Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/63

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chapter is intended to prepare the amateur plant-grower for the routine of greenhouse work. It will not provide for every contingency, but it is hoped it will prove of service to the beginner, and be otherwise than wearisome to readers who have made some progress in the practice of horticulture.

It is to be observed at the outset that the cultivation of plants in pots is the chief business before us now, and that is, in many respects, a different matter to the culture of the same plants in the open ground. A plant in a pot is like a bird in a cage, wholly dependent on the hand that feeds it and therefore in need of constant watching. A plant in the open ground is like a bird on a tree, for, although it cannot fly to find food and drink, it can send its roots far and wide to search for what suits it, and many plants have the power to shift their ground, so that if the rich border does not suit them, they may, perhaps, try the grave] walk, and, if allowed, make a vigorous growth amongst the flinty pebbles. To grow a plant in a pot must be the aim of every amateur who possesses a greenhouse, and the task is not a small one. For the illustration of the subject let us take two extreme cases. The first shall be that of the unskilled beginner, who provides a large pot for a small plant, and some stuff which we must call mud for the roots of the poor thing to perish in. You will find examples of this case if you look for them, especially amongst beginners in window gardening. You will find that plants potted in black mud are kept soaking with excess of water for weeks together, until they are nearly dead, and then are allowed to go dust dry, and end their miseries ignobly. The other extreme is that afforded by the man who grows plants for the market. He provides for the public very large plants,