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HORTICULTURE. 



Seasonal Notes for February, 



By H. F. Macmillan. 

 (Illustrated.) 



Rainfall averages in inches. — Peradeniya 1'59, Colombo 2"08, Ratuapura 4'60, 

 Galle 3"02, Trincomalee 2*26, Jaffna 1'31, A n u r ad hapu r a 1'47. 



The dry season has come round again and with it the need for much 

 watering and due shading of all tender plants which are out of doors. Methods of 

 preservation rather than cultivation must now be the main consideration in regard 

 to most garden plants. Especially young palms, Crotons, Acalyphas, Dracaenas 

 and such like should be judiciously shaded daring the dry hot months, cadjan leaves 

 being the best (because the most durable) for the purpose. In the flower garden 

 little can be done beyond watering, stirring the surface soil frequently, and sup- 

 porting delicate plants with neat stakes properly concealed by the foliage. But 

 this does not by any means imply that work is at a standstill, or that less labour 

 than usual is required. 



Of ornamental plants generally tliose grown in pots and known as 

 "Pot-plants" claim special attention at this season. Although these do not 

 generally speaking contribute to the needs of mankind in food, medicine, or 

 wearing fabrics, they have a material influence upon the domestic comforts of 

 life. The taste for ornamental plants and flowers is an essential feature of the 

 progress of civilisation. Decorative plants are thus regarded as an indispensable 

 part of the furnishing of a house, and no home is considered complete without 

 some homely pot-plants. These are of two kinds, some beiug grown for their 

 foliage and others for their flowers. As a rule the former are easier to grow than 

 the latter, and consequently in many gardens flowering plants in pots are compara- 

 tively scarce. One important reason for this is that the conditions which best 

 suit foliage-plants" are not adapted to "flowering-plants," the latter as a rule 

 requiring more sun than the former. 



To attain the maximum of cultivation probably hardly any two kinds 

 of plants require exactly the same treatment in every particular. General 

 rules may however be followed with advantage, but success is in proportion 

 to the interest and trouble taken in the subject. The soil, drainage, and 

 watering are the points of principal importance. Leaf-mould is usually 

 regarded as an indispensable ingredient in the preparation of potting composts, 

 being used in the proportion of | to £ with loamy soil and well-decayed 

 manure, a^jout £ to £ fine sand being thrown in to give porosity to the mixture. A 

 sprinkling of broken charcoal in the mixture has invaFiably a beneficial effect. 

 In Colombo both leaf-mould and loam are practically unknown, but very fair 

 potting mixtures can nevertheless be made up with decayed and chopped coconut 

 fibre mixed with old and dried manure and road scrapings. Perfect drainage 

 for pot plants is absolutely essential. A layer of moss, leaves or fibre should 

 always be placed on top of the drainage before placing the soil in the pot ; otherwise 

 the pulverized soil soon clogs the drainage, and the result is impaired health of the 

 plant and the need for another repotting. Always water sparingly and shade 

 plants well after repotting, treating them really as invalids until they begin to 

 throw out young rootlets and show signs of fresh growth. 



