70 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
and find this identical kind of pot described and recommended 
in the Calendar for September of that year (1841). And even 
then we did not assume the merit of originating it, as we knew 
it to have been in use for years before among the Dutch, and 
the most intelligent English gardeners. We had some made at 
the time mentioned, and found them productive of all the 
promised advantages. Only one objection could by any possi¬ 
bility be urged against them, which was, those having separate 
feet were liable, when standing on an open or trellis stage, to be 
thrown down by one or more of the feet slipping between the 
battens. This may be easily obviated, by continuing the rim 
entirely round the pot, for such as are required to stand on this 
description of stage, which, from its being open, will not prevent 
the escape of water. But for such as are placed on slate, or 
other close shelves, or which stand on the floor of the house, it 
is necessary that the rim be divided as before described. We 
shall close this short notice, by earnestly recommending every 
one growing plants in pots to order his next supply to be made 
in this manner, and that, too, by the nearest potter.— Ed. 
PREPARATION OF COMPOSTS. 
One of the principal features of the gardener’s business is 
forming suitable composts for the various plants which he 
cultivates whether for use or ornament; various plants affect 
different climates, situations, and different descriptions of soil, 
some plants are natives of mountains where he air is pure, and 
the soil dry and light, others are found in valleys where mois¬ 
ture is abundant, and the soil is rich and deep ; and others again 
are seen in the alluvial soil of the river, or on the surface of the 
irriguous marsh. Plants from all these localities are put under 
the care of the gardener, and as his garden may neither be on 
the hill or in the vale, much less in a morass, yet it is his duty 
to notice the different characters of the soils on those situations, 
so that he may furnish each tribe of his collection with that kind 
of soil which from observation appears to be most natural to 
it; and as he perhaps in many cases may not be able to pro¬ 
cure the particular kind of earth in which they naturally grew, 
he must use his own judgment in compounding for his various 
plants a compost which will be as much like their natural bed 
as possible; and when we consider that most plants are perfectly 
