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Grimsby. — On Friday evening the 

 1 2th of May, the Society at Grimsby 

 had their annual meeting for the distri- 

 bution or plants to the members. 



Mr. A. Cole the Grimsby florist, made a 

 fine display of plants in bloom, besides a fine 

 collection of urns and hanging baskets, full 

 of ornamental plants. The Grimsby Band 

 occupied the platform and gave a fine pro- 

 gramme of instrumental nmsic. There was a 

 full house and great interest was taken in the 

 roll call of members, as each came forward 

 for his collection of plants. 



A beautiful May wedding took place here, 

 on the 11th inst., atjthe house of the Secretary 

 of the Ontario Association The house at 

 Maplehurst was beautifully decorated for the 

 occasion with evergreens, ])each, crab apple, 

 and double cherry blossoms, Japan qumce, 

 roses and carnations. The work was done 

 by five young lady friends of the the bride 

 and their work was well worthy of notice in 

 connection with our Grimsby Society. Miss 

 M. F. VVoolverton, now Mrs. Mode, will make 

 her home in Yarmouth, N S. 



Lindsay. — Treatment of House 

 Plants. The council chamber present- 

 ed a charming and aesthetic appearance 

 on Thursday night, April 20th,, when 

 about 100 people ranged themselves in 

 front of a long bank of blooms to hear 

 Messrs. Maxsom and Beall discuss 

 matters pertaining to the care of fruit 

 and flowers. The magnificent speci- 

 mens with which Mr. Maxom illustrated 

 his remarks were at once charming to 

 see and helpful to a comprehension of 

 the points discussed. Maxom's remarks 

 ran somewhat as follows : 



MISTAKES ABOUT WILD PLANTS. 



Unless one is a close disoerner he is apt to 

 get mistaken ideas about the way to treat 

 plants from watching them in their wild con- 

 dition. For exampla : ferns grow in swamps, 

 and one can easily imagine he should keep 

 his tame ferns in very wet soil but that is not 

 the case. No ferns want much water. The 

 wild plant grows in the swamp but on 

 soil that is covered with water perhaps for 

 a short time but not for long and is of such a 

 nature that it dries out very quickly. Even 

 calla lilies cannot be grown in water at home. 

 They do live in water out-doors but it is run- 



ning water and pure. When in-doors in 

 stagnant water they die for the water becomes 

 foul. These are only two examples of how 

 one may be misled by wild plants unless he is 

 a close observer. 



THE PBOPiSR SOIL B'OB POTS. 



Black muck alone is not a good thing to 

 pot plants in. In the first place you cannot 

 get it sweet and clean unless you expose it to 

 the light and air for two years. Taken di- 

 rectly into the house it soon smells very foul. 

 The leaf-mold found in the hardwood bush is 

 one of the very best things for lightening up 

 the soil for plants, in England they have 

 men go about the parks and collect all the 

 leaves. These are thrown in between stone 

 wall or some such place and left for a couple 

 of years when they can be sifted. Half a 

 bushel of soil, one peck of manure and a peck 

 of the mould make a splendid mixture to put 

 plants in. 



ABOUT FLOWER POTS. 



Do not put a young plant into a large pot. 

 It Is better to have the roots come out to the 

 edge than have so much soil that it sours and 

 kills the plant. A three inch pot is large 

 enough to begin with for most plants. Then 

 move them into one an inch larger and so on 

 an inch at a time. 



HOW TO PUT PLANTS INTO THE POTS. 



When you have the proper soil and the 

 proper pot put a little dry grass into the bot- 

 tom and then put in the plant and punch the 

 soil down firmly around it with a wooden pad- 

 dle. Do this thoroughly for if any cavities 

 remain the water will all run into them and 

 sour there while the rest of the soil will be 

 parched. And if the soil is loosely put in it 

 will be too open and the water will run 

 through it and do the plant little good. 



HOW TO GET THEM OUT. 



Many people run a knife around between 

 the soil and the pot when they want to take 

 the plant out. There is great danger of cut- 

 ting the delicate roots that way. If the 

 plant has been properly potted it will slip out 

 freely if turned upside down over the fingers. 

 The pot may be gently tapped if necessaiy. 



FLOWERS NEED LIGHT. 



Mr. Maxsom spoke very pointedly about 

 keeping plants in the dark. He said there 

 was only one plant that will live in the dark. 

 Its name was such that it is no wonder it had 

 to stay in-doors. Many ladies were said to 

 be so particular about the sun fading their 

 carpets that they let the darkness fade the 

 flowers instead. He had seen many languish- 

 ing plants that needed only more light. 

 Plants do not like to be put into prison. 



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