12 



HOME AND FLOWERS 



ber of branches to furnish the amount of 

 shade that may be desired. To make sure 

 of this use old roots or several 3'Oimg 

 plants. 



RENOA^ATING LAWNS 



If there are thin or vacant places on the 

 lawn scratch the soil well with an iron- 

 toothed rake and sow seed of lawn grass on 

 it thickly. By a little attention of this 

 kind the lawn can be made to show^ an 

 even surface. Unless 4t does this it will 

 not be as attractive as it ought to be. 



BOSTON FERNS 



Those who have grown one plant of 

 this Fern have found out how extremely 

 useful it is in decorating the parlor for a 

 special occasion, and more plants will be 

 wanted for future use. Now is a good 

 time to get up a stock of them by dividing 

 the roots of the old plant. Generally a 

 large plant will be found to consist of 

 several small plants, in a sense — that is, 

 there will be several ^^crowns" or natural 

 divisions, and these admit of separation in 

 such a manner that each "crown" can be 

 made into an independent plant. Turn 

 the old plant out of its pot and break the 

 roots carefully apart. They will be so 

 interlaced and woven in among each other 

 that the work will have to be done slowly 

 and painstakingly in order to avoid mu- 

 tilating them seriously, but it can be done. 

 When you have your plant divided pot 

 each division in a soil of leaf mold (or its 

 substitute, turfy matter) and sand. By 

 November you will have good, strong 

 plants. 



THE BOUGAINVILLEA 



Two or three- varieties of the Bougain- 

 villea have long been in cultivation in the 

 greenhouse, notably B. glabra and B. 

 spectabilis. These have been favorites 

 wherever grown, but being of very ram- 

 pant habit they were not adapted for small 

 places, and were entirely out of place in 

 the window. A few years ago a new va- 

 riety was introduced, under the name of 



B. Sanderiana. This was said to be of a 

 dwarf habit that made it available for 

 window use. I procured a plant, and, 

 after having grown it for three years, I 

 feel free to recommend it to those who are 

 in search of something new^ and novel. It 

 does remarkably well as a pot plant. It 

 flourishes in a soil of ordinary garden 

 loam. 



During its growing period it should 

 receive a liberal supply of water and some 

 fertilizer. When standing still it should 

 be kept rather on the dry side. Give it a 

 sunny place, and a temperature that suits 

 a Geranium. After blooming cut it back 

 severel}^ — in fact, leave nothing but the 

 main stalks, with four or five-inch stubs 

 of branches along them. 



The "flowers" of the plant, or what is 

 generally taken to be such, are really bracts 

 of a rosy violet color. There are three, 

 resembling the shell of a beechnut in 

 shape, when it bursts open. Inside the 

 bract is the true flower, a small, incon- 

 spicuous affair of creamy white. These 

 bracts, which are produced in wonderful 

 profusion all over the plant, are very last- 

 ing in nature, often remaining for three 

 or four months. After a time they fade 

 to a greenish tint, very much after the 

 fashion of Hydrangea Hortensis, the va- 

 riety commonly grown in pots and tubs 

 for summer flowering. Care must be taken 

 to prevent this Bougainvillea from sending 

 out long branches. If any branch shows 

 an inclination to get the start of its fellow 

 branches cut it back at once. If long 

 branches are allowed to grow they will 

 monopolize the vigor of the plant, and the 

 result will be a specimen similar in habit 

 to the older varieties, which need a green- 

 house to accommodate their rampant 

 growth. Few plants are showier than this 

 one when it is well grown and is in full 

 bloom. It will be a solid mass of color. 

 By sharp pruning after each period of 

 flowering it can be kept to a size that will 

 make it suitable for use in a large window. 

 It is a plant that is not troubled with 

 insects. 



