68 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1904. 



with others loses its prestige and effect. In placing flowers 

 upon the table, to form a picture of restfulness antl charming 

 attractiveness, bear in mintl harmony of color, artistic arrange- 

 ment and blending of form. And thus these gems in our 

 floral kingdom will be more and more appreciated. 



Make your homes beautiful, bring to it flowers, 

 Plant them around you to bud and to bloom, 

 They will give life to your loneliest hours, 

 They will bring light to enlighten the gloom. 



Then shall it be when afar on life's billows 

 Where ever your tenipest tossed children are flung, 

 They will sigh for the shade of the home weeping willows, 

 And sing the sweet songs, that their mother had sung. 



Climbers. The climbing plants furnish us with nature's 

 drapery, and nothing produced by art can equal their elegant 

 grace — nothing is so effective and beautiful as these charming 

 climbers; they surpass all, and give us our idea of beauty 

 and refinement. Let the corners in our homes and the sides 

 of our windows be covered under the delicate foliage of these 

 beautiful vines. 



CARE OF PLANTS. 



Now we come to the daily care of our plants, and the 

 essentials of successful cultivation. We must have proper 

 soil, which is to become the food of the plant, the best for 

 nearly all plants being decomposed soil, well enriched with 

 one-fourth stable dressing. Thoroughly mix, and add to this 

 potting soil one-fifth fresh ground bene — for the smaller plants 

 sift it. Next in order we must haA^e suitable flower pots. By 

 far the best is the common earthern pot, new and clean from 

 the pottery, unpainted or unglazed, with good drainage. Should 

 your pots become infested with any earth worms, give them 

 a good wetting of lime water in which is added a little spirits 

 of ammonia, one tablespoonful to the c^uart. This will rid 

 the soil of all insect life and give vigor to your plants. 



Our next great point is the watering of our plants. How 

 shall we water them? How often and how much? This de- 

 pends entirely upon the conditions and growth of the plant. 



