POTTING CARNATIONS. 
35 
only as corrections of the staple article, but continued and dwelt 
upon till the additions have become to be regarded as the most 
important part. I am not going to propose that these extra 
matters be done without, for it is next to impossible to meet with 
loam of the exact quality required ; but I only desire to point out 
their proper relative value. Generally, the soil intended for these 
flowers requires enriching, and, in its natural state, is seldom to 
be trusted in a pot; for, besides adding to its strength, it is nearly 
certain to require porosity, and to these specific alterations, 
whatever is added in the mixing should principally tend. Sand 
and manure are the chief dependences, in whatever modification 
the loam may be desired; the action of the first is so entirely 
mechanical, that any mistake in its application is scarcely to be 
apprehended, it must be mixed in proportion to the texture of the 
other matters, and that which has a sharp ratherflarge grit is the 
best, providing it is free from mineral impurities ; where it can 
be procured, river or drift sand is preferable, because it combines 
both these essentials. Manure, however, acts both mechanically 
and chemically, and of this empirics have taken advantage to 
mystify the art by overloading their directions with infinitesimal 
detail, and multiplying unnecessarily the number of ingredients 
to form what they call a compost. Animal manures vary con¬ 
siderably in strength, but their relative influence once known, it 
is preposterous to continue a long formula of small quantities of 
nearly every kind procurable, when a single larger application 
will have the same effect; thus in an old recipe we find a peek 
of each of no less than five different kinds, the relative strength 
of which when incorporated with the loam, amounts to about two 
barrowfuls, of ordinary hot bed manure, to obtain which, not a 
tithe of the trouble is necessary, and the matter is rendered plain 
and understandable. 
No positive rules can in truth be given of the exact quantities 
of any description of enrichment that may be necessary in the 
formation of the mixture; and those who attempt it without 
knowing the quality of the staple, are, in plain language, quacks : 
everything of the kind must positively depend upon the character 
of the soil forming the basis of the mixture, for to put the same 
kind and quantity of manure to a poor soil, as would be proper 
for a rich one, must be evidently wrong. 
