Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/69

Rh will drain away down that side, and the other side will be only partly moistened. In repotting plants growing in peat it is well-nigh impossible to ram it too firm, and unless the new soil is made quite hard the water will run through it before the old ball has become properly moistened. It is owing to a neglect of this precaution that so many cultivators fail in growing hard-wooded plants satisfactorily. It is not less important for the old ball of soil to be of a proper degree of moisture for the well-being of the plant before it is transferred to a fresh pot, for when the soil is in a dry state there is a considerable amount of difficulty in moistening it afterwards. In the event of a difficulty in making the soil equally moist, whether in the case of a plant that has been long in the same pot, or one newly potted, make an end of the difficulty, by



dropping it gently into a bucket of water, and leaving it there for half an hour, by which time the roots will be well wetted throughout.

by seeds and cuttings will be part of the