PROPER TREATMENT CONTINUED. 59 



may be easily picked from the outside of the ball, if you 

 have nimble fingers, or expelled by saturating the soil 

 with clear lime-water. If other worms appear, it may be 

 necessary to shake out the roots and give them entirely 

 new soil. 



DISEASE OR DECLINE. 



This unfortunate condition of plants needs no 

 description for you, after a whole winter's care of 

 "invalids." You are already only too familiar with 

 its infallible signs, the dropping of the leaves, or their 

 turning from the healthy green to the sickly yellow- 

 ish or white. In general it is the result either of disagree- 

 ment between the plant and the place, or of the neglect 

 of some one or more of the foregoing rules of treatment. 

 In the latter case, of course " an ounce of prevention is 

 worth a pound of cure. " But with your utmost care, you 

 will be likely to have more or less occasion for the use of a 

 restorative treatment. The most common causes and 

 remedies besides the three just mentioned may be 

 briefly summed up as follows : 



1. Too much water. The roots either lose their 

 fresh appearance, or do not appear at all on the sides of 

 the ball ; then, if the over- watering is continued, they 

 begin to decay and the soil becomes sour. In the first 

 stage, remove the cause ; that is to say, give less water 

 and see that the drainage outlet is open. In the second 

 stage, shake out the roots clean from the soil, remove 

 decayed parts with a sharp knife, rinse carefully in tepid 

 water, give fresh soil in a small pot, cut back the branches 

 somewhat, and water sparingly until new growth appears. 



2. Too little water, except on or near the surface 

 the ball hard and dry, and the roots withering. Soak in 

 tepid water half an hour, and, in extreme cases, treat as 

 directed in the second stage of over- watering. 



3. Sunshine too much, or not enough, for the nature 



