July, 1914 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
31 
ingly, and elusive figuratively when you are 
not a chemist. 
Nitrate of soda is the thing that acts with 
especial value on "most garden crops.” They 
mature more rapidly if they are given this 
special treat judiciously, and they mature to 
greater size — indeed, to prodigious size some¬ 
times, judging from some of the pictures he 
brought along to show us. Potatoes love it; 
so do beets, hops, fiber plants and tobacco—- 
but who cares? That berries dote on it and 
bush fruits and orchards and vineyards, and 
that it helps make these things grow so vigor¬ 
ously that they are better able to withstand 
disease and insect attack, is a phase of its use that appealed much 
more to me, and to the rest of the Garden Club, I’m sure. 
But it must not be given with a too liberal or with an ungov¬ 
erned hand, for too much is merely waste, the plants being unable 
to use more than a certain amount, and the remainder leaching off 
and vanishing into thin air before another crop of plants can be 
brought onto the ground to eat the leavings. And if given at the 
wrong time—the best time with about everything is “early in its 
growth”—it may upset things completely, confusing the plant to 
such a degree that it will entirely overlook such a detail as ripen¬ 
ing its fruit in the joys of eating and growing. And then it must 
not be given close up to the plants, and a 
maximum amount of one hundred pounds to 
the acre is enough for most everything, if it 
is used alone. This I figured to be about 
one-twenty-fifth of an ounce to the square 
foot, and had about decided to apply it to the 
garden with a pepper box, gently sifting, 
when the delicacy of the task of not getting 
on too much in small spaces was brought up, 
and the ex-ambassador relieved by anxiety by 
saying that the nitrate of soda can be dis¬ 
solved in water and a small drink of the de¬ 
coction given, every few days, to each plant. 
This seems much easier, and is the method 
I have adopted — for this summer, anyway. 
The proportion of 2-3-5 f° r sulphate of potash, acid phosphate 
and nitrate of soda is the rhythm to remember, and this much I 
am sure of. When I learn with equal surety which element fits 
against which figure, I shall feel I have graduated from the book 
forever more. I do know now, however, that the largest number 
stands for the nitrate, and between the other two it does not 
matter so much, for they obligingly wait to be consumed instead 
of making off as does this. So a little more or a little less will 
not matter, but I mean to learn and know exactly. 
(Continued on page 54) 
Some Little Known Plants for Indoor Decoration 
PLANTS WHICH MAY SUBSTITUTE FOR CUT FLOWERS OR CONSTITUTE THE WINTER GARLAND- 
ATTRACTIVE, BRIGHTLY COLORED FRUITS—BLOSSOMS WHICH LAST INDEFINITELY 
by George W. Kerr 
Photographs by the Author 
N O matter how artistically our 
rooms are planned and fur¬ 
nished, there is something vitally 
missing if flowers are absent, but 
to those who do not possess a 
greenhouse it is at certain seasons 
a difficult matter to keep the vases 
filled with fresh blossoms. To 
readers who are in this position the 
following hints may be of service. 
Undoubtedly the best substitute 
for fresh flowers is to be found in 
well fruited sprays of the Chinese 
lantern plant or winter cherry 
(Physalis), and the finest varieties 
are Physalis Francheti and P. Bun- 
yardi. They are hardy herbaceous 
plants, stocks of which are easily 
raised from seed or by root divi¬ 
sions. The plant is deciduous— 
that is, the top growth dies down in 
the winter, fresh stems being 
thrown up from the roots each 
spring. The stems do not put forth 
any branches, but a one-year-old 
root will produce from twelve to 
twenty-four stems, which average 
eighteen to 24 inches in length; the 
leaves are potato-like, while the 
Slatice or sea lavender is valuable both for its garden bloom and for 
the fact that dried sprays retain their color. It is a good plant for 
seacoast gardens 
flowers are small and inconspic¬ 
uous. However, that is of little 
moment, as it is only grown for its 
gloriously colored fruit pods, which 
when in their earlier stages of 
growth are green, but by early fall 
they become a most brilliant or¬ 
ange-red color. The fruit pods, or, 
more properly, calyx, is balloon or 
bladder-like in shape; P. Francheti, 
the largest, being about two and 
one-half inches in length by one 
and three-quarter inches in di¬ 
ameter; P. Bunyardi, being rather 
smaller, averaging one and one- 
half inches long by one and one- 
half inches in diameter; while the 
old variety, P. Alkekengi, is still 
less in size and is now entirely su¬ 
perseded by the two former and 
newer sorts. The fruit is of the 
same color as the calyx surround¬ 
ing it, and in shape and size resem¬ 
bles a cherry or small tomato. 
A stem usually bears six to 
twelve fruits. To prepare them 
for winter decorations, cut the 
stems at the ground level as soon 
as the calyx is well colored, for in 
