84 



HOME AND FLOWERS 



WHAT TO DO IN ^sTOVEMBEE 



DO not neglect to lay in a liberal sup- 

 ply of potting soil for winter use. 

 There is hardly any window gar- 

 den in which plants will not be found that 

 need repotting before the opening of 

 spring. Eepotting should be attended to, 

 like all other requirements of plants, at 

 the time when needed. To neglect it at 

 that time is to injure the plant seriously, 

 and possibly permanently, for some plants 

 never recover from a check of this kind. 

 Make this a rule : Do what needs doing as 

 soon as you see what is needed. 



^ ^ ^ 



It is a good plan to look over the win- 

 dows at which you propose to keep flowers 

 before the weather becomes so cold that 

 you cannot work to advantage out of doors. 

 If there are cracks between sash and frame 

 close them in some way. Cloth may be 

 used after the fashion of "calking," or thin 

 strips of molding can be fitted to cover 

 the crevices. Small molding is flexible 

 enough to allow of its being tacked in 

 place in such a manner as to conform to 

 any inequalities of the surface against 

 which it flts. If the glass is loose in the 

 sash reputty it. 



* * * 



It is also a most excellent plan to use a 

 storm sash. This, if fitted snugly to the 

 outside of the window frame, most effectu- 

 ally keeps out cold. Where it is used 



plants can be allowed to stand against the 

 inside glass in the coldest weather without 

 danger of injury, provided the tempera- 

 ture of the room is kept above the freezing 

 point. Without a storm sash it will be ab- 

 solutely necessary to remove plants from 

 the glass in cold weather, as all leaves that 

 touch it will certainly be frozen. The cost 

 of such a sash is not great, and by storing 

 it carefully during the summer it can be 

 kept in good condition for years. 



Bear in mind what has heretofore been 

 said about giving fertilizers. Do not apply 

 any to dormant plants. Wait for growth 

 to begin. And when you begin their use, 

 proportion the amount or strength of them 

 to the condition of the plant. At first not 

 much will be needed. As the plant devel- 

 ops increase the supply. But be satisfied 

 with a healthy development. A plant that 

 grows with great rapidity is nearly always 

 weak, and a weak plant is always unsatis- 

 factory after a little. 



* * * 



Procure seedling plants of calceolaria, 

 cineraria, Chinese primrose. Primula ab- 

 conica. Baby primrose and C3^clamen for 

 winter flowering. Do not attempt to make 

 use of old plants, unless you have so 

 newed them by division of the roots that 

 you have made practically new plants of 

 them. This should have been done in 

 spring, therefore it is now too late to do it. 



