THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1481 
The Home Acre 
The Poinsettia : Our Foremost Christmas 
Flower 
The Poinsettia, with its flaming crim¬ 
son bracts, has become established as the 
ideal and most appropriate Christmas 
flower. In passing the big flower stores 
of the city at any time after the holiday 
business is on, it will be noticed that 
this famous flower occupies an important 
place, not only in the window displays, 
but in the vases upon the counters as 
well. Its long, stiff stems, regularly set 
with bright green foliage and topped with 
brilliant red bracts—oftentimes over a 
foot in diameter—with a cluster of yellow 
flowers in the center, are characteristics 
which make the Poinsettia the logical 
floral decoration for the time. 
The Poinsettia is a semi-tropical 
plant and is said to reach its highest de¬ 
velopment in South India, at a high ele¬ 
vation and with a rainfall of 50 inches. 
It is abundant in its wild state in the 
moist and shaded parts of Central Amer¬ 
ica and Mexico, where its bright colors 
add immeasurably to the richness of the 
vegetation. The average height of the 
plant is from two to six feet, being 
branching in habit, the trunk woody and 
the annual growths soft and hollow. In 
nature it is both evergreen and decidu¬ 
ous, according to its location and en¬ 
vironment. 
The culture of the Poinsettia in the 
greenhouse, practiced for the Christmas 
market only, is very interesting. It is 
propagated by cuttings taken from the 
parent plants, which, having rested in a 
dormant condition during the months of 
January, February and March, are start¬ 
ed into growth again for this particular 
purpose. The soft “slips’’ are rubbed off 
the old plants with a heel, and placed 
firmly in a bed of moist sand, being set 
reasonably close together. The sun is 
excluded by shading the glass, and care is 
taken that the sand is watered copiously 
each day, lest the cuttings wilt and die. 
In the course of a month many small 
roots are formed upon the lower ends of 
the cuttings, and they are now lifted and 
potted into, small receptacles in finely 
sieved soil. By this time another crop 
of “slips” has grown upon the old stock 
plants which are taken and placed in 
the propagating beds, this process being 
kept up until September, cuttings taken 
later not maturing in time for the de¬ 
sired market. When nicely established 
in the little pots, the plants intended for 
cut flower purposes are planted a foot 
apart each way in a deep bed of rich 
soil, this work usually being done in 
August. Some growers use the old stock 
for this purpose but the newly propagated 
plants produce superior bracts. As they 
increase in size the young shoots are 
trained upright by being supported with 
wires, this being very essential, as flow¬ 
ers with crooked stems are not salable. 
The soil in the beds is kept regularly 
stirred, and if lacking in fertility, fre¬ 
quent applications of manure water are 
given. This treatment if not overdone, 
is valuable in its tendency to heighten the 
color of both foliage and flower. Exper¬ 
ience has taught the careful grower to 
time the maturing of his flowers almost 
to a day, and if he finds that his crop 
of Poinsettias bids fair to be a little 
late—consequently of little value—he co¬ 
operates with Mother Nature by adopt¬ 
ing the use of warm water instead of 
cold, and manages with the aid of a 
high temperature to bring his crop in by 
the desired time. The Poinsettia re¬ 
quires a high temperature, 70 or 80 de¬ 
grees until the blooms are fully devel¬ 
oped, when, for the purpose of toughen¬ 
ing the flower for commerce, the tem¬ 
perature is lowered. The flowers—but 
they are not flowers at all, being proper¬ 
ly termed bracts—are the uppermost 
leaves, and ordinarily are full grown by 
December 15. In Jhe process of cutting 
the soft stems bleed profusely, emitting a 
milky substance, which if not checked, 
will cause the stalk to wilt in a very 
short time. This is prevented by im¬ 
mersing the cut ends in boiling water for 
a minute or so. Abundance of moisture 
and fertility are the great requirements 
of the Poinsettia, and if planted in thin 
soil, if these are regularly applied, suc¬ 
cess should follow. In the Middle West, 
with the flat soil of the prairie upon the 
greenhouse benches, they attain great size 
and perfection. 
As pot plants, for showiness and dec¬ 
orative effect, the Poinsettia is second to 
none during the holiday period when rich 
colors are in demand. A seven-inch pan 
filled with half a dozen nicely developed 
plants, each crowned with a gorgeous 
flower, with fine ferns used to fill in 
about the stems, is a fine sight indeed, 
and one that seldom goes begging in the 
market. These pans retail at from 50 
cents to $2 each, according to the size 
and quality. Their lasting prop¬ 
erties are excellent; if kept well sup¬ 
plied with water and in a rather cool at¬ 
mosphere. they will last until well after 
the new year, making them an inexpen¬ 
sive holiday plant. The cut flowers, with 
stems ranging from two to four feet, and 
large bracts, usually sell at from $.‘1 to 
$6 a dozen. Their decorative qualities 
are superb, a vase of them adding im¬ 
mensely to any floral display. The Poin¬ 
settia owes its popularity to its splendid 
coloring; which, as said before, is ideal 
for the requirements of the holidays. 
Ohio. JAMES MC LAUGIILIN. 
Notes on Saving Seeds 
Much of the handling of small lots of 
seeds can best be done in thin bags. 
Empty sugar bags answer nicely, and 
bags of convenient size are easily made 
by folding cheap muslin and sewing with 
machine. There are many practical ad¬ 
vantages in handling seeds in this way. 
Bran sacks make good receptacles for 
bulkier seeds, permitting free circulation 
of air. Dry quickly. The vitality is 
weakened if the curing process is pro¬ 
longed. Hang the bags in a warm room 
if possible; or outside during the day and 
indoors at night. None of the ordinary 
field or garden seeds can be injured by 
getting them too dry. Very dry seeds 
are dormant, and the drier they are the 
longer they retain their vitality. It is 
well to know, too, that a low tempera¬ 
ture does not help to preserve seeds. In 
fact low temperatures are usually ac¬ 
companied by greater humidity, and so 
are actually detrimental. 
The thrashing of nearly all seeds can 
be effectively done by rubbing or pound¬ 
ing them in bags. Most seeds are harder 
than the chaff and bits of dried pulp or 
leaves, so that the working or pounding 
reduces the trash to dust. 
“K. B. B.,” page 1373, asks about 
handling “fuzzy” seeds. No two of/the 
exceptionally light seeds yield to the same 
treatment. They require ingenuity and 
patience. In general, pains should be 
taken to harvest such seeds as nearly 
free from chaff as possible. In some 
cases one can hold a pail under the ri¬ 
pened heads of flowers and jar the fully 
ripe seeds out, so that there will be 
practically no trash to clean out after¬ 
ward. 
Sieves of different mesh are essential 
for separating seeds in quantity. But 
small lots for home use can be manipu¬ 
lated over inclined planes—glass, cloth, 
blotting paper—according to the nature of 
the seeds and the trash. Round, smooth 
seeds will roll down swiftly and leave 
the trash behind. Small stones and 
lumps of dirt can be removed in this way 
from seeds that do not roll readily. I 
have separated in this way seeds which 
had been accidentally mixed, and which 
the seed mill would not separate. When 
the seeds amount to a teacupful or more 
in bulk, if they are in a dish that will 
give some depth to the body of seed (a 
cup or bowl) giving the dish a gentle 
tossing motion, with a little impulse to 
one side, will cause the seed to rotate in 
the dish and the trash will work to the 
top. A little practice will enable one to 
rapidly remove objects having practically 
the same weight as the seeds but a dif- 
rerent shape. 
Always keep a label, with the name of 
the variety and date of harvesting, in 
every package of seed. You know what 
it is when you gather it. Next Spring, 
or the year following, you will have for¬ 
gotten. g. A. 
Ensenore, N. Y. 
Teacher: “What is velocity, Johnnie.” 
Johnnie: “Velocity is what a fellow lets 
go of a wasp with.”—Credit Lost. 
1 Ton an 
Hour 
With 
lOh.p. 
Sizes to 
Suit Your 
Engine / 
1 jmePulve H 
Crushes Rock to Any Size —or Pulverizes It to Dust. 
NEW KEROSENE LIGHT 
,. ‘“1ST 10 DAYS FREE 
? SEND NO MONEY CHARGES PREPAID 
Won 
GOLD 
MEDAL ,_, 
at World’* 
Exposit’n J \ 
l! 
San 
Fran¬ 
cisco 
Lights Entire Room 
We don’t ask you to pay a cent until you have used this wonderful modern light in 
your own home ten days—we even pay transportation charges. You may return it 
at our expense if not perfectly satisfied after putting it to every possible test for 
10 nights. You can’t possibly lose a cent. We want to prove to you that it makes 
an ordinary oil lamp look fiko a candle; beats electric, gasoline or acetylene. Lights and is 
rne’nt° a n d^33*'leadinspVjmverBitiea *ehovj^t Burns 50 HOUtS OfI One Gallon 
common * ’’ 1 *' * 
No odor,. 
k T already enjoying lino puwcuui, mutu, owoujr llgnl, ucarcak w ouiiiiBUfc. *• 
Men Make $50 to $300 Per Month with Rigs or Autos 
r delivering the ALADDIN on our easy trial plan. No previous experience necessary: Practically every 
farm home and small town home will buy after trying. One farmer who had never sold anythin*? in ms life 
before writes: “I sold 61 lamps the first seven days.” # Another says: *‘I disposed of 37 lnmns out of 31 calls. 
Thousands who are coining money endorse the Aladdin just as strongly. NO MONEY REQUIRED. We furnish 
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can refer customers. Ho the first and get our special introductory oflfer # under which vou get your 
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10 DAY ABSOLUTELY FREE TRIAL. Address nearest office. 
MANTLE LAMP COMPANY, 311 Aladdin Bldg. Chicago; newyork city; poriland.ore. 
Jjgrqest Kerosene (Coal Oil) Mantle Lamr> lYiruse in the World [ MONTREAL or WINNIPEG, CANADA 
Your Bank On The Farm 
Is Your Barn. 
41 The deposits are live stock and stock feed. 
4 If your barn-bank is insecure, leaky, draughty, cold, 
inadequate for your needs—it will pay you no interest on deposits, it 
won’t even keep intact the principal you place there. 
41 If you would draw maximum interest from the grain and forage 
you feed and from the animals you feed them to, the farm bank must 
be sound and secure—the deposits must be protected. 
41 You Cannol Afford Poor Farm Buildings - 
stantial barn this year! Build with 
-build a new, sub- 
Southern Yellow Pine 
“The Wood of Service 99 
the strongest, stiffest, toughest, most durable and dependable moder- 
nc 
ate-priced wood on the market toda 
A barn of honest Southern 
lay. 
Yellow Pine will give you a lifetime of interest-earning service. 
What Size Barn. Do You Need? 
We can help you there. We have complete working plans of barns 
of various sizes, for horses, dairy cows, beef stock and general pur¬ 
poses, that we will send .you free 
for the asking. With the plans go 
lumber bills and estimates, from 
which your local dealer can quickly 
figure the exact cost of building. 
Send for these plans NOW—pro¬ 
tect your farm deposits THIS 
winter. Fill out and mail the 
attached coupon. 
Southern Pine Association 
626P Inter-State Bank Building, 
NEW ORLEANS, LA. 
SOUTHERN PINE ASSOCIATION. 
62GI* Interstate Bank Bldg., New Orleans, La. 
Send me FREE your 
Barn and Bin Plans - - 
Miscellaneous Farm Plans 
Silo Book .... 
House Plans - - - [ 
Lumber Pointers - - ' 
Name 
Town. 
RFD. 
State 
