THE HOUSE-PLANTS 143 



We shall still turn the plants every few days, to keep them 

 growing evenly ; but with these older plants we shall have 

 more to do. If a leaf withers, we pick it off ; and whenever 

 a blossom fades, we make sure to nip it before the plant begins 

 to form seed. When plants make seed, they stop flowering. 

 If the leaves are dusty, we wipe them with a soft, damp rag. 

 And with these house-plants we study, also, the general 

 shape. If the plant is growing one-sided, we cut out leaves, 

 or even branches, from one part, in order to help the other. 

 And if the plant grows too tall, we cut it back, so as to en- 

 courage buds to start lower down. It is a mistake to let 

 house-plants, and especially geraniums, grow too gawky. 

 Beautiful flowers will not hide the ungainliness. 



Sometimes, when we discover that a plant is yellowish 

 and sickly, we have cause to worry. First we question if 

 it has had sun enough, or even perhaps too much. We 

 ask if the room has been allowed to grow too cold at night. 

 The room should not be colder than about fifty degrees — 

 nor should it, by the way, get so high as eighty degrees for 

 the ordinary plants Drafts of cold air are often as bad 

 for plants as a cold room. If air is introduced (and the room 

 should always be fresh), it should not be by air blowing 

 directly on the plants. The air should be moist, and that is 

 why plants often suffer in hot-air or steam-heated houses — 

 the air is dry. It can be made moister by standing dishes 

 of water on the radiator, or by hanging little pails in the 

 register. Gas, from the gas-jet or the furnace, will quickly 

 injure plants. 



If none of these causes have brought about the injury, we 

 must look for some enemy or a disease. 



Enemies, of course, are insects, and the first of them is the 

 aphis — a soft-bodied little thing of different colors. Wipe 

 off his colonies with a soapy rag, but best spray the plant 



