THE SUMMER CARE 



receive if left in charge of others. In such a 

 case it may be safer to put the plant into the 

 ground than to leave it in its pot on the 

 veranda and trust it to the tender mercies of 

 a servant or the men-folk. 



A plant put into the ground will nearly 

 always make a vigorous growth, and were the 

 summer the only season to be considered there 

 would be no question about the value of this 

 method of treating one's plants during the 

 period between June and October. But the 

 fact must be reckoned with that before cold 

 weather comes our plants must be lifted and 

 potted, and this cannot be done without giving 

 them a severe check, no matter how carefully 

 we do the work. For many of their strongest 

 roots must be cut off in our efforts to get them 

 into pots of a convenient size. These roots it 

 is utterly impossible for us to save, as they 

 will extend far beyond the limit of any ordi- 

 nary pot. As the lifting and potting process 

 is generally gone through with just before the 

 coming of frost, it will be readily understood 

 by any one who gives the matter a little thought 

 that the check given the plant could not come 

 at a more unfortunate time. The removal of 

 the plant to the house, which must follow a 



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