244 



THE CANADIAN HORT I C U I.TURIST 



November, 1909 



freezes about one inch. Bulb beds plant- 

 ed earlier in the season ■will be bene- 

 fited also by having a mulch over them. 



Dig the old flower beds and make 

 new ones. Digging now will make the 

 soil in fine condition next spring. 



Top-dress the lawn with stable man- 

 ure or with a specially prepared com- 

 post. 



FLOWERS INDOORS 



An indoor window box is u,seful for 

 wintering some kinds of tender plants 

 and for growing most anything that 

 will grow inside. Have the box eight 

 inches wide, six inches deep and of suffi- 

 cient length to fit the window. Make 

 holes in the bottom for drainage. Pro- 

 vide a tin tray to fit under the box 

 for catching the water that soaks 

 through. Support the box with brackets 

 and attach the tray to the box with 

 hooks. Place some broken flower pots 

 over t'^e holes in the bottom of the box 

 and fill with soil. 



Plant some more bulbs in pots this 

 month. Those potted five or six weeks 

 ago may be brought to the light if they 



are found to be well rooted. Bulbs 

 cannot be grown successfully unless 

 they have a good root system before 

 much top growth begins, Freesias 



should be placed in only medium light 

 until started. 



Try some Chinese sacred lilies and 

 some hyacinths in water bowls. Sup- 

 port the bulbs with stones. 



As the days grow colder, increase the 

 temperature for house plants if practic- 

 able. On fine days, give the plants a 

 draught of fresh air. Sprinkle the 

 plants occasionally to keep down red 

 spider and use tobacco water for aph- 

 ids. Do not water plants too often. 

 Give them water only when they need 

 it and that is when the surface soil be- 

 comes dry. 



Prepare potting soil for use next year. 

 Get some sods and place them in a 

 square pile grass side downwards. On 

 each two layers of sods place a layer 

 of manure five or six inches thick and 

 continue building until you have suffi- 

 cient. Next year this will form the basis 

 of a good potting soil for nearly all 

 kinds of plants. 



The Care of House Plants in Winter 



A. V. Main, Gardener to B. Rosamond, Almont, Ontario 



PLANTS that have been enjoying 

 the outdoor weather should all now 

 be indoors. Without the use of a 

 greenhouse some care is required to 

 keep plants alive and in good condition 

 over winter. Good window light is es- 

 sential to catch all the sun that is going. 

 Ferns do well in north windows and 

 corners of a room. They do not like 

 too much sun heat, although the wint- 

 er rays would do no harm. Fibrous root- 

 ed begonias do first-class in the centre 

 or side of a room, particularly the Rex 

 type, with the beautiful marked foliage. 

 Coleus or "foliage plants" as they are 

 generally called, do best in the heat of 

 the sun, to bring out the bright col- 

 ors of the leaves. 



Geraniums want good light and air to 

 flower in winter. Geraniums that have 

 flowered all summer need not be expect- 

 ed to bloom satisfactorily in winter. 

 More attention should be given the.se 

 fine blooming subjects. For winter ef- 

 fect, the buds should have been kept 

 off all summer and the plants grown in 

 good soil, and fully exposed to the sun 

 to mature the wood. With a little arti- 

 ficial feeding after bringing inside, you 

 will have a forest of large trusses. The 

 geranium is a splendid flowering plant 

 in winter. 



Chrysanthemums need a little artifi- 

 cial manure to expand the buds. When 

 done flowering, cut over and store in 

 the cellar and procure cuttings in spring. 

 To keep plants healthy, good drainage 

 comes first ; stagnant water is the first 



cause of disorder — leaves droop, be- 

 come yellow, and you will have a weak, 

 puny plant, an easy victim to insect 

 pests. Plants in cans must have suih- 



soil. To eradicate the.se insert two or 

 three matches into the surface of the 

 .soil, heads down. These will bring them 

 to the surface to face the foe. A pinch 

 of salt in water also proves effective. 



Plants naturally require less watering 

 in winter, but where a house is kept 

 warm, plants should not be allowed to 

 droop their leaves. A heavy watering 

 is better than driplets every day. Water 

 in the morning to have the plants dry at 

 night. Use water that is tepid. Palms, 

 ferns and asparagus should not get too 

 dry. These, are evergreens and are mak- 

 ing fresh leaves all the time. 



Give the plants a turn around oc- 

 casionally to make the growth uniform. 

 To remove dust from the plants give 

 them an occasional cleansing. A piece of 

 soap, two gallons of tepid water and a 

 wine-glassful of coal oil, well mixed, is 

 a good home-made article to clean 

 plants and to ward off bug, scale, green- 

 fly and other pests. This mixture is good 

 to clean palms, ferns and for all plants. 

 Geraniums are the only subjects that I 

 know to object to coal oil. 



Should the plants get only slightly 

 frozen, some severe night, they can oft- 

 en be saved by keeping them cool all 

 day and away from the sun. .Allow the 

 frost to come out gradually. Removing 

 them into a sharp heat in the morning is 

 the worst possible thing to do. Layers of 

 newspapers is a good protection to all 

 plants in low temperatures. Keep all 

 house plants on the dry side. They are 

 then less su.sceptible to damage by fro.st. 



A Fine Specimen of Amaryllis 



Grown by Mrs. J. H. Horning, Hamilton. 



cient outlet for water. The idea must 

 be for water to pass through the roots 

 and soil easily and not to remain stag- 

 nant in the bottom. 



Plants in vases or jardinieres should 

 not rest on the base of them, for this 

 is destructive. The water standing two 

 and three inches in the jardiniere be- 

 comes sour. Raise the pots three inches, 

 by means of a block of wood or other 

 suitable article. 



Worms clog the base of a pot with 



Fumigation with Cyanide 



Editor, The Canadi.vn Hokticiltir- 

 ist: In your September issue reference 

 is made to the use of cyanide of potas- 

 sium for killing white-fly in the green- 

 house, and one ounce to 1,000 cubic feet 

 is recommended. It is not necessary to 

 use this strength to kill the white-fly and 

 nine times out of ten one ounce to 1,000 

 cubic feet will injure the plants. We 

 have had no difficulty in killing this in- 

 sect with one ounce to 4,000 cubic feet. 



In a house containing 12,000 cubic 

 feet, we use the two jars containing the 

 following : six ounces of water (by meas- 

 ure) three ounces of acid (by measure) 

 and one and a half ounces of cyanide. 

 The water is poured into a pint fruit 

 jar, and the acid is poured into this. 

 The jars are taken to the house to be 

 fumigated and after everything is clos- 

 ed down the cyanide is quickly placed 

 into the jar and the door closed at once. 



We have had injury from the use of 

 one ounce to 2,000 cubic feet under cer- 

 tain conditions. We never think of us- 

 ing one ounce to 1,000 cubic feet. My 

 advice is to use not more than one ounce 

 to 4,000 cubic feet and, if found neces- 

 sary under your particular coi '.itions, 

 use more. If the cyanide is in large 

 lumps we break it up some. It is then 



