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The Greenhouse, Month to Month 
I By W. R. Fowkes, New York 
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FROST will soon appear, therefore we should have 
all our [jlants in readiness to be placed indoors on 
the first approach of our old friend "Jack," who 
never fails to appear. 
Azaliaes and kindred plants should have the ])ots 
cleaned and drainage attended to. Clean off all dead 
leaves and weeds. Angle worms usually infest outdoor 
plants in pots, but if precaution has been carefully fol- 
lowed, this trouble will be avoided. Do not .apply lime 
water to Azalias because it will injure the fine roots. 
By October 1 all plants should be removed indoors, and 
in order to keep healthy without loss of foliage they 
should be kept cool and given plenty of air. 
Discontinue feeding 'mums as the flowers commence 
to burst forth. The bone and food contained in the soil 
will feed the bloom sufficiently. Place tobacco stems un- 
der the benches to help keep aphis away. All watering 
must be done before noon in the chrysanthemum house, 
and any water spilt sho.ukl be promptly mopped up, 
otherwise it will tend to' cause damping of the petals. 
Remove any 'mums, nicely open or partly developed to 
the conservatory where sufficient shade will save the 
sunlight from spoiling the year's work. 
Roman Hyacinths that are wanted for early work 
should receive attention and they can be forced provid- 
ing the pots are filled with roots. Plenty of water is es- 
sential, also li(|uid manure once a week will assist in the 
development of finer blooms. 
Hydrangeas that have finished their bloom should 
have all dead blooms removed and should be kept out- 
doors near a north wall or under trees and not taken 
indoors for several weeks. A little frost will not harm 
them. The north aspect will save the early morning sun 
from striking them after a night's frost, and in order 
that these decorative lawn plants will be in good condi- 
tion next year, they should be kept out until the leaves 
have fallen naturally. If any require larger pots they 
can be repotted now preferably to leaving until spring 
when the rush is on. Hydrangeas love a strong soil con- 
taining a goodly portion of iron. Soil cut in the neigh- 
borhood of a foundry district usually contains sufficient 
iron, liut lighter soils should have a four-inch pot full of 
sulphate of iron to two barrowloads of soil. Animal 
manure is not necessary, but the heap of soil which has 
been stored for some months will do nicely. Pot very 
nrmlv. Wooden tubs with iron bands are very useful 
for these plants and save their cost in the length of 
service they gi\'e. 
The soil for next year should now be cut from an old 
pasture. Not more turf should be taken off than three 
inches in depth and to three layers stacked up place one 
layer of good fresh manure, not old rain washed, worn 
out stuff, but fresh from the barn. Lime is sometimes 
used, but thi.s is a mistake because it will not kill wire 
worms who remain in their larva state three years. 
The pot fruit trees must be repotted annually and the 
early varieties should be first repotted from September 
15 to October 1. The later varieties will be all right 
from October to November. It is not necessary to defer 
this operation until all leaves have fallen. The soil 
should first be prepared and the loam three parts decayed 
manure and old mortar rubble will be suitable for the 
remainder." If mortar rubble cannot be had, a six-inch 
jiot full of pure bone meal will do, but the first named is 
Ijreleral.vle for stone fruits. Take the soil into an open 
shed where it will be kept dry, as a wet soggy soil on no 
account must be used. All pots must be clean and crocks 
placed to a de]Jth of two inches. Take each tree out of 
the pot and shake oft' the greater bulk of the soil, place 
in the clean pot of the same size or as near to a slight 
shift as practicable. As fruit trees are very impatient 
of being over potted and to insure full crops the roots 
must be confined. Eleven-inch pots are usuallv large 
enough for the second forcing year. Place roots in care- 
fully and ram firmly with a stout lath, leaving two inches 
of space for watering. After repotting stand close to- 
gether in a cool shed, give one good watering and spray 
the tfees overhead a few times. Do not prune at this 
time. 
Peaches in borders should receive identical treatment, 
with this dift'erence — the trees should be taken out of the 
l)order each year and the large roots cut away and then 
the soil in the border should be dug over and lime added 
and then replanted firmly. This annual lifting is abso- 
lutely necessary if good crops of fruit are wanted. 
Cyclamen should be inside and will thrive better in a 
cool house running north and south rather than in the 
frames. Temperatures can be regulated better. Stand 
the pots on screened ashes and damp between each day^. 
Take shading oft' early and they will rapidlv develop 
their final growth. 
About ( )ctober 20 remove most of the whitewash from 
the Orchid house glass. The plants require as much 
light as possible during winter. 
Any Palms that need repotting should now be attended 
to. They require a fairly strong compost. Loam and a 
little sand to keep the compost open is sufficient. Re- 
move the old sour soil carefully. "These plants don't like 
too much root room, and the way very large specimens 
are grown in comparatively small pots is by removing 
all the old soil from the roots by carefully washing the 
roots with the gentle application of the hose. Good 
drainage is essential and the potting must be very firmly 
done. Ram the soil hard, but it must be in a fairly dry 
condition to be right. The firm potting is so very im- 
portant that the heavy syringing necessar_\- will be less 
liable to cause over-abundance of moisture at the roots. 
The rough compost over the cracks likewise must be 
firmly rammed or equal root vigor will result. 
Examine the Roses, Carnations, etc., in the benches. 
It is customary to -give less water in the fall and this is 
often times productive of much injury, for although the 
evaporation is less rapid the extra heat in pipes under 
the benches will cause drAuess of roots, so extra water 
will be necessai-y, but less play with the hose. Be care- 
ful to keep clean of all dead leaves and weeds and tie up 
the growths loosely. Do not allow the spot to g'et es- 
tablished. 
Poinsettias will need their final shift and an even tem- 
perature is necessary to keep the leaves healthy. Crotons 
shouM be given a light position. Sjionge as often as time 
].)ermits. Do not feed these plants during dark weather 
or a (lull color will persist and the centre growths will 
be unduly forced and in this way will impair their use- 
fulness. 
(Cnnlimicci on pai^c 340.) 
357 
