Our suggestion for watering that we have found to be most suitable in 
most homes is as follows. Set the plants in a pan of warm water once 
a week and allow them to absorb enough to moisten the top of the soil. 
Remove them and add merely a tablespoonful or more when the soil on 
the top of the pot becomes dry. Just because the top soil is dry does not 
indicate that the entire plant is dry to the bottom and this is where most 
mistakes are made in watering. Scrape some of the top dry soil away 
and most times you will find that the moisture line is not too far down. 
In this case you only need to moisten the top instead of soaking the en- 
tire pot of soil. However if you have been raising Violets for-awhile , 
do just exactly as you were doing. By no means change any successful 
method of watering. 
One method of furnishing humidity to your Violets is to use a metal 
tray such as a chick feeder or one that has been made to fit your window 
or table. Either type can be made most attractive by painting it your 
favorite cclor of enamel to match the room. Then place the bottom 
full of sand and keep it damp, (not soaking wet) and set your pots on it. 
This will afford the moisture in the air that is so necessary to the plants. 
It will also help to induce bloom, provided you do not overdo it by fil- 
ling the tray with water and destroying the tiny white root system. 
There are those homes where plants can be Set into pans of water and 
allowed to remain there all the time, but this is not so of every home, 
and you alone can adjust your watering situation far more readily than any 
one else. If you are in doubt as to what is taking place in your pot, try 
removing the plant from it by turning it upside down and tapping the rim 
on a firm object. This will allow your plant to come out without disturb- 
ing the soil, and no harm will be done. Examine the tiny white feeder 
roots that should be in evidence, if the plant has been in this pot for 
sometime. If they are grey or white you can be sure you are uSing the 
correct amount of water, but, if they are a rust or brown color beware. 
You are destroying them with excessive watering. Here is where you 
must water about 1/2 as much as you have been, so that the root system 
can rebuild itself. The best warning you get from your plant is when the 
row of leaves droops over the edge of the pot. When you water them they 
should respond and become up-right within 24 hrs. If they do not firm up, 
you already had too much water before you administered that test amount. 
By all means reduce your watering and allow your plant to regain the root 
system that has been destroyed. 
The relative humidity in our greenhouse is generally from 50 to 70, 
with a constant temperature of from 60 to 65 degrees. Your means of 
maintaining Humidity is with the use of sand trays as recommended 
above. The temperature in the average home runs between 60 to 80 de- 
grees and Violets will be safely raised in this with the necessary humid- 
ity added, plus the proper amount of light. 
CROWN ROT 
The results of overwatering usually lead to the rotting of plant tissue, 
commonly known as Crown Rot. Good drainage or soil aeration is very 
important in overcoming this condition. Ina soil that is hard, soggy or 
compact, the oxygen is excluded. The tiny white feeder roots die first, 
gradually working up through the entire root system until the base of the 
