393 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 22 . 
doubtless, have done wonders for the revenue, for many 
years, in demanding so much tobacco. 
Now, I do not say these, singly, nor all mixed; I 
merely point to that which must prevail in a given 
mixture, according to the present position of horticul¬ 
tural experience. Future generations will, doubtless, 
I invent more inexpensive things; but I suppose we may 
| be content with the above, and assiduity in their appli¬ 
cation. Few men can fairly steal a march on an age 
! ahead. 
I must dip farther into this matter by-and-by. I have 
further suggestions to make. In the mean time, I recom¬ 
mend a study of the case to all those interested in 
reading “ the signs of the times.” 
R. Errington. 
PLUNGING POTTED PLANTS—ITS USE AND 
ABUSE. 
At page 345, of the present volume, one of our cor¬ 
respondents, “ F. W. S.,” has given a good receipt for 
plunging pot-plants into beds and borders, in such a way 
as to hinder the worms from entering through the bot¬ 
tom hole; this, with the modifications of it, suggested 
by “ Senilis,” at page 306, secure more advantages, how¬ 
ever, than that of excluding worms. There is a more 
perfect drainage to pots so plunged, and the roots can¬ 
not well get into deep soil under the pots. There is 
hardly anything which is more hurtful to permanent 
j pot-plants than allowing the roots to pass through the 
j bottom of the pots when they are plunged, and the 
reason is, that fibrous or feeding roots cease to mul¬ 
tiply in the pot as soon as the roots take hold on the 
free soil, after passing through the bottom of the pot; 
then, when the pots are taken up, the best part of the 
feeding roots are on the outside, and must be cut off in 
most cases; indeed, in all cases when the plants are not 
to have a fresh shift at the same time as they are taken 
up, and that seldom happens. If there is one thing 
which, more than another, contributes to the welfare of 
a plant, be it stove or greenhouse plant, a fruit-tree or a 
Cabbage, it is that of keeping the small feeding roots 
near the surface, and preventing the large roots from 
going deep into the bottom of a bed or border. All 
these advantages, at least, are secured by this little- 
thought-of method of plunging pots. 
There are two more ways of plunging pots, besides 
| that way which keeps out the worms, and stops the 
roots from passing through the bottom of the pot. The 
first is, to have the rim of the pot level with the soil in 
the plunging-ground ; and the second is, where the rim 
of the pot is placed out of sight, and an inch or so of 
the plunging material is put over rim, ball, and all. 
Now, between these two ways of plunging plants, there 
is just as. much difference as there is between the day 
and night, and yet the difference seems only a mere 
: trifle, an inch of soil, or sand, or tan, or leaf-mould, or 
I merely sifted coal-ashes ; still, the difference is as great 
in practice as I say. 
There are many'reasons for plants being plunged, but 
the chief reasons are only two ; to keep the roots from 
the frost in winter, and from the sun during the sum- 
! mer. This security is got practically, whether the rim 
of the pot is out of sight or not, but more securely, if the 
i Dm is out of sight, as the pot is then deeper, and away 
! from both sun and frost. When you plunge pots to 
1 stand over the winter, the best plan is to plunge not 
deeper than the rim of the pot, and for this reason, that 
it is easier to got a better drainage, and the whole sur¬ 
face of the plunging site ought to be covered an inch or 
two, pots and all, with some litter - , for greater security 
against a long frost. For summer plunging, there are 
two chief reasons ; one is, to encourage more growth in 
young plants than they could make if the pots were not 
plunged, and to keep full-grown specimens in better , 
health with less trouble or cost. 
I say nothing at present about the more general mode 
of plunging for temporary expedients, such as for filling 
up whole beds with potted plants, or making good gaps 
in beds, borders, or baskets. 
There is an universal law, to which I never experi- 1 
enced a single exception, in reference to plunged pots, 
or pot plants, and that is, if a pot is covered wholly, and 
a little extra material is over the ball or surface of the 
pot, feeding or small roots will rise and spread about in 
the fresh covering, and after a while they will spread all 
around in the soil of the bed; but as long as the pot is 
not covered, the plunging offers no enticement to the 
rise of the roots. Here, then, is a very good reason for 
plunging some plants over the rim, and against the 
practice for other plants. It is not desirable to en¬ 
courage the roots of full-grown specimens to rise to the 
very surface of the ball, or to spread over the rim of the 
pot, because they must be destroyed as soon and as often 
as the pot is taken from the plunging ground; and also, 
because it is very seldom that small roots increase in 
numbers in the ball of a pot that is plunged, if part of 
the roots are allowed to escape by the bottom-hole or 
over the rim; therefore, such plants should not be 
plunged over the rim, as a general rule. 
Suppose a case, in which the best Chrysanthemums 
were shifted to the flowering-pots early in August; if 
they were plunged with a provision under the pots for 
preventing the roots from getting out by the bottom- 
hole, there is no question as to that being the very 
safest plan for getting good leaves and large flowers at 
the least expense, as the roots in contact with the sides 
of the pot would never get a check, nor suffer if the 
plants wanted water, or were forgotten now and then in 
the hurry of other business; but, if these pots were 
plunged over the rims, the roots would rise and run 
over in a short time, and form a network in the 
plunging material, which would give an extra stimulus 
to the growth of the Chrysanthemums, and they would 
soon look more flourishing than those in pots not 
plunged, no matter how well they might have been 
attended to ; but this would only turn out, in the long 
run, to be a deception: the time for lifting the pots 
comes round at last, and there are as many roots over 
the top of the pots as, if they could be preserved, would 
fill pots double the size; but they cannot be kept, seeing 
the pots are of full size as it is—they must be destroyed, 
and that just at the time when they are most wanted to 
help up the flowers and to keep the leaves green and 
shining under confinement, 
Large plants of Salvia splendens, put into their flower¬ 
ing pots at the end of June, and plunged to the rim till 
the end of September, offer another instance of not 
plunging over the rim ; they take up all their roots with 
thorn in the pots, and flower uncommonly finely till nearly 
Christmas; but plunge them over the rims, and they are 
worse off than the Chrysanthemums; their flowers drop 
off as fast as they open, and there is no beauty in them. 
Another Salvia, however, does all the better to be 
plunged over the rim, and to lose the top roots early in 
October, when the pots are taken up and housed, and this 
is Salvia gesneratjiora, which flowers from February to ' 
May, and at no other time, and a most useful Salvia it is. 
The sudden check from the loss of so many of the more 
useful roots puts a stop to the growth of the plant for 
that season; no other mode could be more successful, and 
the plant ought, certainly, to bo arrested in its growth at 
that season, in order to rest three months previously to 
the flowering season; by that time, the rest, thus 
inducod, will cause the plant to flower at every point, 
without any attempts at fresh growth, as is the nature 
of this Salvia, when it cannot have the right period of rest. 
