APPENDIX. 341 



will require to be repotted ; this must be done with care and 

 judgment. The plants must be turned out of the pots ; the balls 

 of earth about the roots reduced, by rubbing with the hands, 

 taking off the decayed fibres and dried roots. After putting to 

 the bottom of the new pots the crocks or broken pots, or char- 

 coal, let there be enough of the new compost put over the 

 crocks to raise the ball to the required height ; then set the ball 

 of roots in the centre of the pot, and fill round with the compost, 

 using a stick to settle the earth about the roots of the plants. 

 After the plants are all potted, give them a good syringing, and 

 leave them in a shady, airy place. 



Washing the leaves of Camellias, Oranges, and some other 

 plants, with a soft sponge, gives a healthy look to the plants, and 

 is of great service to them. 



Geraniums, or Pelargoniums, should be cut in very close, as 

 they will make much finer plants, and start with greater vigor, 

 and give a greater profusion of bloom, than if this were neglected. 

 It will not be necessary to repot the Roses quite so early as the 

 Geraniums, Camellias, and some other plants ; they may be kept 

 out much longer, and exposed to severe frosts before they are 

 potted. The branches should then be reduced to three or four 

 buds, and the pots stowed away in the cellar for a couple of 

 months. 



Fuchsias may be treated in the same way. When brought 

 into the room, in January, they will grow with great vigor, and 

 give a finer bloom than if started earlier. 



It is better to keep most of the plants rather cool during the 

 months of November and December, and all the hardier kinds 

 should be kept out of doors as long as possible. A slight frost 

 will not injure a great majority of parlor plants ; but a hard 

 frost, although it might not destroy them, would weaken them 

 very much. Geraniums, Heliotropes, Begonias, Salvias, and 

 others of like tenderness, should be housed as soon as hard 

 frosts are expected. 



INSECTS. 



There is a variety of insects which infest parlor plants, and, 

 29* 



