86 PETER HENDERSON’S CATALOGUE. 
Treatment of Plants when Received. 2s esc 
shaken off to lighten. If it is the season when they can be planted out doors, the ground should be first well dug 
up and pulverized ; the plants when set out should be well firmed about the root, copiously watered once only 
when planted, and shaded for two or three days when the sun is out. No further watering should be done, but a mulch 
of moss, manure, or leaves around the roots would be beneficial. When received (by mail)“@t a season when they 
cannot be put out, they should be placed at first in as small pots as possible, and sparingly watered until they show 
signs of a new growth. If by express, the plants are usually in such condition as to require a size larger pot than 
they have been growing in. 
Soil is not of so much importance as is usually supposed. When practicable, about three parts rotted sod 
from any good pasture land is best, to one part rotted manure; but when that cannot readily be ob- 
tained, the soil immediately underneath the sod, mixed with manure, will answer. 
Dral nage —When plants are first potted, or are cramped in small pots, there is no necessity for drain- 
4 * age; but as the practice with amateurs is almost universal to overpot plants, as a measure 
of safety, from one to two inches of broken charcoal or potsherds should be placed in the bottom of all pots over 
six inches in diameter, and what is even of more importance than this ‘‘ crocking,” so-called, is to have the plants 
set on a rough surface of gravel or fine cinders, so that a free escape of water can take place. 
M oss M u Ich i n —This is a new practice we began in 1880. It consists in mixing the com- 
SIE mon moss of the swamps or woods with about one-twentieth of its bulk of 
bone dust. This is placed to the thickness of an inch or two on the top of the pot. Plants so treated quickly 
show surprising health and vigor. It cannot be too highly recommended, whether for the amateur growing 
a few window plants, the gardener with his full appointed green-houses, or the florist who grows to sell—to one 
and all we advise it, as it not only lessens labor, saving a re-potting of plants frequently for twelve months, but 
the vigor of growth and productiveness of flower and coloring of foliage are perfectly astonishing. The Moss 
Mulching process should only be done in summer. If used in winter there is danger of the plants getting too 
damp. 
| nsects —The insects that infest Green-house Plants are principally the Aphis or Green Fly, the Thrips, 
« the Red Spider, and the Mealy Bug. ‘Tobacco, either in the form of snuff or in solution—about 
the color of strong tea—or by smoke, by burning the refuse stems, in either way is quickly fatal to the green fly, and 
will check, in part, the thrips. Either of the first two methods is most suitable for plants in rooms, but in the 
green-house the smoke is most convenient, using about one pound of the stems to every 1,000 square feet of glass, 
once a week or oftener. For Red Spider and Mealy Bug, Coles’ Insect Destroyer, put on with a barber’s atomizer, 
is a certain remedy; or they may be sponged off with weak soapsuds. 
M ild ew —This great scourge of Roses under glass is easily checked by painting the hot-water pipes with a 
* wash of Sulphur once in two weeks ; or when not firing, use the Mildew Mixture. (See Index.) 
' i 1 —The temperature of the air for most plants - 
H eat, Li ght, A I r, an d M Oo istu re *in the sinter season at night should not exceed 
55°, and it will do no harm if it occasionally falls to 45°, with from 15° to 20° higher in daytime. LIGHT should 
be given, whenever it can, directly on the plants from December to April; if it cannot, as in Window culture, the 
next best thing to do is to turn the plants occasionally, so they get an equal share on all sides. AIR, or VENTILA- | 
TION, is guided by temperature to be kept, but should never be given so as to blow directly on the plants. 
MOISTURE.—Plants should never be watered unless the soil indicates by its lightness of color that it is dry, and 
then they should be watered freely. This will be necessary two or three times a week in clear weather in winter; 
in spring or summer, nearly every day. If a plant is sickly, or shows but little sign of growth, the remedy is to 
withhold water, almost to the point of shriveling, until it shows indications of growth. Avoid all fertilizers in such 
cases, and let Nature work out her own cure. 
F —The best shading we have ever used is naphtha, mixed with a little 
S had I ng the Class. white lead, so as to give it the appearance of thin milk, This can be 
put on the glass with a syringe very quickly, at a cost not exceeding 25 cents per 1,000 square feet. It holds 
on the entire season until loosened by the fall frosts, whichis, for most plants, just the time for it to be 
taken off. 
Water —If practicable, give plants one good soaking after planting in the open ground, which will be 
* all they will require, unless in the case of long-continued dry weather, when, if again necessary, 
the watering must be thorough—sprinkling is of little or no use, 
1 1 —The increase in the taste for winter-flowering plants 
W I nte r- Fl owerin S Plants. within the past five years has been even more © sitine 
than that for the cultivation of plants out of doors. Formerly it was rare for florists to fill an order in the fall, 
but now, during the months of October, November, and December, they make shipments daily in large quantities 
to every section of the country ; and these nearly equaling in numberthose of plants for the open ground in May 
and June. 
