THE DISEASES 



bloom most of its flowers will blight. Appli- 

 cations of fertilizer with a view to strengthen- 

 ing the plant and encouraging healthy de- 

 velopment are abortive. In fact, they simply 

 make a bad matter worse. 



In a case like this there is only one thing to 

 do : Correct faulty drainage, and give diseased 

 roots an opportunity to resume normal action. 



In most instances, giving the stagnant water 

 a chance to run off, and taking precautions 

 against a recurrence of the trouble, will set 

 matters right, after a little, provided the sur- 

 face of the soil is stirred and put in a condition 

 to admit air freely for the purpose of purify- 

 ing and sweetening it. But if the trouble has 

 existed for some time it may be necessary to 

 remove a good deal of the old soil, and to 

 cut away the ends of diseased roots, after 

 which the pot should be filled with fresh earth, 

 and water applied in very moderate quantities 

 until the plant shows, by renewed growth, 

 that it has put forth new feeding roots. 



Great stress has been laid upon the neces- 

 sity for good drainage in the chapter devoted 

 to a consideration of that subject, and in 

 order to more fully impress the importance 

 of it upon the reader, I want to say right here : 



74 



