Twenty] 



baskets of wire and moss are best watered by setting 

 in a large pail until thoroughly soaked. One such 

 watering will last a week, unless the room is very hot 

 and diy. 



Give sun-loving plants all the sunshine possible. 

 Geraniums especially love to be close to the glass, and 

 the difference is quickly seen in the quality of the blos- 

 soms. Shower every day, if possible, especially such 

 plants as Heliotropes, Cinerarias, Cyclamen, Lan- 

 tanas, and, if not once a day, at least once a week. 

 Dipping the entire plant in a tub of quite warm water 

 is a great benefit, as in that way every part of the 

 plant is reached. 



I do not especially approve of the advice so con- 

 stantly given to "keep an old fork handy to stir the 

 soil, that the roots may have air." The leaves are the 

 lungs of the plants, and if these are kept clean there 

 will be no trouble about their breathing. Moreover, 

 if necessary to get air to the roots, stirring the soil 

 would be a very poor way to do it, as cultivation 

 of the surface is intended to keep air out and 

 moisture in. To this end we make a dry mulch 

 over flower-beds and the farmer cultivates his corn 

 in a "dry spell," knowing that the formation of 

 a dry crust will result in the rapid evaporation of 

 the moisture in the soil, the dry air shrinking the soil 

 and opening up its pores, as it were, letting the hot air 

 in and the moisture out. This advantage the practice 

 has: it counteracts any tendency to sourness in the 



