124 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1906 



Hit 



SANITAS - 



The WASHABLE WALL COVERING 



#][ Every American home owner should know Sanitas. 

 ^JJ It is the mosT: satisfactory wall hanging made. It is 

 artislic, durable and absolutely cleanly. Its cloth founda- 

 tion gives it strength enough to stand the wear and tear 

 of everyday usage. Its surface is finished in oil paint 

 and affords no lodging place for dusl and germs. It can 

 be kept clean with soap and water. Its designs and colors 

 are varied and beautiful enough to use in 

 any room of any home 



The Sanitas Department of Interior Decoration supplies suggestions 

 (or wall treatment and samples free Write Dept. P for circulars 



STANDARD TABLE OILCLOTH COMPANY 



320 BROADWAY NEW YORK 



SYKES 



TWO BEST LATHS IN THE WORLD 





METAL LATH a ROOFING CO. n,l u es sa ho 



JRBROOKS£CO.(lEj(Et^'0- 



fLooR^iDEWALK Lights, 



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BSend-^pCatalogue. 



"^tjrougfjjfrisico'sijfurnace 



Dtxon'si £?iltca=<!5rapfHte iPatnt 



'A Souvenir 

 Book of Views 



Showing High Buildings in San Francisco which had their Steel Work Preserved from Rust with 



Write for Free Copy No. B 106 



Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City.U. S. A. 



when thus grown, and quite as desirable for 

 use in front rows, as its lower branches will 

 bend to the ground under the weight of their 

 enormous heads of bloom. To secure best re- 

 sults from it, manure it heavily each season, 

 and cut it back sharply. Do this early in the 

 season. 



If you are going to put out some bulbs this 

 season, send in your order for them as soon as 

 you get the catalogue of the florist you are in 

 the habit of patronizing. We make a serious 

 mistake in waiting until October and Novem- 

 ber before planting our hyacinths, and tulips, 

 and narcissuses. They should be got into the 

 ground as early as possible, that they may form 

 good, strong roots before the coming of cold 

 weather. If they do this, they will give a fine 

 crop of flowers next spring. Late-planted 

 bulbs only half complete the development of 

 roots by the time winter puts an end to their 

 work. This interrupted work they will have 

 to go on with in spring, at the time when they 

 are trying to develop flowers, and the result is 

 generally weakened plants and inferior bloom. 



Along with your bulbs for outdoor use, 

 order some for flowering in the window- 

 garden in winter. The best, for this purpose, 

 are Holland hyacinths, preferably the single 

 varieties — Roman hyacinths, tulips, of the 

 early single sort, narcissus, and Bermuda 

 lilies. All of these bulbs bloom finely in the 

 house, if properly treated. What I consider 

 proper treatment I will speak about next 

 month. In ordering the Bermuda or harissii 

 lily, be sure to get the large, heavy bulbs. 

 They are surer to bloom than the smaller ones, 

 and will give you finer flowers, and more of 

 them. If I could have but one bulb for winter 

 use, it should be this beautiful lily. 



A correspondent asks me if I would advise 

 her to repot her palm now. That depends. 

 If it really needs repotting, the sooner it is 

 done, the better. But if it is in a healthy, 

 growing condition, I would not consider that 

 it needed any change. I believe more palms 

 are lost by over-kindness than from neglect. 

 People are under the impression that they are 

 difficult plants to manage, and they coax and 

 coddle them to death. My rule is this: If a 

 palm is doing well, let it alone. I do not repot 

 my plants very often. I do not find it neces- 

 sary to do so, because I use a good deal of 

 fertilizer on them, and in this way they get 

 all the food they need. They do not have to 

 depend on fresh soil for it. I have a "made- 

 up" palm — of three plants — which I bought 

 four years ago. It was put into a nine-inch 

 pot when sent home, and it is in the same pot 

 to-day. It is perfectly healthy — I do not think 

 it has lost a leaf — and it is constantly making 

 new leaves. It is as fine a specimen as I have 

 ever seen. When I potted it, some horn shav- 

 ings were mixed with the soil. These decay 

 very slowly, are rich in elements of plant- 

 growth, and constitute an ideal fertilizer for 

 plants of this class. This plant, by the way, 

 has always been kept in the hall, or the living- 

 rooms, therefore green-house conditions are 

 not responsible for its vigorous, healthy con- 

 dition. If you are sure your palm requires a 

 larger pot, turn it out of the old one without 

 disturbing its roots, set it in the new one, and 

 fill in about it with fresh soil, making it firm 

 by crowding it down with a blunt stick. Then 

 water well, and let the plant take its time to 

 begin growth. Never attempt to force mat- 

 ters by giving strong fertilizers while the plant 

 is standing still. Many a plant that would 

 have begun to grow, after a little, if let alone, 

 has been killed in that way. My palms, grown 

 in living-room and hall, are always in jar- 

 dinieres, but I make sure that their pots never 

 stand in water by elevating them on bricks. 

 Many a palm is killed by water about its 

 roots. 



