74 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



WATERING HOUSE PLANTS. 



I AM satisfied that not one person in twenty 

 is aware that too much water is more dangerous 

 to the plants than too Httle. Some gardeners 

 seem to have the idea that to take a watering 

 pot in hand to supply the needs of plants is an 

 easy duty, and that to give a dash here and to 

 soak the soil there is all there is to the matter. 

 One thing is to be observed : All plants under 

 all circumstances, nor, indeed, the same plants 

 under different circumstances require the same 

 amount of water. It is necessary, therefore to 

 study the nature and habits of kinds so that 

 each may be treated according to its needs. A 

 vigorous blooming plant, say a fuchsia or ger- 



anium, might be said to represent the maximum 

 need of water ; the same when in a state of 

 rest, in cool, damp weather, the minimum 

 requirement as to this. Therefore to give 

 exactly the same quantity of water in both con- 

 ditions named, would be to cause harm by not 

 giving enough water to some and too much lo 

 others. One safe rule is to wait until the ball 

 of earth begins to get rather dry, and then to 

 give enough water to moisten the soil through 

 and through. Then do not water again until 

 the former state of dryness is reached, be 

 that time six hours or six days. — Vick's 

 Magazine. 



LOBELIA CARDINALIS. 



The Lobelia Cardinalis, or Cardinal Flow- 

 er, is the most showy of our native plants. Its 

 rich, cardinal-red shade is extremely rare in 

 flowers ; in fact, we can recall no other wild 

 flower of the same gorgeous hue. Though 

 growing naturally in rather wet spots, it takes 

 kindly to cultivation and will grow and blossom 

 very satisfactorily in almost any location, partic- 

 ularly if it is where a dash of water can be given 

 it once in a while. It begins to blossom in 

 July, and the long spikes of brilliant flowers will 

 continue opening to the very tip, lasting until 

 the latter part of August. 



Numerous side shoots spring out from the 

 main stalk and lengthen the time of flowering, 

 and these little sprays mixed with some fern 

 fronds are lovely for table decoration. 



The plant can be raised successfully from 

 seed, but will not bloom until the second year. 

 With us, while not common, it is sufficiently 

 plenty that roots can always be obtained if you 

 know where to go for them. I have found that 

 after the seeds have ripened the flower stalk 

 withers and in the fall a new growth starts, 

 forming a little green rosette of leaves, and this 

 is the best time for transplanting. 



This summer I found a plant with pure pink 

 blossoms growing in the midst of hundreds of 

 the typical colored flowers I thought it a rare 

 find, as I had never seen or heard of any such 

 before. Later I found that one of the same 

 color was growing in a bed of seedlings at 

 Highland Park. — Vick's Magazine. 



The San Jose Scale in Georgia. — A 

 pre'ss dispatch from Atlanta, dated Dec. 30th, 

 says : Thirty thousand fruit trees, comprising 

 the entire orchards of D. C. and G. W. Bacon, 

 in Mitchell County, will be burned by order of 

 State Entomologist Scott, owing to the ravages 

 of Sin Jose Scale. 



In the immediate neighborhood of Dewitt, in 

 the counties of Inerwein, Berrien, Worth and 

 Mitchell, are more than 300,000 bearing peach 

 trees, and in justice to the owners of neighbor- 

 ing orchards, as well as to perform a service for 

 the state, the trees will be destroyed. The 

 work will require several week's time. 



