THE FLORAL IVORLD 



9 



quickly. The slips of the different 

 plants root nicely and do not damp off. 

 I keep these boxes in a cellar bow- 

 window on the south, where they get 

 plenty of sun. 



If March is very cold or turns cold 

 at times, I set the boxes over a little 

 coal oil stove, having a pan of water 

 between hot bed and stove. Wiien 

 rooted the slips are put in small pots 

 or several of a kind in a large one. 

 The seedliLgs are transplanted in other 

 boxes and the hot beds filled again. 

 When May comes, I have thrifty plants 

 to fill my beds. 



Missouri. A. Elizabeth Badger. 



I prepare my earth in the fall, before 

 the ground freezes, and then fill a 

 large pail with the earth and set it 

 where I can get it in the spring. When 

 the ground is frozen I can bring this 

 earth in and set it in the warm room, 

 where the ice will thaw out. Then I 

 prepare my pots for the seeds. I pre- 

 fer small old tin cans. Those I can set 

 among my other flowers or in front of 

 them. Mrs. B. A. Hineline. 



Indiana. 



March is often trying to plants. It 

 is now time to turn on the searchlight 

 and prune, snip, spray and cleanse, and 

 give all the fertilizer they will stand. 



It is a good idea to have a hot bed 

 for flower seed and tubers. The frame 

 should be at least four by ten feet. 

 Here seed of annualsl chat will bear 

 transplanting can be started. Cosmos 

 started here will bloom before frost. 

 Dahlia seed sown here will bloom the 

 first year. Cannas, dahlias, gladiolas 

 and tuberous begonias started in it 

 will bloom much earlier. Summer 

 flowering bulbs that are kept in pots 

 s>hould be potted in March. 



Ohio. Annice Bodey Call and. 



Do not think that a few bright days 

 mean springtime, and uncover your 

 beds only to have them injured by 



heavy freezes later on. Remove the 

 litter gradually from around your 

 plants, a little at a time, and keep it 

 piled in heaps near by, so that you can 

 return it to the beds easily at the first 

 approach of wintry weather. Some- 

 times, instead of the litter, especially 

 if the plants are high and show bloom, 

 we cover with large papers weighted 

 down with bricks or pinned with 

 stakes so that the wind can not blow 

 them off. For indoor blooming plants 

 and bulbs this is the most trying sea- 

 son, as they need careful attention to 

 have the bloom last any length of time. 

 They should be kept away from the 

 direct rays of the sun and just as cool 

 as possible without injury to the plant. 

 Give them plenty of fresh air and keep 

 them as moist as is possible in our dry, 

 heated rooms. Under this treatment, 

 callas, hyacinths, tulips, crocus, all- 

 iums, triteleras and nearly all early 

 spring blooming plants, will thrive in 

 our living rooms. 

 Ohio. Lucy John. 



TUBEROUS BEGONIAS AND GLOXINIAS. 



I wonder why so few people culti- 

 vate the gloxinia and the tuberous- 

 rooted begonia. They require so little 

 care, and are so free fiowering, espe- 

 cially the begonia. 



In the fall, after the foliage dies, we 

 put several bulbs in a pot, cover them 

 with dry earth, and keep them where 

 they won't freeze. Then, early in the 

 spring, we pot them in good soil and 

 water them. We have found by ex- 

 perimenting that equal parts of sand, 

 loam and good, rich garden soil make 

 an excellent soil for begonias. After 

 potting, they soon grow, and in early 

 summer begin to blossom, continuing 

 until cold weather. I have one be- 

 gonia bulb which I have had several 

 years, and every year it has produced 

 an abundance of dark red flowers all 

 summer. We also had light red, yel- 

 low, white, and white edged with 



