Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/68

62 hollow side downward, a concave piece of crock large enough to cover the hole. Over this place a layer of crocks, the thickness of which must be regulated by the size of pot and the character of the plant. We will take a six-inch pot or “thirty-two.” If a soft-wooded plant, such as a geranium or fuchsia, is to be potted, it will suffice to place five or six rather large crocks over the one which covers the hole. On the other hand, in preparing the pot for a hard-wooded plant&mdash;such, for example, as the heath, the crocks should be broken up small and placed in the pot somewhat regularly to a depth of about an inch. For large pots it will not be necessary to break the crocks so fine, but in no case must they be used too large. Over the crocks put a layer of the rougher portions of the compost, flaky leaf mould or dried moss, to prevent the finer portions of the compost running down between the crocks and choking up the drainage. If precaution is not taken to prevent this mishap the superfluous water will be unable to escape, and the soil will soon become sour through remaining in a saturated condition.

To form a nice bed for the ball of the plant to be potted put in the bottom a sufficient quantity of the compost to raise the plant to the desired height. No rules on this point can be given, but in no case should the crown of the plant be buried very deep, and in the case of large specimens of hard-wooded plants sufficient soil should be placed underneath to raise the surface of the old ball of soil high enough to require little or no soil over it. In all cases the soil must be pressed firm, and composts consisting entirely or chiefly of peat will require much more pressing than would be desirable for composts of which loam is the staple. In potting off from cutting pots there will be no difficulty in pressing the soil firm enough with the hands, but in shifting established plants from one pot to another a potting stick will be necessary. This can be readily made, and the most convenient size will be fifteen inches long, an inch and a half wide, and between a quarter and half an inch thick at the top, to admit of its being more readily grasped with the hand; the corners can be shaved off with the knife. With this the soil must be worked regularly round the ball, so that no vacant space may be left between the old ball and the side of the pot. The soil must also be pressed to an equal degree of firmness all round the ball; for if less firm on one side than the other the water