PRINCIPLES OF ACCUMULATIVE POTTING. 
195 
the necessary cave, and who delight in that pleasing and won¬ 
derful operation, hybridising. To our mind it presents a most 
promising chance of producing something thoroughly good and 
distinct. A blending of the purple of this with the orange, 
yellow, white, or scarlet of other species, must, we think, pro¬ 
duce some startling results. 
For a detailed account of the entire genus and its manage¬ 
ment, we must refer our readers to page 233. of oui last 
Volume. _ 
Editor. 
AN ENQUIRY INTO THE PRINCIPLES OF 
ACCUMULATIVE POTTING. 
( Continued from page 132.) 
I am aware of the difficulty attending the investigation of a 
subject of this kind, also that it may not meet the opinion of 
every person. My object, however, is simply to call into action 
our thinking faculties, that we may be led to enquire and 
reflect, and practise for ourselves. In my former paper I pur¬ 
posed showing the relation between distorted vegetation and 
the spongiole; in so doing I shall still confine my observations 
to the accumulative system. It must be understood there is 
some analogy between animal and vegetable existence, and 
that the effects, internal and external, are similar, though the 
one be stationary and the other capable of removing itself 
without the aid of man. Plants when once fixed to the soil, 
if suitable to their constituent parts, thrive, and the spongiole 
will go some distance in search of the food necessary for their 
sustenance. By way of illustration, the roots of large trees and 
vines are found to extend over a wide space of ground; this is a 
proof that the spongiole is the principal organ by which plants 
are supported, though many contend that the leaves are the 
most efficient channel through which they receive their nourish¬ 
ment ; but, if this be so, how is it if a tree be planted and 
curtailed of its roots, that it will be some time before it regains 
its former vigour? If then the action between the leaves and 
the spongioles is so reciprocal, it is evident, from the laws of 
u 2 
