fox i\jt lloitttg. 
REGULAR DISCUSSION 
OF THE 
Youths’ Horticultural Club. 
OF THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
TOPIC : “ Winter Flowers for the Parlor ; 
How and Wbat to Cultivate.” 
The third monthly meeting of the Horti¬ 
cultural Cluh was called to order, Uncle Mark 
in the chair. He remarked, concerning “ Win¬ 
ter Flowers,” that no home was cjuite com¬ 
plete in Winter without the presence of beau¬ 
tiful plants and flowers. How much we en¬ 
joy them in the Summer time, when every 
breeze is laden with their fragrance, but if 
ws cau keep with us, through the cold and 
snowy Winter, these reminders of Summer 
days, how much more their beauty and fra¬ 
grance delight us. They cheer us when the 
wintry blasts beat hard against the window 
pane, and without them one charm of home is 
gone. But if the plants are weak, straggling 
and infested with insects, the effect they have 
on us is quite different. Wo are apt to kill 
our Winter flow ers with kindness. We are 
to study the precise needs of each plant to 
ascertain how much of light, or water, or 
heat they require, and by so doing we shall 
have the best success. I..c*t ns remember that— 
’• The careful florist tends ills sheltered plants, 
Studies their natures, and supplies their wants.” 
The geranium (properly pelargonium) is one 
of the most satisfactory of Winter flowers. It 
requires only a little sun and a temperature 
of over (JO Q to bloom incessantly. But to do 
this it muse be “ slipped” in Summer, or the 
old plants potted in August. There have 
been great improvements in this plant within 
the last ten year’s. We now have double 
flowers from white to rose, to maroon, while 
many of the single kinds bear flowei-s of the 
most exquisite shades. 
Eddie Guffin.—W e have quite a number 
of plants for this Winter, such as geraniums, 
verbenas, cannas, pinks and others. We have 
them in south windows where they have 
plenty’ of sun and light. We water them 
once a week thoroughly, and occasionally 
give them a good washing with warm water ; 
at times we find little white worms in the 
pots among the roots, then we give them 
fresh soil or sometimes stick some matches 
around the plants which seem to help them 
a good deal. Our plants are all looking very 
well now, and we hope they will be a pleasure 
to us this Winter. 
Oscar Chapman', —I think the following 
plants are nice for Winter cultivation : The 
Wax plant is well worth the time one will 
have to wait to see it bloom from cuttings. 
We do not cut a bloom often for the old burr 
blooms year after year and grows larger. 
Smilax is grown from seed by keeping the 
soil moist. The Asa Gray Geranium we all 
know and love. In our yard there was a bush, 
one foot high, that had in September IS clus¬ 
ters of blossoms, and buds, not expanded, at 
one time, and in October thirteen more and 
it is now full of blossoms. We have several 
for Winter blooming; mamma say’s the)’ give 
double the bloom of any other variety she 
has. Our Winter blooming plants have just 
commenced to bud. Some have their first 
clusters just opening, having beep carefully 
repotted for the second time, about six weeks 
ago. We do not let our Winter plants grow 
in the yard but give them rest, as we call it, 
in boxes and keep the huds picked off. We 
have a Justishus Cactus (budding now) lan- 
tannas, geraniums, a Lemon Verbena, etc. 
The Chairman, —We should bear in mind 
that geraniums bear seeds plentifully in the 
house. If these seeds are planted at once, 
they will sprout in two weeks and produce 
flowers next Summer. Abutilons are splen¬ 
did Winter flowers. They will thrive well in 
the same window with geraniums and bloom 
almost incessantly. 
Ida Dkmakest. —We have many kinds of 
Winter flowers hut I think the different va¬ 
rieties of pelargoniums, including those with 
handsome foliage, also callas, heliotropes, and 
a few vines of ivy make the best plants for 
Winter, and they are easily cultivated. 
Lizzie Abdill.—M y knowledge of the care 
of flowers is rather limited, but I have a nice 
stand full in my room and I intend to Winter 
them unless old Jack Frost thinks they would 
look prettier with a coat of silver dust upon 
them. We covered the earth in our flower 
pots with moss from the woods. Never put 
flowers near a wfindow, unless you want them 
to freeze. We found that out last Winter. 
\\ e think it is best not to keep the eart h very 
wet arouud the flowers w hen it is extremely 
cold as the frost will be sure to find the water 
at the roots of the plant. But water them 
enough—not too much. Our assortment con¬ 
sists of geraniums of different soi-ts, a tu¬ 
berose, a cactus, dianthus and carnations and 
ft lovely plant called The Forbidden Fruit. 
OEO. 40 
The Chairman —The surface soil of the pots 
should be stirred often. It should not be al¬ 
lowed to become solid or soggy. This is evi¬ 
dence that the pots are not well drained, and 
there are no plants—except, perhaps, Calla 
Lilies—that will do well unless the drainage 
is perfect. A sandy loain or leaf-mold is best 
for window plants. If such a light, porous 
soil is used, and the drainage is good, there is 
little chance of watering < hem too much. 
“ Quinnipiac ”—As to “ Winter Flowers for 
the Parlor,” if 1 could have but one plant, the 
Calla would be that one. It blossoms better 
than anything else with me, where our plants 
have to fight against gas and furnaces. I let 
the roots dry up through the Summer and in 
August pot them in fresh soil and water well, 
and they soon start and grow finely. But 
we have other plants besides the Calla. I 
think the hyacinth is a good plant for city 
homes. I pot mine about t he middle of Sep¬ 
tember and then place them in the cellar, 
where it is dark and cold, for about two 
months, or until the roots have made a growth 
to the bottom of the pots. It is very inter¬ 
esting to me to watch them grow after they 
are brought out into the warmth and light. 
They blossom well for two years, but after 
that I place them out-of-doors in the border. 
1 have grown crocuses in the same way as the 
hyacinth, and have tried tulips, hut never 
had very good success with them. Another 
fine plant for winter-blooming is the gera¬ 
nium in its different varieties. I usually take 
off slips from the old plants in August and 
root them in sand. I think a great many per¬ 
sons wait too long before the)’ think of mak¬ 
ing cuttings, and when cold weather comes on 
they are not ready for it. They then have to 
take cuttings which will not bloom until the 
next Spring or Summer, or else take up the 
old plants, which surely will not do well. But 
if cuttings are taken and rooted in August 
they will be just getting ready to bloom when 
cold weather comes. Bight here I wish to say 
that I saw some cuttings rooted in nothing 
but damp saw-dust There are many other 
plants which are useful for Winter-blooming, 
such as primroses, fuchsias, etc., hut 1 like 
only t wo or three kinds, and these well-grown, 
ratner than to have a window full of poor¬ 
looking things. I have also a very nice fern- 
case that I arranged myself, and feel quite 
proud of it; also an English Ivy about eight 
feet long, trained on the side of the room. 
The Chairman —As a moist atmosphere 
and equal temperature cannot be easily pre¬ 
served in the sitting-room or parlor, it is use¬ 
less to attempt to cultivate the rarer, tenderer 
plants. BouvArdias are easily cared for, and 
bloom continually; so do fuchsias. Among 
vines the smilax and ivy should not be forgot¬ 
ten. Among broad-leafed plants the India 
Rubber tree is one of the best. Its tropical as¬ 
pect lends a peculiar beauty to the green¬ 
house. 
C. A. Butterworth— No one can be suc¬ 
cessful in the cultivation of plants, as the 
chairman has said, who does not study their 
wants and adapt things, as far as possible, to 
the conditions favorable to their growth. Per¬ 
sons who are not very familiar with flowers 
should select those which are not very tender 
and which are free-blooming. Young, vigor¬ 
ous plants give more satisfaction than those 
which have outgrown their thrifty youth, and 
have become too unwieldy to handle with 
ease. Plants which can stand a dry atmos¬ 
phere and high ten perature are best suited for 
in-door culture. A rich, sandy loam is prob¬ 
ably the best for plants in general, and this 
with sunlight and judicious watering, will 
usually insure plenty of flowers, that is, not 
omitting pure air, which is as necessary for 
plants as for animals. 
Thomas Winfrey— Tulips, hyacinths, cro¬ 
cuses and many others are nice for window 
gardening. Tulips should be planted about 
the last of October or first of November, in 
five-inch pots, about five bulbs to each pot. 
Use sandy soil and cover one inch. Place in 
a cool cellar. When started they should be 
placed in a cool, light window. Hyacinths, 
for glass culture, start in damp sand, in a 
warm closet; then transfer to glasses, and 
place in a light room. Crocuses may be plant¬ 
ed in pots with tulips and other flowers. 
The Chairman. —Unless there is plenty of 
sunlight and a growing temperature is main¬ 
tained, it is best not to manure potted flowers. 
A scanty diet is best for plants that live under 
unfavorable conditions. Only those that are in 
a vigorous, healthy growth will be bene¬ 
fited by a strong diet. Lime water is good 
for most plants as it sweetens the soil. 
Josie Marquis. —Our plants are few and 
common, but we think none the less of them 
on that account. We have different colors 
of both double and single geraniums. I have 
a “Pearl” tuberose that I got las’t Spring, 
but it hasu’t bloomed yet. My favorite is the 
fuchsia, but ours were killed last Winter. My 
brothers say they like geraniums for they are 
the hardiest. Sister has two varieties of 
ivies, hardy and parlor ivy. In the Fall 
we let the soil get diy and eet them in a oeUar 
and do not water. In the Spring we set them 
out in the sunlight and not one in 10 fails to 
grow again. When the soil gets too wet and 
that little white wire worm gets to working 
at the roots, a weak solution of tobacco water 
is the best remedy that we ever tried and the 
best use for tobacco, too. What is a good 
remedy for green flies and the mealy bug? 
The Chairman. —Tobacco smoke is good 
(or bad) for the green flies, or aphides so 
prevalent in Winter plant houses. Care must 
be taken or this will injure the leaves of many 
species. The mealy hug Is the worst pest of 
all. It is quite as well to throw an infested 
plant away as to try to exterminate these 
bugs. Alcohol, applied with a camels-hair 
brush will kill the bugs with which it comes 
in contact. If the air is too moist, the green 
fly will appear; if too dry, look out for the 
red spider. 
Clare Bramhat.l. —The collection of 
plants that we want is one that will give the 
most flowers in the Winter under ordinary 
accommodations or treatment. Chrysan¬ 
themums usually do well and come into 
bloom when there is the greatest scarcity of 
flowers, and for a display of flowers in the 
Winter, lantanas, pyretlirums, heliotropes, 
primroses, abutilons and callas, with young 
plants of fancy leaf geraniums. Verbenas, 
fuchsias, double and single petunias are 
among the best. Do not forget a hanging 
basket of oxalis—it will brighten the window 
all Winter. Add a few vines and scented 
geraniums, and I think the abo%’e collection 
will give better satisfaction than many more 
costly plants. Start slips in August, give 
them a sunny window, and keep free from in¬ 
sects by the use of soap suds with a very lit¬ 
tle carbolic acid added, and I think any one 
who loves plants will succeed and have plenty 
of flowers all Winter. 
O. F. Fuller. —The plants for Winter 
blooming that I should recommend are the 
daisies, carnations, geraniums, petunias, 
fuchsias, heliotropes. lantanas, smilax and 
begonias. Those that require a very rich soil 
or a more liberal use of manure the callas tea 
rosas, and smilax. Plants grow in small pots 
bloom more freely than those grown in large 
ones, but are more liable to injure from dry¬ 
ing of the earth. Should one be so uufortun 
ate as to have plants slightly frozen, the 
proper thing to do is to get the frost out as 
quickly as possible, for many plants will not 
be injured by freezing for a short time, which 
w'ould be destroyed if kept in a frozen con¬ 
dition for several hours. To remove the frost 
most quickly, if the plant be small, dip it in¬ 
to a pail of cold water; or if large, place in 
the sink and give it a good showering. The 
best soil for house plants is one containing some 
undecayed organic matter, like leaf mould or 
partly decayed ods, with a small mixture of 
sand. In potting, the soil must be pressed 
firmly around the roots of the plant, and the 
pot filled to the top, within one-half inch of 
the surface; then apply a dressing of some 
kind. It is well to wash all plants occasion¬ 
ally with soapsuds or whale-oil soap, and 
particularly the ivy, which needs washing 
every few w’eeks to do well; but in all cases 
the plant should he rinsed in clear w'ater if 
much soap is used. 
The Chairman. —In closing I wish to say to 
the members; Try your hand at crossing 
flowers. Rub off the anthers of one flower 
and apply pollen from the anthers of other 
flowers to the pistils of those from which the 
anthers have been removed. The results may 
be beyond your expectations—the interest in 
these Discussions is increasing I am glad to 
say. The subject for the next Discussion will 
be announced next week. 
THE YOUNG QUERIST. 
Lillie VanB., Stockport, N. K, asks how to 
grow pinks in the house this Winter. 
Ans. —Tot them the same as any other 
plants for Winter-blooming. 
Josie M., Cross Creek Village, Pa,, asks if 
seedling pinks will be of the same color as the 
pinks from which the seed was raised. 
Ans.—T hey will vary, sometimes more and 
sometimes less. 
S. A. B. wants to know what is the best root 
that cau lie fed to a milch cow'—one that will 
not flavor the milk. 
Ans —The Yellow Glolie Mangel is good, or 
the common sugar beet. Roots are valuable 
Winter feed for stock in connection with hay. 
I etc. 
L. A., Chase City, Va., wishes to know if 
moss from the woods is beneficial or detrimen¬ 
tal to potted plants. 
Ans. —Moss is good to keep the ground moist, 
as it retards evaporation and tends to prevent 
the surface from baking. 
- - » ♦ » 
New Members of the Club for Week 
Ending Dec. 3rd. 
Myrtle Rube, Josie Marquis, Eddie Mar¬ 
quis, Flora Marquis, Rosa Marquis, Calvin 
Reed, Alice Conde, Lillie Van Ruren, Pbebe 
Tow'nsend, George Gordon, Earl Peters, Grade 
Covkendall, Roy Blunt. Amy Blunt, Alula 
Brewett, George Aiken, Inda Aiken, Anna E. 
E. Shrub, Lizzie E. Porter, Bertha Robbins, 
Etti Robins, Elia Joaalyn, Flora Roorda. 
Charles Neitherooat, Jaa Milton. 
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