384 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Potting .—This subject lias frequently been alluded to, 
but the enquiries of a correspondent, a week or two ago, 
the enquiries of visitors, as well as my own observations, 
have more than convinced me that the subject is far 
from being exhausted. The knowledge that this work 
is extensively read by gardeners, and even by those at 
the head of the profession, gives a greater ease to the 
pen of those who generally write for its pages; but this 
very advantage, unless care he exercised, is apt to be 
more than counterbalanced by not descending suffi¬ 
ciently into the minutiae of matters, so as to suit the 
case of those whose enthusiasm needs fanning and en¬ 
couraging, instead of meeting it with statements and 
propositions, which appear to them as great an enigma 
as a chapter written in the Arabic or Hebrew would 
appear to tlie uninitiated. At the present day it is 
hardly possible for a gardener to be visited by ladies in 
comfortable circumstances in society, without having 
questions put to him repeatedly, involving the very first 
principles of plant culture; and if he happens to look 
in upon the snug homes of these lovers of floral beauty, 
he will be more than ever convinced that, notwithstand¬ 
ing all they have read upon gardening, and the standard 
and periodical works that grace the shelves of their cosy 
parlours, the matter has never yet been so simplified as 
to be thoroughly understood by the masses, who, never¬ 
theless, love flowers and gardening with an intensity 
that could not be exceeded, were it not for the subduing 
influence of the disappointments which they often suffer. 
Referring to other articles on potting, for general prin¬ 
ciples, it will be the aim of the present, further to sim¬ 
plify the answer given to H. G. B., page 362, respecting 
the soaking of pot plants, so as to remove the whole of 
the soil before repotting them again, disapproving as 
we do, of soaking soil and roots after potting, except in 
extreme cases. 
1. The soaking of the ball of a hair-fine-rooted plant, 
grown in fibry peat, such as Ericas and Epacrises, so as 
to remove the whole of the soil from them, would be 
alike impracticable, and of little usefulness were it prac¬ 
ticable, because such soil continues for a long period, 
when properly drained, to retain its nutritive properties; 
because the fibres are so fine and minute, and so inter¬ 
laced, and have so run backwards and forwards from 
the centre to the circumference, and from the circum¬ 
ference to the centre, and have so taken hold of and 
passed through the lumpy, fibry parts, that it would be 
alike difficult to get them disentangled, even when 
gently agitating them in a pail of water, and to get 
them as regularly and nicely packed in the new soil as 
they were before; and because, that in the case of such 
plants regularly shifted, the removing of a little from the 
surface and the sides, and a fresh addition of from lialf-an- 
inch to an inch all round, will be sufficient to keep the 
plants one year, and frequently for several years, in a state 
of healthy existence. In all cases of potting such hard- 
wooded, fine-rooted plants, three things are necessary. 
Eirst, that the old ball should be thoroughly wetted; for if 
this is not the case, the moisture from the watering-pot 
will escape by the looser soil on the sides of the old ball. 
Secondly, the roots round the outside should bo gently 
disentangled with the point of a sharp-pointed stick, and 
a little of the old fine soil got rid of, as far as can be 
done with safety. No roots must be shaved off' with the 
knife, as in the old style, when these fine roots were as 
ruthlessly dealt with as if they had been of equal value 
with the outside of a turnip. Now, let us just place 
these two conditions side by side. In ordinary circum¬ 
stances, whether by watering, or by soaking in a pail, it 
will only be necessary, before this picking of the roots 
and ultimate potting, that the soil should be moist to 
[September 18 . | 
its centre; but if you know that the plant, from being 
long unpotted, has its roots densely matted, then it will 
be preferable to examine and relieve the roots when the 
soil is rather dry, as the smaller particles will thus be I 
easier got rid of at a minimum of danger. But in such 
a case, as soon as this operation is over, the ball of the 
plant should be soaked in clean water, and always in a 
temperature a little higher than the atmosphere in which 
it is ultimately to grow; and when thoroughly soaked, 
placed on a stand, and allowed to part with all redun- ( 
dancy before potting. We have frequently alluded to 
the consistence of the soil, the roughness being propor- : 
tionate to the size of the shift, and the young fibres so 
placed as to run into it easily and quickly. The third 
thing necessary is the character of the soil as respects 
moisture; it ought neither to be wet nor dry, but just the 
happy medium between the two. Hundreds of fine plants 
are first rendered sickly, and ultimately destroyed, by j 
inattention to this very simple matter; and this fatality 
takes place, not only among our less initiated friends, j 
but in the largest and finest places, because young men 
to whom the duty is entrusted consider such matters as 
too trifling to be attended to. The more I see, the more 
fully am I convinced of a principle often propounded 
by the late Mr. Stewart, of Valley Field—“ Attention to 
trifles is inseparable from good gardening.” Here is 
potting proceeding with compost brought from the open 
air, after heavy rains, full of moisture; which, dropped in 
round the ball of a plant, saying nothing of squeezing it 
down with the points of the fingers, will become a com¬ 
pact souring mass, and must be remedied by length of 
time, before roots can enter it so as to thrive. There, 
on the other hand, is a professional, thumping away with 
soil kept for months in a dry shed, and so dry, that it 
could be little more so, if dried in an oven. Down comes 
the common modicum of water, after the shifting is 
completed, and again the dose is repeated, secundum 
artem, when the surface again indicates dryness, and 
wonders are expressed as to what can be the reason of 
the sickly diseased aspect, until some fine day, turning 
the plant topsy turvy, the dusty condition of the lower, 
and many parts of the upper strata, sufficently solves 
the mystery. The soil should just be in that condition 
that will permit of its slightly cohering when squeezed 
tightly in the hand ; yet, not so much, but the letting it 
fall from six to ten inches will cause it easily to part 
asunder. In such a state, when put into a pot, and 
drainage, &c., properly attended to, the water from the 
water pail will be easily absorbed, and as freely parted 
with. A fourth matter we allude to, and that is, the not 
elevating such plants above the pots, but potting them 
i so that the outside of the soil in the pot should be as 
high, if anything, higher, than the centre. This should 
be kept in mind in all fresh surfacings, &c. Raising such 
| plants in the centre of a pot might have been all very 
| well when a single crock or two was all the drainage 
thought of, and the soil, instead of being rough, could 
; not be sifted fine enough; but it is decidedly inju- 
i dicious, under the treatment mentioned in these pages, 
1 as the plants not only have a stilted appearance, but 
; there is always a danger of the inside of the ball getting 
| dried up, which is never the case when the soil next the j 
j sides of the pot is generally the highest. The plunging 
of such a plant in a tub of water after potting can only | 
be tolerated as a slight amends for carelessness in pre¬ 
vious watering, and securing the soil in a proper con¬ 
dition. Sprinklings on the foliage to prevent and lessen j 
evaporation, and judicious waterings, when necessary, 
are more likely to be attended with pleasing results. 
2. The previously-soaking system so as to remove all 
the soil, unless in the case of very large-rooting plants, 
would not answer well in the large, generally termed the 
one-shift, system, as everything here like a sudden 
check shoidd be avoided. Saving part of the ball of a 
