July 10. 
25-1 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
the mind of James Hall (for such was his name), that 
he was resolved to try what he could gain in the same 
way. So with his sixpence he purchased two young 
rabbits, a male and a female, which, when he had kept 
them a few months, produced four more. Two of those 
lie sold, when they were one month old, for threepence 
each, so that by this time ho had his sixpence again, 
and four rabbits besides. Next year the produce of 
his rabbits brought him 15s., with which he purchased a 
few potatoes, and rented a small piece of land to plant 
them in. When ho had raised his potatoes, he found 
that ho had fifteen bushels, three of which he kept to 
plant the following year, and the other twelve he sold at 
the rate of 2s. fid. per bushel, which with 10s. saved by 
his rabbits came to T2. The following year ho went to 
service, and gave the rabbits to his parents. He, 
however, rented a larger piece of land for raising 
potatoes; this piece yielded him sixty bushels, which 
lie sold at os. per bushel, and having saved 10s. out 
of his wages, he had therefore TO [Os. in his possession. 
The death of his father, whose funeral expenses cost 
him T2 10s., reduced his money to £7. In the following 
year he rented half an acre of land for potatoes, which 
cost him T3 Js. ; this piece yielded him fifty-six bushels, 
which lie disposed of at 3s. per bushel. The amount 
added to T4 lbs. which he had in his hand, and T1 
saved out of his wages, came to T30 4s. The next year 
he lent <£20 out at interest, at the rate of five per cent.; 
with the rest ho rented two acres of land, which yielded 
•‘112 bushels. The produce ho sold at 2s. Gd. per bushel, 
which, added to the other T20, and its interest, and 
T1 10s. laid up out of his wages, came to TGI 10s. 
Next year he lent <£50, at the same interest as before; 
with the remainder he rented two acres of land, which 
produced 320 bushels of potatoes. These lie sold at 
3s. per bushel, which, added to the .£50, and its interest, 
and T2 laid up out of his wages, came to <£102 10s. 
But having to pay T l 10s. to a man for raising his 
potatoes, his money was reduced to TT01. About this 
time he loft service, married, and rented a small farm, 
and by constant perseverance and making aright use of 
his property, he soon became the most opulent farmer 
in the neighbourhood, and died worth more than 
T20,000.”— Manchester Spectator. 
CULTURE OF THE PANSY IN POTS. 
How should the Pansy be managed to be exhibited 
in pots ? This is a question that I have often been 
asked; and as I have now here some very good spe¬ 
cimens, well bloomed, and many perfect ilowors on each, 
l opine l can answor that question satisfactorily; so 
that whoever follows my method will be pretty certain 
to succeed, and be much gratified with the result. 1 
may venture to assert that there is no other florist 
flower, usually grown in the open border or bed, that 
docs so well in pots as the Pansy, unless, perhaps, it 
is the Verbena. In order to obtain fine blooms in a 
moderate-sized pot the cultivator should procure a 
rich, light soil. The way 1 obtained mine was this; I 
had a considerable quantity of tufts of grass gathered 
oft’ a field, carted home, and put in the compost-yard; 
it was laid, in the first place, in a thin layer, about six 
inches thick; then upon that a layer two or three inches 
thick of fresh littery dung, just as it came from the 
stable; upon that, another layer of the turfy tufts of 
grass was laid; and then another layer of the strawy 
dung; and so on, till all the turves were collected. This 
heap was made about last July. It was turned over 
only once, and is now as fine a compost as possibly can 
be conceived. 
The Pansy plants had been kept singly in 3-inch 
pots through the winter, in a cold frame, merely 
protected from very severe frost, by a covering 
of littery straw, which was taken off’ every morning 
when the weather permitted. Plenty of air was given 
in mild weather, by either tilting up the lights when 
heavy rain or snow was falling, or, if fair weather oc¬ 
curred, the lights of the frame were drawn off entirely. 
By this management, constantly practised whenever the 
weather called for it, the plants grew slowly and stocky, 
throwing out strong side-shoots. As soon as the spring 
frosts broke, or rather, I should say, a decided thaw 
took place, I had the plants taken into the polling shed 
(and having previously housed a few barrowtuls of 
the above compost to become dry and a trifle warmed), 
1 had them repotted into 7-inch pots (well-drained), 
in the aforesaid compost; they were replaced in the 
frame, aud exposed daily whenever the weather would 
allow. They very soon showed the good effect of the 
change from the exhausted soil in their small pots to 
the larger volume of the light, rich compost. It was 
necessary now to be very cautious in applying water, lor 
if too much was given, which happened in one or two 
instances, the plants went oil’, as it is termed, between 
wind aud water; that is, they rotted just at the collar, 
between the tops and the roots. Warm, gentle showers, 
in April, were allowed to fall upon them. If any plant 
had only one stem that preponderated greatly, so as 
to rob the side-shoots, or overshadow them, such strong 
gourmands I cut off’ at once, which relieved the side- 
shoots, aud allowed them to grow all round, aud equally 
strong. As soon as they were long enough, 1 had 
the plants brought on to the potting bench, where a 
small heap of the compost in a rather dry state was 
ready. A few hooked pegs were also in readiness, and 
a small-bladed knife, made very sharp. All this was 
preparatory to layering the side-shoots of the plants. 
This was done in the usual way ; that is, a leaf or two 
at the part where the incision was to be made were 
trimmed off; then 1 took hold of one of the shoots with 
my left hand, lifted it gently up, bending it a little 
towards mo till I could see clearly the joints; I then 
placed the edgo of the knife a little below the best 
situated joint, and, drawing the knife upwards, made an 
incision half-way through the stem, sloping upwards 
through the joint; I then laid the knife down, and took 
j up a hooked peg, thrusting it into the soil (catching, as 
it descended, the cut shoot) deep enough into it to bring 
the layer close to the soil. The next shoot was done 
in the same way, and so on, till all were layered; care 
was taken to spread them at equal distances, and one or 
two weak shoots left uncut to fill up the centre; 
thin covering of the compost was laid upon the layers, 
which finished the operation. The plant was then close 
to the soil, which it almost hid from the sight. Every 
plant intended for this purpose was operated upon in a 
similar way, till all were completed ; then a gentle 
shower of water from a fine-rosed pot was given, and 
the plants were set out under a spaco covered with hoops, 
which is what nurserymen term a cradle; there they 
wero placed to have the power of shading aud protecting 
them with mats from hot sun and heavy rains when in 
bloom. 
Scarcely one layer iu ten failed, and they all rooted, 
and by these new roots added vigour to the plants. 
They grew, and bloomed most profusely, and were 
the admiration of every one that saw them. The flowers 
wero quite as large as high-coloured; and, I verily 
believe, more perfect in their several properties than the 
same kinds managed as well as possible in the open 
border. 
The management, after tho layoring was performed, 
consisted in keeping them clear of weeds aud duly 
supplied with soft water. They continue now in lull 
bloom; but, as I wish to increase them, I shall take 
up tho layers, and pot them off separately into small 
