nOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Potted Plants for Living Room
MANY lovers of flowers who have
not the time to bother with an
indoor window-box, enjoy keep
ing a number of potted plants In
the living room during the Winter.
Some, In fact, have turned a bay
window Into a small conservatory
or Winter garden merely by an at
tractive arrangement of plants In
separate pots.
When a window-box Is filled, the
plants must be of the same general
character to be successful, .but If
one's Winter garden Is made up of
plants In separate pots a greater
variety may be kept, as each plant
may receive different treatment In
the matter of light, watering, soil,
etc., and palms, rubber plants, and
cacti, which call for special handling,
may be added.
Begonias, Ivy, smilax, and aspi
distra, all good plants for indoor
culture, demand more or less the
same treatment, as was explained In
a previous article sent out by the
.United States Department of Agri
culture, describing the indoor window-box.
Slaking Potting Soil.
Those who do not have gardens
would do better to get potting soil
of the nearest florist for their potted
plants. Good potting soil may be
prepared at home but It usually takes
considerable care and forethought.
Those willing to take the trouble
may prepare It by using one part
compost, one part good loam and one
part sand.
The compost should be cow ma
nure and good turf rotted together
for a year and turned two or three
times In the interim. Well decom
posed leaf mould would answer as
a partial substitute for the compost.
One-twentieth part bone meal Is a
good addition to the mixture. If
the loam is very heavy, containing
much clay, its proportion should be
somewhat diminished. It the loam
is light and sandy, reduce the amount
of sand, or in some localities omit it
altogether.
Examine Occasionally.
Potted plants Bhould be examined
occasionally to see whether or not
the plant requires repotting. This
Is done by holding the hands over
the. top of the pot, Inverting plant
and all, tapping the edge of the pot
so as to loosen It, then lifting the
pot off. This cannot be done un
less the soil Is moderately moist. If
the ball of earth Is completely cov
ered with roots, the plant should be
put In a slightly larger pot with new
potting soil "firmed" about the old
ball of earth by "firming" with the
fingers. Then wet thoroughly.
A housewife who desires a few
potted plants but does not possess
the regulation flower pots, may pre
pare tin cans that will be quite sat
isfactory. A small hole should be
made In the bottom of the can and a
piece of broken crockery or a few
stones put In the bottom of the can
before the earth Is added, In order to
give the proper drainage. The stones
or crockery should be also used In
the regular flower pot.
Hanging baskets may be used ad
vantageously to make an Indoor
Winter gardon attractive. They
should be hung near a light window.
Geraniums,
If geraniums are potted bo that
the root growth Is restricted, and if
they are kept fairly dry, they may
be forced to bloom during the Win
ter. Geraniums are attractive in the
ordinary window-box because of
their follago alone. They Bhould not
be placed In a window-box with the
expectation that they will bear
flowers.
Perns.
Ferns as they come from the flor
ists prepared for Indoor culture
Bhould be placed in a strong light,
though they grow well without sun
light. They should be watered
sparingly but should be kept moist
at all times. Improper watering,
especially keeping the plant Boakeu
or permitting It to get dry, Is the
foundation of most fern difficulties.
It is especially difficult not to over
water when the fern is In a Jardiniere,
where drainage Is necessarily poor.
In Spring and Summer they will re
quire three times the water necessary
In Fall and Winter.
1 Give Baths.
It is well occasionally to put them
In the bathtub and give them a bath
with weak soapsuds made from a
good grade of soap. The soap must
be thoroughly rinsed off Immediately.
Great care must be exercised not to
Injure the fronds as they are very
tender.
Mealy bug Is one of the worst ene
mies In house culture. This Is a
white wooly Insect that works close
to the bottom of the fronds. If found,
the plant should be examined every
day and all insects removed by a
splint or toothpick. If the pest Is
very bad, cut off all the top of the
fern within an Inch of the ground,
treat thoroughly each day till all in
sects are exterminated when a new
top can be grown.
Red spider is a minute sucking
Insect that thrives in a dry atmos
phere. It can be kept In check by
spraying the top ' with clear water.
In living rooms this is frequently
Impracticable. The next best thing
is repeated baths. The aphis or
green fly is also eradicated by wash
ing. Ferns should be fed once in two to
four weeks in the place of ordinary
watering with dilute nitrate of soda
(a heaping teaspoonful to a quart of
water) ammonia water (a teaspoon
ful of ammonia to a quart) or ma
nure teachings. Prepared plant food
or a little sprinkling of ground bone
and wood ashes also gives satisfaction.
Will Exhibit Rare
Bulbs and Shrubs
PROM England and Holland on
November 24, at the Panama
Pacific International Exposition
grounds, 123 tons of rare blossom
ing shrubs and bulbs arrived, to be
used In the landscape gardening ef
fects In the courts of the exposition.
These included nine large crates
of rare Himalayan rhododendrons
from London, and 144 crates of
bulbs from Holland. A large con
signment from Honolulu arrived on
the grounds the same day, to be used
in embellishing the gardens around
the Hawaiian building, now nearing
completion, just north of the Fine
Arts lagoon.
In the Palace of Horticulture, un
der the great dome, the eleven car
loads of tropical plants, fruit trees
and royal palms have been given per
mament place.
These are of sorts never before
removed from the jungles of Cuba,
and despite the difficulties in the
way of preparing the huge trees for
shipment, Superintendent McKenzle,
who was sent to Cuba to assemble
the huge display, was able to land
them at the exposition without the
loss of a single specimen, by frost
or otherwise.
A Cheap Filter.
The most impure water may be
purified by filtering through char
coal. Take a large flower pot, put
a piece of sponge or clean moss over
the hole In the bottom and fill three
quarters full of equal parts of clean
sand and charcoal. Over this lay a
linen cloth large enough to hang
over the sides of the pot. Pour the
water Into the cloth and it will come
out pure.
fir
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ft CO., Inc.
taportea and Routen of Coffe
, SetUle, Wash.
ii
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