102 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Watering plants in winter should be done with care, as some plants 

 require more than others. It is more often the ease that plants die 

 from over watering than from the lack of water. No set time should 

 be established for applying water, as a few bright days would dry 

 the earth and necessitate watering every day, if exposed to the full 

 rays of the sun, whereas the same number of days in cloudy weather, 

 once in two or three days would be sufficient. Soft wooded plants, 

 such as geraniums, fuchsias, salvias, etc., require more frequent 

 watering than the hard wooded varieties, such as camellias, azaleas, 

 etc. Although the latter would be badly injured if allowed to get 

 dry enough to wilt, much depends on the atmospheric moisture the 

 room contains, in determining the frequency of watering. It is 

 always better to water so as to wet all the earth in the pot at once 

 and refrain from further watering until the soil on top indicates dry- 

 ness, which by little close attention will soon be determined. 



Plants intended for winter blooming may be checked through 

 the summer months by pinching off the buds as soon as the}^ 

 appear, until the first or middle of August ; after that the}- may be 

 allowed to remain, and if care is taken to water thoroughly before 

 removing from the ground, so that the earth will adhere to the roots, 

 potted immediately and placed in the shade for two or three days, 

 they will scarcely show the change, and may then be carried to their 

 winter quarters in safety. Flowers should not be allowed to remain 

 on plants to ripen unless wanted for the seed, as it weakens the 

 plant and it will not blossom so well, as the strength of the plant is 

 fully required and exhausted in the ripening process. 



In removing cuttings or slips from plants, due regard should be 

 given to form, but as a general rule cuttings taken from the top 

 where the wood is tender, strike root quicker and make better plants 

 than the ripe hard wood lower down on the stock. Cuttings root 

 readily in clear sand if kept moist and in a warm place, but the sand 

 should never be allowed to get dry. Geraniums and soft wooded 

 plants will generally root in from ten da3's to two weeks, and should 

 then be potted in not larger than three inch pots, shifting to larger 

 sized as the growth of the plant may indicate, which may be deter- 

 mined by striking the plant out of the pot by turning it over and 

 tapping it gently on the edge. If the roots have filled the soil, 

 grown to the sides of the pot, and begun to turn brown, they show 

 the necessitv of more room. 



