I do not know that any thing new can be said upon watering plants; but as it is a subject of quite as much importance as some which engage the attention of horticulturists, it may not be amiss to state a few facts relating thereto, even at the risk of being considered pedantic. And, perhaps, it would be greatly to the advantage of many were they to bestow a little more attention upon such common-place matters as the one now under consideration, rather then constantly hunting after some new thing, as intangible, perhaps, as "the last extract of bones "or" essence of guano".

But it may be said, every body knows that plants ought to be watered when they are dry, and never when they are not. So far so good; but the fact remains to be accounted for, how it is that one man acts upon this rule, as he thinks, without attaining his object, while another does so with the most striking evidences of success? This may be accounted for by supposing that a plant, from appearances, may be watered in such a way as to defeat the object aimed at. Suppose it bo situated as not to have the mould towards the bottom of the pot deprived of its moisture, while near the surface it is comparatively wet, or the reverse, excepting by the ordinary process of evaporation from natural causes. In these circumstances it would often appear dry, while, perhaps, a few inches below the surface it may be in a state far more conducive to its well-being than were it to receive more water than what would be necessary to wet that portion of the ball only which is dry.

One of the best growers of hard-wooded plants I have yet been acquainted with, watered on some such a plan as ibis. He knew from experience, as all gardeners might know, that the mould in the pots, in ordinary circumstances, becomes soonest dry on the surface; and to meet the case fully, he gave the plants as much water at one time as thoroughly to penetrate the entire ball, and the next only as much as to affect the driest part toward the surface. By closely adhering to this practice, as he did, altered circumstances not intervening to cause a change, he proved to the satisfaction of all the correctness of the plan by the ends obtained, and thereby raised himself to a high place indeed, as a grower of plants, especially Gape Heaths, Epacris, and Azaleas.

But how, it may be asked, are we to know whether a plant is dry or not, unless as indicated by the state of the mould on the surface? It is not difficult at all; and by way of explaining how, let me state, in few words, a test communicated to me many years ago by R. Veitch, I believe a discovery of his own. It is this: An empty pot, when gently struck with any object - the knuckle, for example - has a ringing, and what is called an empty sound. If filled with dry mould it will have much the same sound; but if the mould is well watered, thereby filling up the interspaces, it will then have a solid sound. If, then, in the practice of watering, any difficulty should be felt with individual cases as to whether they are dry or not, by this means ninety-nine cases in the hundred might be satisfactorily settled, and the conclusion come to that plants sometimes require to be watered when they do not appear dry; and sometimes it ought to be withheld when seemingly they are in want of it.

As a general thing, plants should be potted so as to leave sufficient space to hold as much water at once as they require, as to be necessitated to water twice before giving enough is a serious consideration indeed where time is scarce and labor dear. Sometimes it has been recommended to elevate the bails of hard-wooded plants a little every time they are shifted; but when this is done great care will be necessary not to have the pots too full, as, without more than ordinary caution, the most of plants would be apt to suffer unnecessarily from drought. I am aware the system of elevating plants so as to stand upon "little hillocks" is an old one, and has the advantage of being "well recommended," but unless in the case of some varieties of the heath - E. depressa, Banksiana, or tricolor, and its congeners; or those which, in their natural habits, grow in the fissures of rocks, or adown the arid slopes of the Cape. These, by being raised a little, will be less liable to damp at the neck. But the free growing varieties generally, such as Bergiana, proegnans, and venlricosa, need no such prominent situations, and are all the better for being potted in the ordinary way.

In a country like this especially, and where the sun pours down his rays with such intensity as to make almost every green thing "languish," the practice can not be defended on any principle of utility, but rather decried as unnecessarily exposing the roots of the plants. In the case of heaths particularly, I believe that more of those truly beautiful plants die for want of proper attention in watering than from any other cause.

It therefore follows, there are some things to be avoided that plants in pots may be sufficiently supplied with water, and some signs observed which indicate their condition as to when, and how much to give. Above all, punctuality in attending to their wants is the great and principal cause of success. Without this the most judicious selection of moulds to grow them in, as well as every other attention, will be of little avail; while with it, other things being equal, success may reward the labors of the most humble laborer as well as him whose business it has been from his youth up to learn all about their ways, even to the anticipating of their wants. It may not be that all are permitted to hold such intimate fellowship with their plants as Tennyson says some one had with his "Talking Oak," which, for kindnesses received, in a transport of delight is reported to have said:

"Hard wood I am, and wrinkled rind, But yet my sap was stirred, And even into my inmost ring.

A pleasure I discerned, Like those blind motions of the spring.

That show the year is turned".

And so it may be with those who, by kind and considerate treatment, strive to be on good terms with their plants. They will be rewarded with such manifestations of gratitude as they are capable of showing, which will be a satisfaction to all concerned, as well as to those who only stand and look on; while the attachment thus created will grow and strengthen until the fiction of the poet begins to look so like the sober truth of the philosopher that their various opinions relating to such subjects might almost be "woven into one".

[A very important subject, philosophically treated. There is probably nothing connected with the culture of plants in pots more deserving of consideration. A plant that has once suffered for the want of water, seldom or never fully recovers its pristine condition. The evils that result from overwatering may be controlled in a great measure by thorough drainage; the opposite extreme can only be avoided by careful attention. A very common and very bad practice is to fill the pot quite to the rim with earth; the top of the pot should always hold water enough to go through the ball of earth. There can, in this case, be no danger from over-watering if the drainage is right We should be glad to hear more on this subject - Ed].