ERI 
ERT 
textui'e derived from the surface of com¬ 
mons, and laid together in a heap to re¬ 
duce the turf to vegetable mould; when 
this is used it should merely be broken 
roughly with the hand, without removing 
the roots, stones, &c., which may be in 
it, adding pure silver sand in propor¬ 
tions, varying according to the habit of 
each plant; the fast-growing kinds re¬ 
quire but little, while the more tardy 
hard-wooded sorts can scarcely have too 
much; in potting, perfect drainage must 
be secured by mixing charcoal and pot¬ 
sherds or freestone with the soil, and 
placing a good layer in the bottom of 
the pot; the soft-wooded free-growing 
kinds delight in abundance of root room, 
increasing to an amazing degree in a 
very short time if allowed large pots; 
the others, from their slower habit of 
forming new parts, do not require so 
large a shift, but it is not advisable to 
allow them to remain long without shift¬ 
ing. Whether the plants are grown in 
a house or pits, ample command must be 
had of the ventilation, as no plants re¬ 
ceive so much injury from confined air 
as do these, in fact, the only necessity 
for protection at all, is against frost and 
excessive wet; on all favorable oc¬ 
casions they should be opened to the at¬ 
mosphere on all sides, a free circulation 
of which among them, prevents the at¬ 
tacks of mildew, damp, and other evils, 
by rendering the wood firm and mature; 
in winter it is far preferable to protect 
them from severe weather, if not of long 
, continuance, by means of outward cover¬ 
ings than by fire heat, which often tends 
to mischief, either exciting them to a 
premature growth, or by drying the soil 
near the outside of the pots, and thus 
inflicting an injury on the roots ; fire- 
heat should therefore be avoided as 
far as possible, never applying it till it 
becomes impossible to preserve a proper 
temperature without. A very good rule 
for the repotting of Heaths/is to shift 
them immediately after blooming, if it 
occurs between December and July, but 
those which flower in autumn and win¬ 
ter should be kept in a dormant state 
till the return of spring; the repotting 
induces new growths, and when these 
are made at the latter part of the year, 
there is not light enough to mature 
them, and hence another fertile source 
of mildew, &c.; on the other hand, those 
which are started during the period men¬ 
tioned grow much more rapidly, and be¬ 
come well ripened, generally forming their 
flower heads before the arrival of winter. 
The fast-growing kinds such as E. hye- 
malis, hybrida , and Willmoreana, delight 
in large pots. Small plants of these, 
removed from sixty-sized pots to others 
six or seven sizes larger, make astonish¬ 
ing progress in one season; but the sys¬ 
tem does not offer equal advantages 
when applied to the hard-wooded, slow- 
growing species; if these are shifted 
two sizes onwards, it seems to be as 
much as they require for a single season, 
and the result is usually more satisfac¬ 
tory ; in either case the soil should be 
light fibrous peat broken up with the 
hand, leaving it in rough pieces when re¬ 
quired for the large pots, but reducing 
the size, and adding a considerable quan¬ 
tity of sand, when used for the superior 
kinds in smaller pots; drainage must be se- 
curedby alayer of potsherds at thebottom 
of the soil, and as before observed it is a 
good practice to mix a number of them, 
or pieces of charcoal, freestone, or other 
similar material, throughout the bodv of 
the soil; tins acts to the benefit of the 
roots in two opposite ways ; they attract 
and retain moisture to a certain extent, 
keeping a supply to the roots near 
them, and, after imbibing a moderate 
quantity, assist the escape of the super¬ 
fluous water by acting as drains, besides 
which the soil is kept open to the per¬ 
colations of air by then means, a matter 
of as much moment as any which pre¬ 
cedes it in the management of these 
or indeed any other plants. This leads 
us to the application of water; in winter 
it should be given very cautiously, the 
least quantity that will preserve vitality 
is the most proper; but while the plants 
are in an active state during the sum¬ 
mer the supply must be copious, given to 
them not by!ittles,butso asto thoroughly 
soak the soil, thatit may notrequire repeat¬ 
ing so often. We remember when it was 
directed to water Heaths twice or thrice 
