OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. 



ABOUT WATERING PLANTS. 



Continuing Mr. Maxsom spoke on the fol- 

 lowing strains : One of the chief points in 

 the care of plants is the watering. It should 

 be done with great care, too much or too 

 little will kill your plant. There are two 

 way of telling when a plant needs water, by 

 the weight of the pot and by the sound when 

 it is tapped. When it feels light or rings 

 when tapped the soil is dry. A damp soil is 

 heavy, the pot has a dull souna when struck. 

 Water should be poured on slowly until it 

 runs down into the saucer. If a plant is real 

 dry it may need to be watered two or three 

 times in succession before it is well soaked. 

 The carpet is often an enemy to the plants in 

 this matter as well as in that of the sunlight. 

 Many a house-keeper fails to puc enough 

 water on their plants that are kept in doors 

 for fear of the carpet being soiled. It is a 

 question between having the carpet and your 

 flowers injured. It is well to take the plants 

 to a sink where you can water them freely. 



Some flowers are ruined for that season if 

 allowed to get once thoroughly dry. The 

 maidenhair ferns is an example. The rubber 

 plant will stand a good deal of drought. 



WASH THE PLANTS. 



It is important to wash plants occasionally. 

 Take them to the sink and with a fine sponge 

 bathe the leaves. They are refreshed by a 

 bath as well as a human being. Be careful, 

 though, not to dry them in a draft or low 

 temperature for they are very sensitive to 

 chills. A little soap in the water will do no 

 harm. Tobacco smoke is the best remedy 

 for a green fly. Take a large paper bag ; put 

 the plant into it and close the top. Then 

 make a small hole through which to insert the 

 stem of a lighted pipe. Get a smoker to 

 blow the smoke from the pipe into the bag. 

 That avoids all heat, which is injurious to 

 the plant. When the bag is full of smoke 

 stick a bit of paper over the hole and the fly 

 will be killed. 



POTATOES FOR PROFIT. 



ITT S the tendency of potatoes after a 

 |l\\ few years of cultivation is to de- 

 U]\ teriorate, it becomes necessary to 

 have new varieties to take their places. 

 Most of the kinds cultivated twenty 

 years ago are now superseded by varie- 

 ties of recent introduction. In the last 

 half-dozen years we have had a number 

 of new varieties of superior excellence 

 in all of the qualities of first-class table 

 potatoes. As most desirable of late in- 

 troductions may be named the New 

 Queen, Early Essex, Carman No. i, 

 Carman No. 3, Banner, Somerset, and 

 Enormous. 



From the experience of the past few 

 years it seems indispensable to have our 

 crop of potatoes planted very early in 

 the season, so as to have them well ad- 

 vanced in growth to escape the ravages 



of the potato beetle, and the blight 

 which usually appears in the latter part 

 of July or during August, and is apt to 

 be followed by more or less rotting of 

 the potatoes. Two important advan- 

 tages in the early crop are that the price 

 of potatoes is much higher than later in 

 the season, and the land can be used 

 for a second crop of celery or late cab- 

 bages with but little cost, of cultivation, 

 thus adding quite an amount to the 

 yearly profits. 



Another method I have practised 

 very satisfactorily is to plant about the 

 fifteenth of June every third row with 

 squashes ten feet apart in the row. The 

 potatoes being harvested early, the 

 squashes will occupy the land later, and 

 produce about as large a yield as if no 

 other crop had preceded them. 



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