382 THE riOUSEHOLB. 



become yellowish or wliite lu the majority of cases such a cliseased appear- 

 ance is produced by au excess of light or a lack of it, too much or too little 

 water, unsuitable, overrich, or impoverished soil, or lack of drainage. When 

 the discoloration first shows itself— and this is generally on the younger shoots 

 —the condition of the roots should be ascertained by turning the plant out 

 of the pot. If the roots are healthy and fill the ball, or appear overcrowded, 

 tlie discoloration indicates lack of nutriment, or too little or too much light. 

 In the first case it can bo remedied by shifting the plant into a larger pot, or 

 watering the plant with liquid manure. If excess or lack of light is the 

 cause, reference must bo had to the character of the plant. Ferns, 

 selagiuellas, and plants of similar character that naturally grow in shady 

 places, become pale or yellowish when grown in bright hght, while those 

 whose habitat is in open, exposed situations, become discolored when not 

 having a sufficiency of light. lu either case, wlicn grown in pots, plants aro 

 more liable to become diseased through this cause than when grown in the 

 open air. The remedy, of course, is only to shift the position of the plant 

 and place it where the light ■will better suit its nature. 



If the ball is not filled with roots, and they do not appear to be fresh and 

 healthy, the discoloration, in all probability, proceeds from excess of m(Hst- 

 ure or unsuitable soil. To remedy the first, see that the drainage outlet is 

 kept free and unchoked; if after a week or two this does not affect a change, 

 .then it is probable that the diseased appearance arises from unsuitable soil. 

 Some plants, such as azaleas, camelias, and rhododendrons, in such case 

 will not throw out a single rootlet from the old ball into the new soil, but 

 gradually die back or make but weakly, spindling shoots. If the discolora- 

 tion has been produced by bad drainage, excessive watering, or unsuitable 

 soil, and is of such long standing as to cause the roots to decay, or the soil 

 has become sour, the jjroper remedy is to shake off all the earth from them 

 and wash them by shaking them thoroughly in clean water, cutting off the 

 decayed parts with a shai-p knife, and replanting into light fresh earth, and 

 ■eeing that the drainage is kept free. Itich soil or large pots should not bo 

 used, the latter should be but little larger than the diameter of the roots. 

 When the roots are well devcloi^cd the plant may be shifted into a larger jjot 

 and richer soil. The leaves of plants from warm countries — oranges, for in- 

 stance — will sometimes become yellow when exposed to a low temperature, 

 especially when accompanied with much moisture; the remedy in this case 



•^ither to raise tbe temperature or decrease the amount of water given. 



irfometimes the discoloration is caused by insufficiency of water, which 

 causes the roots to shrivel up. It may also proceed from giving too much 

 water at one time, and then letting the ball become dry, or by only giving 

 enough of water to moisten the surface of the soil for an inch or two, while 

 below it may bo as dry as powder. Carefulness and watclifulncss aro the 

 only modes of preventing injury to the plants from such causes. AVhen the 

 leaves of deciduous plants fall off as tlieir season of rest ai^pi'oachcs, ftiey 

 should be placed in a lower temperature, and not have as liberal a supply of 

 water as when growing. If evergreen plants, such as we generally grow in 

 greenhouses, shed their loaves profusely and suddenly, it indicates that 

 they have not light enough, or that the tempei-ature of the room is too higli, 

 or the atmosphere is too dry; the proper mode of treatment in such cases is 

 Bolf-apparent. 



Occasionally plants will die off suddenly near the surface of the soil, 

 although the roots, leaves and shoots laik quite healthy. This is often 

 caused by the collar of the plant— the part whoro the roots aro joined to tbo 



