202 Growing Flowers 



will prevent a wooden box from rotting as quickly 

 as it would if the earth were placed in it without 

 the whitewash coating, and it will tend to keep 

 away insects from both boxes and pots. 



House plants setting in jardinieres in windy places 

 are occasionally blown over and the jardiniere 

 broken. If all the available space in the jardiniere 

 is filled with sand or gravel, it will usually be so 

 weighted that the wind will have no effect upon it. 



Lime water poured on the soil will usually kill 

 worms. A teaspoonful of perfectly fresh lime 

 should be put into a cup of water and left to stand 

 until the sediment settles at the bottom. The 

 hole for draining should be closed before the appli- 

 cation is made on a house plant, . that the water 

 may remain in the surface soil long enough to do 

 its work. 



Dormant house plants require little moisture, but 

 those which grow rapidly in winter in the house 

 will need a good supply of moisture constantly. 

 Watering should be done thoroughly, and the soil 

 throughout should be wet. An occasional sur- 

 face watering does practically no good. 



Keep the soil in pots an inch below the top oj the 

 pot. This will afford plenty of room for water to 



