THE FLORAL WORLD 



7 



HOW TO KILL THE BLACK FLY 



For several years I have tried va- 

 rious means to conquer the tiny black 

 fly, a great enemy of house plants. 



In the fall when potting and repot- 

 ting I either bake or scald the earth 

 to destroy animal life. When plants 

 are placed for winter, every week I 

 examine saucers and top of pots for 

 the eggs of the fly. They are white 

 and as small as a pin point and soon 

 hatch into very lively grubs and grow 

 as large as a small pin, and then 

 breed flies again. A few hundred 

 worms will soon destroy the finest 

 plant. At the first sign of eggs I take 

 plants to the kitchen sink, wash the 

 saucers and bottoms of pots, fill top 

 with water and pour off quickly, and 

 the eggs and worms float off. I take 

 a fork and loosen the earth, and if I 

 see any worms I sink the pot in water 

 to cover it and let it stand ten minutes. 

 What do not rise will drown. It is 

 the most effective plan I ever tried. 



About once a month I put a tea- 

 spoonful of ammonia in a quart of 

 water and water freely, and give a 

 little fertilizer. 



To be successful with house plants, 

 unless one's eyes are very strong, a 

 small magnifying glass is almost a 

 necessity to examine leaves and earth. 

 Black flies' and red spiders' eggs are 

 so tiny they can easily get the start 

 of one. Glasses can be bought from 

 twenty-five cents up. 



Illinois. Mrs. S. E. Browne. 



FALL WORK AMONG THE ROSES 



At the North I would not advise 

 the planting of roses in the fall, unless 

 you find that you realize success by 

 so doing. Only the hardiest sorts 

 should be planted at this season. Teas 

 and hybrid teas will generally disap- 

 point if planted now. It will soon be 

 time to administer protection to such 

 roses as you care to save. By the first 

 of December go over the rose plot 



and see that each bush is left in suit- 

 able condition for withstanding the 

 rigors of winter. Choose a day when 

 the ground is frozen. Alternate freez- 

 ing and thawing do much harm to a 

 plant; and you want to aim to have 

 the ground remain frozen throughout 

 tlie winter. This may generally be 

 accomplished by administering protec- 

 tion when the soil is in a frozen state. 

 Put a liberal mulch of decomposed 

 manure around each plant, and trim 

 back the tallest branches. Then set 

 a topless and bottomless box snugly 

 over the bush, filling it full of dry 

 leaves, but not packing them tight. 

 Provide a top of boards which will 

 shed rain, and try to fix it so that a 

 certain amount of air and light can 

 find ingress. 



Isew York. Benjamin B. Keech. 



PLANTS FOR INDOOR CULTURE 



Your window garden may be a com- 

 plete success this winter, and again 

 it may not. It will all depend on the 

 care you give it, and on the plants 

 themselves. We will suppose that your 

 cultivation is to be of the best; what 

 needs the most consideration is the 

 plants you intend to grow. In the 

 first place, discard all scraggly fuch- 

 sias, heliotropes and lantanas; put 

 them down cellar, where they belong. 

 Go to a florist and invest in a half 

 dozen of thrifty young primroses and 

 cinerarias; these will blossom more 

 or less continuously, and prove a 

 source of much delight. If you can- 

 not procure them, buy some bulbs; 

 hyacinths, crocuses, Chinese lilies and 

 tulips are sure to do well in almost 

 any room, under almost any treatment. 

 Plant in good soil and put away in 

 the dark. Do not bring to the light 

 until they have sprouted well. Novem- 

 ber is not too late to start your win- 

 ter flower garden. Twelve or fifteen 

 thrifty plants are enough for an or- 

 dinarily large window. 



New York. Benjamin B. Keech. 



