268 MAKING HORTICULTURE PAY 



just dry enough so it can be worked easily, place 

 each plant in a 5 or 6-inch flower-pot. Do not 

 pack, but firm the soil well around the roots. Then 

 saturate each pot with lukewarm water. If you 

 have not dug up enough dirt with the plants to fill 

 each pot, get a few shovelfuls from the richest field 

 on the place and mix about one-fourth sand with it. 

 Warm it like the other soil. This ought to make 

 excellent potting soil. 



" After the plants have been watered allow the 

 surplus water to drain off and place them in a 

 warmer but not a much lighter place for a few days 

 more. After this, place them in the warmest, sun- 

 niest window in the house. In about three weeks 

 from the time they are placed in the window they 

 ought to be nicely in bloom. As soon as a blossom 

 shows signs of wilting, cut it off to give the buds a 

 better chance. There is one drawback to the pansy 

 used in this manner; plant lice are very apt to 

 attack it, but seldom until at least two crops of 

 flowers have been produced. When the lice do 

 make their appearance, the best remedy is to throw 

 away the pansies, when the lice will likewise dis- 

 appear and will not bother your other pansies. 



STRAWBERRIES FOR DECORATION 



" Flowers may be secured from strawberries in a 

 somewhat similar manner. They should not be 

 dug up, however, until after the ground has been 

 frozen for at least two weeks. There is not as 

 much need with them to thaw out the ground 

 gradually, and they may be placed directly in the 

 sunlight. The strawberry plants will not bloom as 

 soon as the pansies, but flowers you are sure to get. 

 You may place one plant in a 6-inch pot or three 



