December 4. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENED. 
149 
sight, that they would cling to old charcoal, when fre¬ 
quently they would hang loosely by, or seem to fight 
shy of, the newly-burned. In the latter case, the charcoal 
might chiefly act as a mechanical porous agent, and an 
absorber and disseminator of gases; in the former case, 
in addition to these, nourishment might be yielded by 
slow decomposition, though I am anything but satisfied 
on this score, as though 1 have weighed dried pieces of 
charcoal before inserting them in the soil of a pot, and 
washed and dried and weighed them again after six 
months, the difference in weight was scarcely perceptible. 
What is the result of our more experienced friends in 
this matter ? 
Thirdly.—As in the case of cuttings, so also in the 
case of old plants, the quantity may be over-done. 
In very large plants, I can scarcely give an average, 
as I seldom mix it with the compost, but pack it in 
pieces as the potting proceeds. I'or general purposes, 
from one-eighth to one-twelfth part may be used 
for hard-wooded plants, such as Heaths and Azaleas, 
and from one-sixth to one-tenth part in mixed green¬ 
house and soft-wooded plants, i’ourthly.—The size of 
the pieces must be proportionate to the size of the 
plant, and the size of the pot, as well as the size of the 
shift given. A friend fond of gardening once complained 
to us, that he could not get on with this rough compost 
mode of potting, and wished us to look at a favourite 
plant now getting somewhat sickly. On turning the 
plant out of a six-inch pot, we found, that with the ex¬ 
ception of a little fine matter on the surface, the com¬ 
post consisted almost wholly of four pieces, two of peat, 
one of loam, and one of charcoal. Here was the law of 
extremes with a vengeance. The fine sifted soil of yore 
was perfection, in comparison to this. The loam, to get 
it in nicely, had been jammed as tight as fists could 
make it, and already it smelled as sour as if it had 
nursed only acids for a century. Of charcoal there was 
more than enough, as instead of constituting a fourth,—a 
sixth, or an eighth j>art would have been more prudent, 
and then, instead of such a thumping piece, the largest 
should not have exceeded the size of a w'ainut, while 
most of it should have been as small, and smaller than 
horsebeans. The same of the other constituents. There 
were the materials, they only wanted tearing asunder 
into a number of pieces, as small as the charcoal, ming¬ 
ling together, with the addition of a little silver sand, to 
grow a plant in health and vigour, as, in fact, these 
materials actually did in the case of the plant referred 
to, though at the period in question it was fast running 
the down-hill of existence. So likewise of large shifts 
and large pots, larger pieces may be used, but with 
caution. The very largest bedded in the soil, should 
seldom exceed the size of an egg. Eor small plants, it 
should be used in a small state. When these plants are 
hard-wooded or slow-growing, the dust should be re¬ 
moved with a fine sieve. That dust, if used sparingly, 
about one-eighth of the compost will be useful for soft- 
wooded plants of temporary interest, or that, by-and-by, 
are to be removed into groups in boxes or beds. 
My space is exhausted, or I would have said some¬ 
thing on charring wood and rubbish, such as primings, 
stalks, &c.; the latter is the most difficult, especially 
where there is nothing but earth for covering, to prevent 
the heap from burning instead of charring. In such 
circumstances I have found it very useful to cover the 
heap with a layer of leaves or short grass, before putting 
on the earth, and lighting it—as when making holes to 
draw the peat and charring downwards, the leaves or 
grass prevent the earth getting into the centre, and 
choking the combustion. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHIDACE2E. 
plants that thrive well in pots (Continuedfrom 
page 115). 
Vanilla aromatica (Sweet V.); S. America.—The 
flowers are large and pure white; they are produced 
from the axils of the leaves, towards the ends of the 
shoots, on short stems. They are large and handsome. 
21s. 
V. bicolor (Two-coloured V.); Guiana.—Flowers red 
and bronze; habit the same as the last. A scarce plant 
that cannot be had at any nursery. 
V. planifolia (Smooth - leaved V.); W. Indies. — 
Flowers, cream colour, thick, and leathery; plant, 
climbing, adhering by its roots to walls, or the trunks of 
trees; leaves, large, dark green; and the flowers suc¬ 
ceeded by seed-pods, five to six inches long. A hand¬ 
some, useful plant. 15s. 
This last species is cultivated in the West Indies for 
the purposes of commerce. It produces the famous 
scent called Vanilla, now sold by most of the perfumers 
in the kingdom. It has produced its seed-pods, from 
which the perfume is taken, in several hothouses in this 
country; but, perhaps, nowhere so profusely as in the 
exotic-fruit-house at Syon, under the judicious manage¬ 
ment of Mr. Iveson, the intelligent gardener there. 
Culture .—Having procured a plant, provide a rather 
large pot, fill it with a rough compost, formed with 
large lumps of fibrous peat the size of a hen’s egg, some 
pieces of charcoal the same size, some broken potsherds 
and rough sphagnum; drain well with crocks, and fill 
the pot so high as just to leave sufficient room to place 
the ball of the plant level with the rim of the pot; set 
it in the centre, and fill in the compost, pressing it down 
tightly around the ball till the pot is quite full. Then 
place it in a part of the house where, as it grows, it will 
soon reach a wall to attach itself to. Several years ago, 
when we had the care of the fine collection of orchids 
belonging to T. Brockleliurst, Esq., at the Fence, Mac¬ 
clesfield, there was a large plant of Vanilla, planted in 
a pot and trained against the back wall of a house, 
nearly forty feet long. The wall was eight feet above a 
tanner’s bark bed, of which the wall formed one side. 
The plant sent forth one shoot, which was trained length¬ 
wise, rather close to the bed of bark. It broke pretty 
regularly, and each shoot was trained upwards. And now 
a most remarkable circumstance took place; from various 
parts of the stem roots protruded, attracted, no doubt, by 
the moisture of the bark, clinging close to the wall till 
they reached the bark, they then branched out, and 
spread themselves throughout the bark. The nutriment 
they derived from this source, caused the plant to grow 
so much, that it not only covered the wall, but extended 
itself down the rafters, where it flowered freely. The 
plant at Syon is placed also against a wall nearly filteen 
feet high, which it almost covers, and there it grows, and 
flowers, and fruits. Whoever is desirous to grow the 
Vanilla to perfection, must place it in a similar situa¬ 
tion. In order to cause the flowers to produce fruit it 
is necessary to impregnate them. There is a kind of 
cap that covers the stigma, and in our moist stoves this 
cap never naturally lifts itself up. It must be removed 
with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, and the pollen 
masses placed upon the stigma. It is impossible to 
give directions in words how this is to be done, but the 
operator will soon find out the modus operandi, or way 
of doing it. The stigma is situated on the top of the 
column, in the centre of the flower, and the pollen 
masses are placed near it. They are very glutinous, 
and will adhere to the stigma when placed upon it. 
The fruit or seed-vessels are long, something like the 
pod of the Kidney bean. When ripe they turn brown, 
and then afford the admired perfume. In this country, 
