234 TRANSA("TIONS OF THP: HORTICULTURAL 



for a calla, or any kind of plant in fact, is one-half well-rotted fine 

 manure, the remainder leaf mould and friable loam, with enough 

 sand added to make the whole porous, ('alias, after a season's 

 growth, should l)e allowed to rest in summer. The practice of allow- 

 ing the bulb to dry up like a dahlia is not good. 



When the bulb shows signs of new growth toward fall, repot 

 in a pot about two sizes smaller, and during the growing season it 

 should have two shifts more into a size larger pot each time, so at 

 the end of each season you will always finish with the same size pot. 

 Don't water with hot water, neither -allow water to remain always 

 in the saucer — it makes the foliage soft and the leaves will snap. 

 Water occasionally with soap-suds — this adds to the growth and 

 keeps earth worms from the soil. In watering, look over your plants 

 every day, some will want water, some will not. A tea made of 

 tobacco stems will kill green flies by syringing^ etc. The leaves of 

 plants are porous, and like frequent baths as much as you do. The 

 latter is the best preventive for red spider. 



Do n't grow too many kinds, and never have a crowded plant- 

 stand. Don't take every lady's advice about plants: if you are tol- 

 erably successful be satisfied with that. A light sprinkling with 

 white hellebore when the leaves are just formed, and another sprink- 

 ing about two weeks later — if you do this you won't be troubled 

 with rose slugs. 



A good compost for cactus is half leaf-mould, half sand and 

 broken brick and old mortar from the size of a pea to a hazel nut: 

 this will do also for wax plants, and treated similar to cactus, except 

 in the growing period they must have plenty water. 



Last winter I spoke of my Exeter Steam Heater: this year 1 

 wish to endorse every word of what I said, and to add that I can 

 adjust my heater to run nine hours instead of six when the ther- 

 mometer' is 8° below zero. Steam heat is the heat of the future. 

 For house heating it is superior to furnace heating — no gas, and the 

 liability to fires is less. For heating greenhouses T think it superior 

 to hot water, because you can put heat on and take it off in one-sixth 

 quicker time than byhot water. In the early spring months, when 

 the sun shines bright and the air is keen and cold, the hot-water 

 heat and the sun heat makes the house too hot, and on account of 

 the very cold air ventilating is out of the question. The steam heat 

 can be shut off in five minutes: the hot-water heat cannot be 

 lessened inside of two hours. 



I think T must have exhausted your patience, for. according to 

 the nature of things you cannot be a very enthusiastic audience, and 

 I confess that I myself feel somewhiit like poor Peggotty in '' David 

 Copperfield." ''a lone, lorn creetir." 



