November, 1911 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
295 
its tendency to drop its lower leaves, but this is nothing against it, 
for as I said before, pinching will remedy this so that if you can 
buy two year old plants do so and fill in about them with smaller 
ones. 
L. J. Doogue 
The Rubber Tree 
N OT the best, but an excellent house plant is the rubber tree. 
Its recuperating powers make it a splendid plant for the 
woman who is apt to forget. It may be neglected for weeks 
whereupon with plenty of sunlight, water and warmth and a thor¬ 
ough rinsing of its leaves it soon flourishes again. Under this 
manner of treatment, however, the lower leaves drop and irregu¬ 
lar branching is induced because of the sprouts that start readily 
enough during each period of tender care. Gas and dust must 
be present in very appreciable quantities to effect the plant seri¬ 
ously and ordinary room temperature is satisfactory. 
With the loss of symmetry most of the indoor decorative value 
of a rubber plant vanishes. A rubber plant is at its best as an 
interior ornament when large, uniform leaves, free from blem¬ 
ishes, clothe a straight stem from its very base upward. The 
secret of perfect development is continuous growth. Careful wa¬ 
tering, a uniform temperature and plenty of sunlight will do this. 
Spasmodic growth invariably produces an unsymmetrical plant. 
A plant set in a window should be turned, preferably one-fourth 
round each day, so that all sides may receive the same amount of 
sunlight. The tendency of plants to grow toward light is a dis¬ 
tinct advantage to a rubber plant when it is used to decorate a 
sunlit corner. A plant thus placed will soon fill out the corner 
nor abate its vigor because of its one-sided development. 
As to soil, the plants have little preference. The writer has ob¬ 
tained excellent results potting rubber trees in soil composed of 
equal parts of sand, ordinary garden loam and well rotted ma¬ 
nure. This mixture should be perfectly dry and sifted through 
a screen of small mesh, a little larger than fly netting. In repot¬ 
ting, after removing as much of the old soil as is possible with¬ 
out injury to the roots or changing their relative position, this 
mixture is poured into place as one might pour sand. After this 
is firmed, the pot is then set into a basin of water which, working 
upward, will 
completely satu¬ 
rate the soil. 
Likewise with 
subsequent wa¬ 
ter i n g s, best 
done twice a 
week if the air 
of the room be 
very dry, set the 
plant into the 
bath or wash 
tub with the pot 
half immersed. 
There is no need 
o f sprinkling, 
wiping both 
sides of the 
leaves at least 
every other day 
with a wet 
sponge affords 
all the cleaning 
necessary. 
A rubber tree 
invariably out¬ 
grows its room, 
though the diffi- 
c u 11 y can be 
A rubber plant near a window should be turned 
around one-fourth each day to develop evenly 
With proper care and attention the new fronds of the Boston fern 
almost cover the pots and touch the floor 
greatly helped by cutting off the terminal buds. This induces 
branching for which there is no alternative if the plant is to be 
held within bounds. The buds should be cut off squarely just 
above the leaf that grows out beneath them and the cut end 
seared to stop the flow of the milky juice. Where the cutting of 
the terminal buds is attended to soon enough, and the branches 
headed in when of the proper size, a very compact and well foli¬ 
ated tree results. With intelligent care a rubber tree remains fit 
for room decoration for many years. 
C. L. Mellor 
The Care of Boston Ferns 
O N a spacious north veranda of an old Southern home in the 
famous Bluegrass region of Kentucky, one may see in 
August or September five of the most magnificent Boston ferns 
that can be grown. They are all in fourteen-inch pots, and when 
looking from one to the other, you cannot tell which is the most 
luxuriant or the finest specimen. During the months we are out- 
of-doors constantly, they make this veranda a most charming- 
spot and in winter add an attractive appearance to the dining 
room, with its large south and west windows. 
When I came home from school seven years ago, with the time 
to really enjoy my Southern home, I began the culture of ferns 
with a very healthy small Boston fern I selected from those in 
the greenhouse. This the florist planted in a swinging basket for 
that season. 1 did not like it in the basket, so transplanted it to 
a pot very soon afterward, and with my care it made splendid 
growth. The next spring I divided it, making two, the next 
spring three, and now I have five as described above, and have 
given away many to my neighbors and friends. All the slips are 
bid for a year or two ahead, with a request for directions of “how 
to grow them.” 
In the month of March, during good weather, I have the best 
rich soil that can be found on the place, brought into an out-build¬ 
ing to be used for my transplanting. It is usually found in some 
place where leaves have collected and rotted. Then shortly after¬ 
ward I have the-plants carried out from the dining room to this 
building; taking each one in its turn out of the pot, I shake all 
dirt off and cut out all of the old growth, leaving just the new, 
unbroken fronds. I have ready the biggest old cinders from the 
ash pile, to make a drain in each pot three or four inches deep. 
Upon this a layer of dirt is put. I first cut out, with a sharp knife, 
one-third of the roots with fronds attached, to be used for further 
propagation. The remainder is pressed together to get the plant 
in good shape and is put into the pot, filled in with the dirt pressed 
very firmly, and thoroughly watered. It is soon carried back to 
(Continued on page 334) 
