IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH 71 



dition. The result will be that plants like the 

 geranium and heliotrope will turn yellow 

 and drop their leaves; with palms, the tips of 

 the leaves will turn brown. To get the 

 plants back into proper condition will take 

 months of careful attention, and in the case 

 of palms or ferns it will take a year — prefer- 

 ably at the florist's. 



To give the atmosphere the proper amount 

 of moisture have a small dish on the radiator, 

 register, or stove, and keep it full of water. 

 Most hot air furnaces have a water com- 

 partment inside the jacket which holds 

 about a pailful. Under ordinary conditions 

 this will need filling only once a day, but 

 during the coldest days of winter, when 

 the firing is heavy, it may be necessary to 

 fill it twice. 



WATERING 



The second most exacting requirement of 

 plants is watering. Too much water will 

 make the soil sour; with too little water the 

 plant will wilt. The effect of either will be 

 yellowing and dropping of the leaves. It is 

 easier, however, to drown a plant than to kill 

 it by drought. No hard and fast rule for 



