JOLY 15. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
239 
August and September. We have said thus much to 
show that people need not he very precise about a month 
or so in giving the final shift, providing the subsequent 
treatment is rightly shaped to a given end, and in order 
to suggest a very general shift about the time when this 
meets the eyes of our readers. 
As potting, especially the final shift, is a most ma¬ 
terial point in the culture of the pine, we will, for the 
benefit of those who have not access to the earlier 
numbers of this work, give the detail, and we feel as¬ 
sured that old readers will out of courtesy acquiesce. 
To commence, we must advocate very roomy shifts; 
there is, in reality, no occasion for such frequent dis¬ 
turbances of the roots as were practised a few years 
since. But let it be observed, that the more roomy the 
shift, the greater caution must be observed in watering; 
this attended to, all is well. Much less water is required 
at the large shifts than the small ones, at least until 
the pot is nearly filled with roots. 
Drainage is one of the chief essentials in pine potting, 
so much so that it is immaterial what other pains are 
taken if this be neglected. The crocks, or other im¬ 
perishable material, should be so placed as to permit 
the free ingress of the fertilising gases arising from 
decomposing fermenting materials, as well as the escape 
of moisture after watering. To accomplish this, four 
or five large and crooked, or curved, crocks are well 
adapted, and these may be placed slightly overlapping 
each other, thus providing several apertures; the whole 
may then receive a slight casing of pounded crocks, the 
size of horse beans. This mode of crocking, or drain¬ 
ing, will accomplish all that is required, and will permit 
the roots to escape occasionally into the plunging mate¬ 
rial. A little of the turfy loam, with the soil shaken out, 
is excellent to strew over the drainage, but care must 
be taken not to force the ball too high up. The size of 
the shift, therefore, forms a primary consideration, and 
this, in some degree, must be ruled by the depth of the 
ball of soil. Plants receiving the final shift are fre¬ 
quently in the pots known as 32s, seven inches diameter. 
Now the surface of the ball, when placed in the pot, 
must be from two to three inches below the rim, in 
order that a good casing of the new soil may cover it. 
Not less than two inches of drainage can be used in 
such full shifts, so that, if the ball be about six inches 
in depth, it is plain that the pot for the final shift must 
not be less than one foot in depth, indeed, many use 
them two or three inches deeper. 
Thus stand matters as to size of pot; and now as to 
soil. Almost all British pine-growers agree in the use 
of a sound maiden loam as the chief material; as to the 
continental pine-growers, and their peaty soils, we are 
not aware that English gardeners have much to learn 
from them. It is possible that such soils suit their 
climate better, for varying conditions of moisture in 
the air may very possibly require a change in the staple 
of the soil. A good, sound, yet mellow and turfy loam, 
then, two parts, and the other part composed of rich, 
half-decomposed dung and vegetable soil, thoroughly 
incorporated, will be found to grow the pine quite equal 
in our climate to any other compost. A little sand and 
burnt material may be added, especially il any jealousy 
exist as to the stubbornness of the loam. As to the latter 
material, much, very much difference exists as to quality, 
and it is rather difficult to convey an idea by the pen; it is 
well for the uninformed to take the advice of a soundly 
practical man on such points. One thing we would 
urge, and that is, to endeavour to obtain a sample homo¬ 
genous in colour and equal in texture. 
In repotting the plants little or none of the original 
ball should be disturbed, and care taken not to injure 
the delicate fibres. One matter of consequence is to 
use warm soil; a temperature of 70° to 80° is necessary. 
We generally keep a hot brick or two overhead, in the 
compost, while the operation is proceeding. The com¬ 
post should be chopped fine but not sifted, and should 
be rather dry when used; this condition enables the 
operator to press it close as the filling proceeds, a course 
which would be fatal to the texture of the soil under 
opposite conditions. It will be found good practice 
when the compost is filled nearly level with the top of 
the ball to introduce a layer of coarse turfy lumps, and 
that, pressed close, may have a casing of some two 
inches of the finer compost. 
Something may be said as to the state of moisture of 
the ball previous to shifting; it should be moist, but by 
no means wet. It is a good plan so to arrange matters 
as that they may require watering about three or four 
days previous to the shifting; a fair condition of 
moisture will thus be secured, and no watering required 
for a fortnight or more afterwards, it being desirable, 
in large shifts especially, that the new soil should be 
mellow until invested liberally with the new fibres. 
And, now, as to bottom-heat. Those who use ferment¬ 
ing materials must beware of sudden excesses, which 
frequently arise from newly-disturbed masses at this 
season. It has been stated before, that although 90° 
may occasionally prove harmless, possibly beneficial, 
yet 85° is by far a more safe proceeding. Persons 
whose plants have been tardy in rooting, or are 
supposed to require a stimulus, are apt to try to gain 
time by these extreme heats. My friend Hamilton 
thinks that those extreme heats are promoters of un¬ 
wieldy crowns, and we doubt not he is right. It is a 
tolerable fair inference, that if by any sudden impulse 
an unusual amount of sap is thrown into the fruit, an 
amount which it cannot appropriate, such would be 
employed in the enlargement of the crown. We would, 
therefore, urge on the amateur much caution : if his 
bottom-heats, from now until the middle of September, 
range between 78° and 85°, he may feel assured of 
being in a safe track. 
All fermenting materials, whether with fruiters or 
succession, should be stirred with a stake deeply once a 
month at least. This will cause them to give out their 
genial gases with freedom, and tend to prevent the 
breeding of those nasty fungi which contaminate the 
air of the pit and give a disgusting appearance to 
things. Water should also be freely applied wherever 
any huskiness appears, especially previous to stirring. 
.Fruiters “rising” or swelling must, at this period, 
receive every assistance, such as liquid-manure, top¬ 
dressing, &e.; and during all such operations the most 
anxious care must be had not to break or derange the 
functions of the leaves. Every injury of this kind is a 
positive loss to the fruit, especially after it has blos¬ 
somed. Those who top dress are but too apt to strip 
lower leaves—out-of-the-way, as they term it,—but the 
less of this the better. Certainly, if leaves are really 
decaying it is another affair. 
Ventilation, in its utmost latitude, must now be in¬ 
dulged in. There are those who believe that a close 
atmosphere i3 absolutely necessary to the free swelling 
of the pine, but we believe it to be mere fudge. _ That 
a certain quantum of atmospheric moisture is indispen¬ 
sable we know, and that it is somewhat difficult to 
preserve that amount with a free ventilation we can 
also understand; but we cannot allow the question to 
be thus mixed up to the prejudice of ventilation. We 
believe that nine men out of ten draw false conclusions 
this way, through confused and vague ideas jumbled 
together. 
It is extremely probable that in all forcing matters too 
much fresh air could not be given, providing the 
requisite amount of air, moisture and heat could be 
otherwise secured. Indeed, thus nature teaches us, and 
we generally smart for it in neglecting her teaching. 
However, it must be confessed that under certain cir- 
