2o8 



HOW TO MAKE THE CALL A BLOOM. 



" To join the ends, we use a tin tube 2 !^ inches in di- 

 ameter by one foot long. It is kept tied to one end of the 

 hose all the time. To connect them, draw the open 

 end of the hose over the tube of the next joint and tie it 

 securely. When ready to irrigate, we take the hose in 

 sections convenient to carry, lay it from our tanks to the 

 third row from the outside and down this row to the end 

 of the field. Then the water is turned on. 



"To connect the hose with the tank, we take a hard- 

 wood stick 15 inches long, bore a two-inch hole through 

 it, and with a hot iron burn it out smooth on the inside, 

 work one end down until it will fit into the end of the 

 hose next the tank and tie it securely ; then work the 

 other end down so that it will fit tightly into a 2>2-inch 

 hole. With a 2'/<-inch auger, bore a hole in the tank on 

 the side next the field you wish to water, two inches up 

 from the bottom — then no sediment or dirt will wash into 

 your hose. Push the plug into the hole, with a mallet 

 give it a few gentle taps, and the work is done. We 

 now have our water running, and it can be carried to any 

 part of the field for any crop that needs it. 



' ' To prepare for setting out celery-plants in a rather dry 

 time, we take the end of the hose in hand, and fill the 

 row the hose is in and the two on each side of it about 

 half full of water, working backwards to the end of our 

 first joint (thirty feet); then we cast the first joint off and 

 go on in the same way until the five rows are watered. 

 We have a 2 '4 -inch plug ready to fit the hole in the tank, 

 pull out our connection-tube and drive in the plug until 

 the hose is again laid where wanted. A man in this way 

 will water three or four acres in a day. With a Planet 

 Jr. cultivator and one horse we level the ridges into the 

 furrows, then with a light drag make the whole surface 

 smooth and level. In a few hours the water soaks up 

 through the dry earth and leaves a nice, moist soil that 



will not bake, to set our plants in, with plenty of moisture 

 and good manure at the roots, where it is most needed. 

 Not one in a thousand plants will die, and hardly even 

 wilt in the hottest sun. 



"As the plants get larger we use the Planet Jr. to throw 

 a little soil to them, and that is all the handling we give. 

 When they have grown to six or seven inches, they con- 

 sume water very fast. Our man now stretches the hose 

 down the fifth row, instead of the third, and waters nine 

 rows at a time, for now he waters the whole ground in- 

 stead of the furrows. By compressing the end of the 

 hose he is able to throw the water eight or ten feet each 

 way. The ground is thoroughly soaked with warm water. 

 In about three days we start the cultivator. 



" The ground being underdrained 30 feet apart, all sur- 

 plus water is immediately taken off, and this allows us to 

 irrigate at least once a week, and to use the cultivator 

 within a few days after, to keep the soil from baking. 

 Under such treatment one can almost see the plants 

 grow. By the time they are about a foot high, they are 

 hilled up three or four inches with the cultivator. To 

 blanch the celery we use boards one foot wide and 20 feet 

 long. They are laid along the rows with the edges against 

 the celery ; stakes are distributed along the line, three to 

 each board ; a man takes hold of each end of the board 

 and turns it up against the row of celery and drives the 

 stake to keep it in place. As soon as our first-banked 

 is ready for market, the lumber is moved along to other 

 rows. 



"For winter celery we only work the earth up to the 

 plants with the cultivator, and about December i they 

 are taken up with what earth may stick to the roots, and 

 set on the ground floor of the houses, with a foot-board 

 set up edgewise once in 15 inches, and no dirt or sand is 

 put around the roots. They keep finely and blanch well." 



HOW TO MAKE THE CALLA BLOOM. 



LESSONS APPLICABLE TO OTHER PLANTS. 



HE mistake more often made than 

 any other in the management 

 of the calla or Richardia is 

 that of giving the plant too 

 much root- space. Plants 

 which the successful com- 

 mercial grower would have in 

 a six or seven-inch pot, in the 

 amateur's collection are some- 

 times seen in peck or bushel- 

 pots and boxes. If vigorous 

 to start with, these plants may make a surprising growth ; 

 and after a long time produce a few gigantic flowers. 

 More commonly, however, they do not thrive in propor- 

 tion to the size of the vessel they are in, and as to bloom 

 prove a complete disappointment. 



When a plant is given a larger pot than is necessary 

 for its roots, there is great danger that the soil will become 

 sour, in which event neither calla nor any other plant 



will thrive. Even if one has the requisite skill to do the 

 watering successfully, and the plant thrives on its "home- 

 acre," its unarrested vigor will be against its doing much 

 in the way of blooming. 



The object of flowers is the production of seed. So 

 long as the individual is thriving and has a vigorous hold 

 on life, it is not disposed to expend its substance or 

 sacrifice itself for the sake of its descendants. But when 

 about at the end of its natural resources, and there is no 

 hope of the individual doing much more in its own ex- 

 istence, or during the passing season in gathering indi- 

 vidual strength, then it is ready to show for what purpose 

 it has been living. It has reached the flowering stage, 

 and now devotes itself to rocking the cradles of a new 

 generation. The plant sets about this with greater or less 

 energy according to the necessity of the case. If there 

 be ample time, the plant in flowering will, as it were, 

 "take it easy," and prodnce its blooms in succession 

 throughout the period allowed, or until it has consumed 



