294 HOME FLORICULTURE 



winter. The Yucca is also an excellent plant for use in 

 vases. So is the New Zealand Flax, with its long, stif 

 foliage, heavily marked with yellow. 



If we would have fine Roses, we must fight 

 for them. The rose-chafer, the slug, and the aphis 

 will do their best to spoil the crop of flowers, and, if 

 let alone, they will soon destroy every bud, and make 

 the foliage look as if a fire had scorched it. I make 

 liberal applications of the soap insecticide frequently 

 spoken of in the preceding pages, early in the season — 

 before the pests appear, in fact — and find it an easy 

 matter to prevent them from getting a foothold on the 

 plants. "Prevention is better than cure." In applying 

 it, be very sure to have it reach the underside of the 

 leaves. Let someone hold the bushes over in such a 

 manner that the underside of the foliage will present 

 itself favorably, and then give the entire plant a good 

 drenching. Half of the battle consists in getting the 

 start of the insects. 



Ferns from pasture land and wood lot can bt 

 '"eadily domesticated if one is willing to go to a little 

 trouble in preparing a place for them. Plant them in 

 soil brought from the places where they grew. A 

 wagon load of it will be sufficient to make a good- 

 sized bed. In getting plants, choose the smaller ones, 

 and take them up with considerable soil adhering to 

 their roots. Place them, as fast as lifted, in baskets 

 lined with damp moss, and be careful to see that their 

 roots do not get dry before they are planted. When a 

 Fern root becomes really dry, the plant it is attached 

 to is ruined. Ferns are delicate plants, but they can 

 be transplanted successfully if handled carefully. In 

 choosing a place for them select one that is sheltered 



