METHODS OF RESEARCH: CARE OF PLANTS 113 



CARE OF INOCULATED AND CONTROL PLANTS 



Every plant has its own peculiar demands for soil, water, 

 light and heat. Some plants endure crowding and poor earth 

 much better than others, but all prosper best when their needs 

 are respected. The student should treat his plants with some 

 consideration. He should water them regularly and sufficiently 

 but not excessively; should keep them free from plant lice, red 

 spiders, mealy-bug, white-fly and other pests and to this end 

 should carefully avoid introducing infected plants into clean 

 houses; should not over-crowd them, should be quick to see 

 when they require shifting to larger pots; and especially should 

 not try to grow plants requiring a cool temperature in warm 

 houses, or vice versa. The last is like trying to ride two horses 

 going different ways. He cannot learn how to care for plants 

 without being much with them, nor without this expert knowl- 

 edge will he ever be more than a bungler in plant pathology. 

 It is not enough to trust that "the gardener will attend to all 

 this," nor is it right to feel that this part of the labor is rather 

 beneath the attention of an aspiring man of science. Nothing 

 is too small or too menial to receive painstaking and mitmte 

 attention if you wish to achieve a worthy success. Remember 

 then that your plants should be looked after every day as to 

 soil, air, light, heat, water, space to grow in, and freedom from 

 insects, nematodes and fungous parasites. 



Mildewed or fungus spotted plants and all that are dwarfed 

 by nematodes or defective in any way should be thrown away as 

 soon as discovered and good ones substituted. Have others 

 coming on, for this purpose. Do a little thinking in advance 

 of actual needs! Neglected plants often become stunted or 

 "pot bound," to use the gardeners' expression, and are then 

 worthless. 



Seedlings often perish from damping-off fungi, especially if 

 they are over-watered or the soil is poor. Plants require the 

 same amount of water on scarcely any two days, and the student 

 must learn as speedily as possible when to give and when to 

 withhold water. On sunny and windy days they require 

 a great deal, on still, cloudy days very little water or none what- 



