Photo 151. 



bed, determine what you are going to 

 plant in it. Are you going to grow for 

 leaf or tor flower ? 



Suppose you want a canna-bed, such 

 as is presented to you in photo 142, how 

 would you proceed? Well, that is what 

 you want to know. I don't know that 

 you are prepared to duplicate it, but here 

 is the formula: Rise at 3:30 a. m., dig 

 for two hours, wheeling away the sand, 

 gravel or clay, continuing every morning 

 until you have a hole eight feet in diam- 

 eter and three feet deep. Have a big 

 two-horse wagon-load of cow manure 

 hauled, and mix this in with good soil. 

 Tramp it down so that it will not settle 

 too much. Round it up eighteen inches higher than the surface. Prepare the caladium- 

 bed the same way. Cannas and caladiums are very succulent and will stand the hot 

 sun, but must be supplied with an abundance of water or the leaves will wither. This 

 reacts on the root, destroying the feeders. (See "Blight.") 



The caladium is grown entirely for the leaf. (See the two plants in the old stumps 

 in photo 143. ) Cannas, also, are grown mainly for the foliage. The new French vari- 

 eties have gorgeous flowers. The coleus, as you know, is cultivated entirely for the 

 richness of its foliage. This plant delights in a rich, light soil. The bed should not be 

 less than two feet deep, the more fertilizer the better. The flower of the coleus is incon- 

 spicuous, and should be pinched out. Remember, you are cultivating entirely for leaf. 

 Now suppose you plant a geranium in the bed prepared for the canna or coleus, you 

 would have the same result a huge leaf, bigger, perhaps, than a common tea saucer, but 

 no flower ! When you find that your geranium has a large leaf and scarcely any flower, 



you will know what's the trouble 

 soil too rich. 



Photo 152. 



Photo 153. 



72 



