For JiiniKiry. 1''22 



19 



If you hn;l a group of moss suilcil lo your purpose, 

 shake oft" the cHnging earth and chy it in the sun. The 

 next thing to do is to tease apart the gathered moss 

 easily and scatter it on the surface cif the soil and give 

 it a little watering. A good rain or two will deck the 

 pot with a piece of verdure. It takes not a small quan- 

 tity of time and labor to im])rove the appearance of a 

 plant. 



In Sluing when the sprout bL-gins to branch, )ou must 

 take away al! leaves except the upper two. In about a 

 month new sprigs will come out, but these again must 

 be got rid of. The remaining twigs will develop enough 

 to bear some minor twigs. 



The infancy of a plant is the best time to correct or 

 straighten the ill-shaped branches. If you happen to find 

 a sprig growing just where you wish it to come out, see 

 that the sprig be tended w-ith more than usual care, cut- 

 ting oft' all other unwished-for twigs and thus making it 

 easier for the pet twig to become large. 



Spring is the season when the circulation of the plant- 

 juice is most active: and so this is the best time for 

 transplanting. Every "bonsai-ed" tree, whether it is 

 growing on natural soil or in a pot, requires transplant- 

 ing at least once a year. The following is one way of 

 transplanting : 



Mrst of all, wash the routs clean. If vtni find any 

 decayed matter among entangled threads on the roots, 

 take that away, together with mould, which you will 

 surely come across when unearthing a plant. The wash- 

 ing done, dry the roots and then set the plant in a pot. 

 Take the pot out of doors in the day and indoors at night. 

 In Sunnncr the scorching sun dries the soil rapidly 

 and frequent watering is necessary. But beware of giv- 

 ing too much water at long intervals. Whenever yo" 

 see the soil dry, don't neglect watering your pet plant. 

 To tell you the truth, water somewhat prevents the plant 

 from wearing ''antiquated" color, but insufficient water 

 soon kills the plant. 



Transplanting can be done about the time of the 

 autumnal equinox without impairing the beauty of your 

 tree. But the sprouts coming out at this time ought to 

 be nipped or they will mar the graceful appearance of 

 the tree in Winter. 



Watering should be avoided in .\utunm lest it should 

 rot the roots. 



Those trees which turn red, such as maple trees and 

 wax trees, are specially lovely in Autumn with their 

 crimson leaves. If you want to retain the gorgeous color 

 on the leaves, take care not to expose the tree to rain 

 or dew after it begins to be tinted. When the dwarfed 

 tree undergoes "hibernation," so to speak, the only care 

 you should take of your pet plant is to keep the soil in 

 the pot from freezing. For this purpose place the pot 

 in the sun on fine days with a little watering before or 

 after the noon. 



The most eft'ective way of fertilizing is first to make 

 a slight hollow circle, two or three inches in diameter, 

 around the root, and then pour fertilizer into this hollow 

 on fine days. Just before the sprotiting period and the 

 period of propagation is the time when fertilization is 

 more necessary tlian at other periods. When giving fer- 

 tilizer, to your tree, do not apply too much at a time, but 

 give the plant its nourishment little by little. Old plants 

 require more fertilizer than young plants. 



For w-atering purposes, rain is most suitable : next 

 comes the water drawn from the river. Water fresh 

 from the well is not so welcome to the plant. The olde'- 

 the water, the more nourishing it is. 



Trees adapted to this special kind of culture can be 

 grouped into three main classes. If we add some shrub's 

 that can be cultivated as pieces of "bonsai" art. we have 



lour kiii(i> in all, namely, "leaf-cultured trees," "Hower- 

 cultured trees," "dwarfed trees" and "herbs." Space 

 does not permit the giving of detailed description of the 

 dift'erenl methods of culture, according to each of these 

 classes. Therefore I will here epitomize some of the 

 most popular ways resorted to on this side of the Pacific. 

 In "bonsai" art red pines are in high favor, as they 

 can be very tastefully cultured. They like to be planted 

 on the red soil. The shelf on which they are placed 

 should be set up in a well ventilated part of the garden. 

 Beware of exposing them to rain. The soil should be 

 kept as dry as possible and fertilized with powdered oil- 

 cake. 



Maple trees must be placed in a shallow pot. The soil 

 to be used for them is red soil or mountain soil. They 

 want much water. Therefore frequent watering is neces- 

 sary. Fertilizer should be as thin as possible. If you 

 leave the trees in the scorching sun in Summer, you will 

 get the tips of their leaves brown. After their leaves 

 have all fallen, their bare branches present a most grace- 

 ful aspect. 



The cedar tree has so many small branches that it is 

 an easy matter to train it as you choose. The use of 

 fertilizer is not necessary, but watering must not be ne- 

 glected, as the tree likes wet soil. \Vhen you plant a 

 cedar tree in a thin pot you have a deep valley in mini- 

 ature before you. 



The elm tree also branches profusely. Look at the 

 tree after all its leaves have fallen. Even then you will 

 find the thick branches interrupt the view beyond. In 

 course of cultivation the root will become, in too many 

 cases, thicker than the trtmk. Then cut away the root, 

 leaving about three inches from the top of the root, and 

 transplant it in another place. Such a process will have 

 the result of more small trunks coming up from the 

 root, which is exactly what the "bonsai" artist wants the 

 tree to do. — The Caiiadiait Horticulturist. 



"Truth," said Corot. "is the first thing in art, and the 

 second and the third." But the whole truth cannot be 

 told at once. A selection from the mass of Nature's 

 truths is what the artist shows — a few things at a time, 

 and with sufficient emphasis to make them clearly felt. 

 You cannot paint Summer and Winter on a single can- 

 vas. No two successive hours of a Summer day are 

 just alike, and you cannot paint them both. Nor, as 

 certainly, can you paint everything you see at the chosen 

 moment. Croud in too much and you spoil the picture, 

 weaken the impression, conceal your meaning, falsify 

 everything in the attempt to be too true. Corot managed 

 to paint to interpret life, mood and meaning of what 

 he saw. — Mrs. Schiiylcr I'an Rcn.<:sclacr. 



A PRAYER 

 Nettie Orcena Wolfley 



Dear father, tend the garden of my thoughts. 



Thy dearest care. 

 And nproot every weed and flower Thou hast 



Not planted there. 

 Give me, to keep mv paths and borders straight. 



Thy Golden Rule. 

 To fashion tlieni like his who left for men 



X'o sharper tool. 

 Teach me to know at sight, in any guise, 



One no.xious weed. 

 The "root of bitterness" which, spring up. 



Bears evil seed. 

 Warm with the sunshine of Thy love the soil 



Around each tree 

 That, looking from the earth up toward Thy light. 



Bears fruit to Thee. 



— Christian Si'iciicL- Si'iiliiiel. 



