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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1915)
5 A Few Good Plants for the Dining-Room Table Another Record! HOME AD FARM MAGAZINE SECTION Miiiiiiiiiiiiiffe) THK first requirements of plants which are to be used for orna menting the dining-table is that they be small not over six or eight Inches in height except in rare In stances, when plants 10 to 12 inches may be used. When the centerpiece is too high. It becomes an uncomfort able obstacle to observation and con versation. Ferns are best for table decoration because they are small, long-lived In the case of several varieties, and cheap, as a rule; at most greenhouses one can buy them grown in two or three-inch pots for 10 cents apiece. The best, or at least the hardiest, of the small ferns, are the pteris. There are several of them, and the oddly shaped, and, in some cases, peculiarly marked, fronds make them very attractive. The so-called umbrella palm also makes an excellent centerpiece until It grows too tall, but a small plant will not, as a rule, grow so fast but that It can be used all Winter. Slow Growers, Pandanas Vietchli, Asparagus plumosus, var. nanus, the silk oak (Grevillea rodusta), Cocos Wedel liana, and Phoenix Rocbelllnl, re excellent plants for use as the main plant. Although they will all eventually grow large, their growth is slow, so that, with few ex ceptions, the trying conditions found In the ordinary house will cause the death of the plants long before they become too large for use. Around these larger plants there should be smaller ones, to cover the soil, and for this purpose the small ferns al ready mentioned are excellent. The small fern allies, too, like selaginella and lyeopodlum, may be employed In the same way. Whatever the plants, however, they must have good care if they are to prove satisfactory for more than a few days. Only recently I over heard a woman complaining to her florist that the plants in her tern dish, which she was using as a cen terpiece, were not good plants. A few questions only were needed to elucidate the fact that, as the woman had bought the plants to decorate the dining-room table with, she had kept them on the table con stantly, which, of course, was a great mistake. Ferns, palms and other plants must have light; therefore, when the table Is cleared, the best plan is to put the plants in a North or other window, where they will re ceive an abundance of light, but not the direct rays of the sun, except, pos sibly in the early morning and late afternoon. Watering must also be carefully attended to, The dishes used for table center pieces are so small that, under ordi nary circumstances, the soil dries out rapidly. If a special dish, large enough to allow the packing of damp moss around the pot containing the ferns is used, a more uniform con dition of moisture can ba maintained, but the dish will be so large 83 to look clumsy. A better way would be to have a moss-filled dish or box tn a north window in which the dish may be set during the time it is not oa the table. Hardening Plants. One reason why centerpieces and other plants bought in greenhouses often fall to give satisfaction is that the plants have not been hardened off to meet the conditions found In the ordiuary house. To circumvent this, get the fern-dish filled with such nlants as you like that will succeed in the house under ordinary condi tions, and then ask the florist to keen It for you a week or two until the soft growth, if there is any, has been hardened off, so that the plants will not wilt or the leaves turn brown shortly after they are taken home. Ornamental centerpieces for table ferns are to be found in great va riety both as respects material ana nize. Brass fern-dishes are particu larly attractive and may be secured for as small a sum as one dollar. China dishes, attractively ornatnent- nrt. are used, to a large extent, ana cost from 25 cents up. Sometimes It is possible to find dainty, small lardinieres Imported from Japan, which make very attractive center pieces when containing single small rrn. These lardinieres come both in a deep green and a dark red, and have characteristic Japanese decora tions. Silver fern-dishes are fre quently used, and, while somewhat expensive, are always ornamemui uu la good taste. By n. n. neary. Trimming Grape Vines. The old rule which has become well established la to trim grape vines In early Spring. That Is a good time to trim it the The Second Special Train of Automobiles for the Season 1915 Will Be Bricks, of Course 100 Carloads 500 Automobiles will leave the Buick Factory, Flint, Mich., February 20th, consigned to the Howard Automobile Company for distribution on the Pacific Coast. This will be the most valuable shipment of first-class freight ever made in the world, and breaks the former record of 88 carloads established by the Howard Automobile Company in 1913. $550,000 or more than half a million dollars is the value of this trainload of Buicks. The freight alone will be over fifty thousand dollars. Our second trainload for the season. , REASON? BUICKS SELL! Howard Automobile Co. MEL. G. JOHNSON, Manager Phones Main 4555 and A-2550 Fourteenth and Davis Streets. nanihm' nr snmpthins else does not interfere until the vines are full of sap, and bleed profusely when tne trimming is done.. After the fruit and foliage is oft the vines, the sap returns to the roots, and then is the best time in the whole year to prune the vines. Late in November, or during the month of December is an meal time to prune thoroughly and properly. Gi.m-r.oiv anvnnp la wtlline to trim a grape vine as much as it actually noeds. It loons too mucn line rum inn ti,o irinoa to remove the surplus growth that should come away. Thin the vines out wen. nemove ,.,., AaaA nr riicpnaprl nnrtion. and much of the growth made during the past season. Thin out so me ugni can find its way through next season when the new growth appears, and the foliage is heavy. Place the vines over and about the wish them, and tie up carefully so the Winter winds cannot beat the vines auout ana in jure the wood. Pieces of old shoe leather wrapped about the vine and tacked to the arbor make good retainers, but care should be taken not to have these too tight. J. T. T. 01d-Fahicned Peony Is Again a Favorite THE peony is becoming one of the popular flowers again. The oldtime garden was not complete without a generous supply of large double peonies in red, white and pink. Today there are hundreds of varieties, varying greatly In form and embracing almost every shade from pure white to the darkest violet red. Odd and beautiful as many of these new sorts are they do not greatly excel the old favorites, and I would advise a liberal use of the old standard doubles, for they are not so expensive as the new sorts and probably somewhat hardier, forming strong clumps in a shorter time. Peonies like a deep rlou loam, high enough so water will not stand around their roots, and the surface soil should contain sufficient decay ing vegetable matter to prevent its becoming compact or forming a crust. Stir a liberal supply of thoroughly rotted manure or some bone meal into the soil just before growth be gins In the Spring, and later give a light mulch unless you Intend to give thorough cultivation throughout the season until they have matured the eyes tor the coming year. The hardiness of peonies and thoir compact habit of growth make them especially valuable to plant with shrubbery. A baokground oft ever greens sets off their magnificent blooms to advantage. Planted along the edge of a clump of spirea Vau Houttcl, or Bridal Wreath as It is usually called, they form pretty masses, but they should be fitted into nooks in the outline of the shrub bery rather than a solid row in front of it, for the Bridal Wreath has graceful drooping branches which would not show to good advantage over a row of stiff peony plants. The best time to set peonies is af ter they become dormant in the Fall and before they begin to form the tender shoots from the base prepara tory to starting the Spring growth. As this is done very early It is well to get the work done during some warm spell in Winter. Do not dis turb the clumps when once planted for several years, for they do not take kindly to having their roots disturbed, often refusing to bloom for a year or so. Orchard and Gurdun Notes. It pays to pick up the fallen fruit just as soon as it begans to Fall. Go over the orchard each week and gather the "drops" and feed to the hogs. By so doing you will destroy many insect pests. Never cut a limb from a fruit tree unless you know just why you do it. If the rabbits have only gnawed the outer bark wrap the wound with cloth. Cowpeas or vetch makes a good cover crop for the orchard. Blow Out Your Stumps TROJAN POWDER WILL SAVE YOU MONEY. It will not cause a powder headache. It will not freeze. It is safe. 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