26 



HOME AND FLOWERS 



OUR EE A DEES' PEEPLEXITIES 



Removing Boses.— (Mrs. N. J. T.) If you 

 liave not removed your Roses by the time this 

 is in print leave them where they are until 

 they ripen and shed their foliage in fall. 

 Then take them up with all the soil you pos- 

 sibly can about their roots, and set them where 

 you want them. Before doing this part of the 

 work prepare places for them by digging holes 

 large enough to accommodate the plants easily, 

 and have tine soil at hand to pack in about them. 

 Make this firm, and water well. It is a good 

 plan to cut away a good deal of the old top. 

 Thin out all weak wood, and shorten the longest 

 branches. Heap several inches of litter about 

 each plant in late fall, covering the ground well 

 as far as the roots of the plants extend. 



Tropagating Eose and Honeysucl'le.— (Mts. 

 A. V. E.) You can obtain new j)lants by lay- 

 ering. Select shoots which start near the bot- 

 tom of the old plants, and bend them down so 

 that a portion of them four or five inches from 

 the old plant can be inserted in the soil. It is 

 a good plan to cut about one-third or half way 

 through the shoot, from below, when inserting 

 the bent portion of it in earth. This cut par- 

 tially checks the flow of sap, a callous forms, 

 and by and by the roots are produced there, I 

 would leave the shoots attached to the old plant 

 until next spring. Set a stake by the shoot at 

 the place where it bends, and tie the end of it 

 into an upright position. 



Easter Lilies.— (Mrs. L. E. W.) These Lilies 

 bloom with but little trouble if you "go at it 

 right." Procure strong bulbs in September. 

 Put from three to four in an ei^ht or nine-inch 

 pot, or one in a six-inch pot, in rich loam. Water 

 at time of planting, then set away in a cool- 

 but not cold — dark place, and leave them' there 

 until they show indication of top growth. Then 

 bring to the light, water moderately, and keep 

 in a temperature of sixty to seventy degrees. 

 If your bulbs are strong not one plant in a 

 hundred ought to fail to bloom. Old bulbs 

 are not to be depended on. 



Amaryllis. — (Mrs. G.) The Amaryllis can 

 not be expected to make such prompt and vigor- 

 ous growth as most other bulbs, because it is 

 unlike them in many respects. It has alternat- 

 ing periods of growth and rest. When growing 

 feed it well, and continue to do this as long 

 as it keeps growing. When growth ceases with- 

 hold water until the soil is simply moist, and do 

 not increase the supply until growth begins 

 again. Disturb the roots as little as possible. 

 Set the bulb about half its depth in the soil. 

 Use a soil of rich, sandy loam, well drained. 



Eose Troulle.— iJ). K.) If your Roses are 

 not large, and had as many as eighteen buds 

 on a plant at one time, I do not wonder at the 

 blasting of the flowers. The plants were not 

 large and strong enough to fully develop so 

 many. At least half the buds should have been 

 nipped off as soon as seen. As to the yellowing 

 of the leaves, that might come from red spider 

 or from some bacterial disease. The remedy for 

 the former is water, showered or sprayed all 

 over the plant, two or three times a week — 

 oftener would be better— and the remedy for 

 bacterial disease is copperdine. 



Eed Spider on Sweet Peas.— (A. J.) The 

 insect which you describe as looking like chicken 

 lice was the red spider. It very frequently 

 injures Sweet Peas and other garden plants, 

 especially in a dry season. The only remedy 

 is moisture. You failed with it because the 

 vines had become so badly infested before you 

 discovered the pest. Had you begun to spray 

 your plants at the beginning of the dry season, 

 and applied water liberally all over them every 

 day, you could have prevented the insect from 

 doing damage. Prevention is often easier than 

 cure. 



Worms in Pots.— (Mrs. S. H. B.) ^ly remedy 

 for worms in pots is lime-water. Put a piece of 

 fresh lime as large as a coffee-cup in a pail of 

 water. It will dissolve readily. Pour off the 

 clear water, and apply enough to each pot to 

 thoroughly soak all the soil in it. A less quan- 

 tity will do no good. Repeat the operation if 

 necessary. Persevere in this treatment, and I 

 feel confident you will soon get rid of the worms. 

 But he sure the lime you use is fresh. Air- 

 slaked lime is worthless. 



Tronhle With Begonia.— (Mrs. E. B.) Your 

 Begonia has what most persons call "rust," be- 

 cause of the peculiar appearance of the foliage. 

 It is really a disease of fungoid character, and 

 will spread all over the plant if not promptly 

 checked. The only remedy for these diseases 

 that I have any knowledge of is Bordeaux 

 mixture, or its substitute, copperdine. It is a 

 good plan to pick off every leaf that shows a 

 trace of the disease as soon as you discover it. 



Lemon and Orange Cuttings.— (Mrs. E. A. J.) 

 Drop the cuttings into a vial of water. Let 

 the lower half of them be in water. Hang the 

 vial in the window where the sun can strike 

 the lower part of it. As the water evaporates 

 put in more. This is a good plan to follow 

 with nearly all hard-wooded plants, the stock 

 of which must be increased from cuttings rather 

 than division of the roots. 



