November, 1912 
An ornamental as well as useful stand for 
the kettle 
Cross pieces over the tops of the side sup¬ 
ports make substantial arms, and although 
it is not so heavy as the settle the table- 
chair is of sufficiently solid construction 
to make a satisfactory piece of furniture 
for a hall or living-room, while the extra 
shelf and the fact that it is so easily moved 
about make it doubly useful as a tea-table 
of convenient size. Like the settle, it may 
be had in natural wood or stained in any 
color to correspond with its surroundings. 
Saving the Poinsettias 
T HE following hints on keeping poin¬ 
settias fresh after they had been cut 
were given me by a florist and repeated 
trials showed how valuable the advice is. 
After cutting soak the stems for about 
six inches in boiling water. It is simply 
astonishing how long the flowers will then 
remain fresh and beautiful. The explana¬ 
tion is that the boiling water sends the sap 
from the stems up into the flower and so 
makes it retain its freshness. After put¬ 
ting the stems into the boiling water al¬ 
low them to remain in it until the water 
is cold. Then place the flowers in a vase 
of water as usual. 
Fireplace Fittings 
F OR the use of the devotees of the 
open fire, the persons who get the 
most pleasure out of that luxury and re¬ 
gard it as something more than a means of 
supplying heat, there are several small ac¬ 
cessories that add considerably to the pos¬ 
sibilities of the fireplace. 
Whether in a mountain camp or a city 
house there is an alluring sound in the ket¬ 
tle boiling merrily over the coals, and 
crude as the method may be, tea made in 
this way is apt to have a distinctive flavor, 
imaginary or otherwise. For the accom¬ 
modation of the kettle when it is taken off 
of the fire there is a metal stand with a 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
hinged top that may be had in either brass 
or iron to match the other fittings of the 
fireplace. The stand is about a foot high 
and the top is openwork in an ornamental 
design. When not in use it can be turned 
down and the stand placed in an unobtru¬ 
sive corner, or kept on the hearth with the 
other fireplace accessories. 
Of further assistance in the boiling of 
water over the coals with the least amount 
of trouble is a small metal trivet that keeps 
the kettle in position on the fire. It is cir¬ 
cular in shape and quite heavy, with a sub¬ 
stantial handle and a strong iron spike un¬ 
derneath that is thrust into the coals, mak¬ 
ing the trivet perfectly steady. Like the 
kettle stand the trivet is to be had in either 
wrought iron or polished brass, and in 
spite of its homely use, is quite ornamental 
in appearance. 
Why Pot Plants Die 
I N almost every house one may find 
plants growing in pots. In many 
cases it would be more correct to describe 
the plants as dying. The short life of the 
average indoor plant is not to be attributed 
to carelessness, but to a lack of knowledge 
on the part of those who tend them. A 
This trivet is used to keep the kettle in 
position over the coals 
plant, like every other living thing, needs 
food, and this "food is largely taken from 
the soil in which it lives, in the form of 
soluble salts. In Nature the salts are con¬ 
tinually being replaced in the soil by the 
weathering of minerals, but in the plant 
pot this is impossible. What actually oc¬ 
curs is this: The plant for a time flour¬ 
ishes at the expense of the salts already in 
the soil, and then begins to show signs of 
failing'. The usual course adopted under 
these circumstances is to shower the poor 
plant with water, and with more water, 
until it eventually dies a lingering death. 
The explanation of this is simple. Though 
it is true that a plant must have water (for 
it can absorb its food-salts only when 
these are in solution), it is also clear that 
every time it is watered some of the salts 
in the soil are carried away, and the soil 
is left poorer in plant food, until eventual¬ 
ly a point is reached at which the soil is 
“poor indeedtoo poor in fact to supply 
the plant with food at all! When the plant 
begins to fail it is most probably in need 
of more food, and not of more water. 
Clearly, then, attention must be paid 
not to the plant but to the soil, and two 
courses are open to us. We may either 
re-pot the plant with fresh soil or we may 
add to the surface of the original soil 
those salts which have been lost. 
A few cents’ worth of potassium nitrate 
and of superphosphate of lime can be pur¬ 
chased from any druggist; it is then neces¬ 
sary only to mix the two powders to ob¬ 
tain a rich and complete fertilizer, which, 
when spread over the surface of the soil in 
the plant pot in a thin layer, will ensure 
a rich soil and a well fed plant. 
The soil in a plant pot should always be 
kept slightly moist and should never be 
very wet to the touch. More plants die of 
hunger than of thirst, but a still greater 
proportion are drowned. The following 
fertilizers I strongly recommend: bone 
dust, wood ashes, or sheep manure. These 
should be sprinkled on the surface of the 
soil and carefully dug into the soil, taking 
care not to disturb the roots of the plant; 
or preferably in a liquid form the follow¬ 
ing could be used with great success: ani¬ 
mal manure, nitrate of soda, Scotch soot 
or phosphate of calcium. In handling 
these fertilizers in liquid form it is im¬ 
portant not to make them too strong; 
phosphate of calcium is the most strength¬ 
ening and nutritious food known. It tends 
to neutralize the hardness of service water, 
and slowly dissolving, washes down and 
greatly benefits root action. 
While I have stated the most common 
cause of the death of pot plants, by lack of 
food, there is a number of other reasons 
attributed to their loss; gas from the 
stove being a very common cause. Care¬ 
lessness in airing the house, leaving the 
plants near the window in extreme cold 
weather to freeze, is another. With very 
little care there is no reason why the pot 
plants usually seen in the windows of the 
present day should not be of a better char¬ 
acter, more attractive to look upon and 
a credit to their caretaker. 
The top folds down for convenience when 
not in use 
