turf when used in moderation, and 
there is no danger of auy insects or their eggs lodging in 
it. Where rough soil is wanted for large shifts, it is 
best to pile the turf, when dry, in narrow stacks, through 
which the air may circulate, and yet the wet be excluded. 
In using such a heap, after the time specified, there is 
little occasion to expose and turn it frequently afterwards, 
which would be necessary in the case of other fresh soil 
not so exposed ; for we must not forget that every turn¬ 
ing we give, while it renders the soil more aerated and 
sweet, renders it also more fine and dense, from the 
decomposition of its fibre. Charcoal, owing to its light¬ 
ness, not to speak of its chemical properties, I consider 
the best assistant for rendering the soil porous; and 
enough of this may be got from every garden by char¬ 
ring the rubbish. Failing that, however, broken brick, 
broken pots, and lime rubbish may be used with advan¬ 
tage, if there is nothing in the peculiar plant to render 
one or all unsuitable. 
4th. Draining. —This has several times been referred to. 
A plant badly drained will never show fine cultivation. 
Where worms are likely to intrude, the convex side of 
the potsherd should be placed over the hole; but for 
amateurs nothing is better than small caps of tin or zinc 
to cover over the hole completely; and in either case 
plenty of drainage placed over them, the materials being 
smaller as it ascends. For anything requiring nicety, 
there ought to be at least one inch of drainage in a five- 
inch pot, and so in proportion. The best covering for 
the drainage is a sprinkling of green moss, to separate 
the drainage from the soil; over that some of the rougher 
materials should be placed, and then some of the finer, 
in which the base of the ball should rest. 
5th. Potting or Shifting. — Need we premise that 
the pots should be new or thoroughly clean. No man 
deserves to have a nice plant who would place it in a 
dirty pot, and rarely will he be rewarded with one. When 
he attempts to shift again it serves him right to find 
that roots and soil alike are so sticking to the sides of 
the pot, that he must break the pot or lacerate the roots. 
Before commencing operations, see that the ball of the 
plant is moist from the centre to the circumference. If 
not, you can never moisten it afterwards without labour, 
which may as well be spared. 2. If you wish to rattle 
your plants on until a certain period, upon the succes¬ 
sive shift system, never allow the roots to mat round 
the sides of the pot; but reshift as soon as they reach 
there. 3. If the roots should be a little matted, gently 
disentangle them, even though in doing so you get rid 
of a good quantity of the old soil, and spread these roots 
out into layers, packing them as you proceed with soil of 
various degrees of fineness. You will not do this at first 
quite so quickly as if you merely placed your plant in 
the centre of the fresh pot, threw compost round it, jam- 
