350 PLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



second and third linger, tlien invert the pot and give the 

 bottom of it two or three sharp raps, when the pot will 

 come off. If the plant is in a lively, growing state, and the 

 outside of the ball of earth is covered with line, white, new 

 roots, it will be best to put the ball into the ground with- 

 out disturbing the roots at all. But if the plant is not grow- 

 ing, the earth may be carefully worked out from the roots 

 with the hands, taking care to break the fibres as little as 

 possible. Spread out the roots as much as possible in every 

 direction, and cover with fine earth. 



Rose bushes will need attention soon, as worms and bugs 

 begin their depredations. When the number of bushes is 

 limited, hand-picking every day or two is best. For a 

 large collection one must resort to more general methods. 

 Drench your shrubs, which aphides and worms infest, wdth 

 soapsuds, made of two pounds of whale-oil soap to fifteen 

 gallons of water. This is by far the most efiicacious — the 

 only efficacious — course for destroying insects. 



As flower-seeds come up, see that they are well weeded, 

 and ii' crowded, thin them out. We would recommend the 

 cultivation of some old-fashioned flowers. Nothing is more 

 showy than a bed of poppies of mixed colors. Holyhocks 

 are becoming very great favorites, and we saw recently 

 flowers as magnificent, and as well worth having, as any 

 dahlia. The varieties of lupine should be sought for, and 

 for those who have seen nothing but the white and blue 

 lupines we make an extract from Mrs. Loudon's "Com- 

 panion to the Flower Garden " — an admirable work, which, 

 though professedly written for ladies, may be used with 

 profit by everybody who cultivates a garden. 



"LupiNTS. — LeguminoscB. — The Lupine. A genus of 

 herbaceous annuals and perennials which contain some of 

 our most beautiful border flowers : yellow, blue, white, and 

 pink lupines are among the oldest border annuals; L. nanus 

 is a beautiful little annual, with dark blue flowers, a native 

 of California, and requiring the usual treatment of Cali- 



