The plants will now require particular attention and a nice
discrimination in the application of water: it may be comprehended by
all persons interested in gardening operations, that when the soil on
the surface of the pot looks damp it will not require water until it
gets thoroughly dry at this season, and then it is to be given before
the plant droops or flags for want of it. But when the plant droops and
the soil on the surface appears damp, the cause is then to be discovered
by turning the ball out of the pot, when it will be seen whether the
whole or only a portion of the soil is wet; as it sometimes happens,
when fresh potted with light soil, it shrinks from the sides of the pot
when dry, and when water is given it runs down and moistens the outside,
without penetrating the ball. The evil is corrected by holding it for
a short space of time in a tub of water of the same temperature as the
house. If the soil of any plant is sodden with water it should be turned
out of the pot, and the drainage examined, and no water to be given
until it becomes thoroughly dry.
Verbenas.--They require to be kept tolerably dry, as they are more
susceptible of injury from damp than from cold; a top shelf near the
glass in the greenhouse is a very suitable place for them. If mildew
appears, to be dusted with flowers of sulphur.