66 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



destroying mildew on roses either outside or under cover. 

 Boil one Ib. of lime and one Ib. of sulphur in two gal- 

 lons of water, until it is reduced to one gallon ; allow the 

 liquid to settle until clear, and bottle it for use ; one 

 gill only, no more, of this liquid, is mixed in five gallons 

 of water, and this syringed thoroughly over the rose 

 plants in the evening. If in the house, so that syringing 

 cannot be done, dip the plants in it as recommended for 

 the tobacco water. As with most other remedies, we pre- 

 fer to use this lime and sulphur mixture as a preventive 

 rather than as a cure, and we apply it to our roses at 

 least once a week, even though there is no appearance of 

 mildew. In proportion as plants are kept free from in- 

 sects and mildew, so will be their vigor and their thrifti- 

 ness. For more complete information see special chapter 

 on insects and mildew. 



I may here warn the amateur against the too common 

 practice of placing plants in too large pots. As a gen- 

 eral thing, when plants are received from the florists, 

 they are sent without pots, and are usually in a condition 

 requiring them to be shifted into a pot larger than they 

 had been growing in; for example, if they have been 

 grown in a pot of 3 inches diameter, place them in one 

 a size larger, or 4 inches in diameter ; if they were in 4- 

 inch pots give them one 5 or 6 inches across, and so on. 

 Though we entirely ignore the use of crocks, or drainage 

 in pots in our own practice, where we have always the 

 proper sizes to use in potting, yet in cases where a suita- 

 ble sized pot is not on hand into which to shift, (for ex- 

 ample, if a plant that has been grown in a pot of 3 

 inches diameter, must be put in one of 6 inches), 

 then by all means fill up one-third of this too large pot 

 with broken pots, charcoal, or some such material to 

 drain off the surplus moisture that would otherwise be 

 injurious, in consequence of the pot being too large 

 for the plant ; but if the pot into which it is shifted is 



