
light as you would get if you stood in the shade 
of a big tree at noon on a summer day. They won’t 
bloom on the coffee table in your living room if 
you leave them there permanently. Not unless 
you have a glass wall about four feet away. A 
few extra dollars spent in converting a window 
into a window-garden for your plants will be 
money well-spent if you long for blooms. Another 
common deterrent to good bloom is poor soil. Make 
this test: Take a handful of the soil you are using. 
Pack it down in a cup, small glass, flower pot, or 
other container. Water it thoroughly. Allow to 
dry. Bone dry. Now. Turn it out on a piece of 
newspaper. Does it crumble? Good. If it holds 
its shape, give it a light tap with a knife handle. 
If it still does not crumble, but, on the other hand, 
remains a compact, dried mud-pie, then your 
trouble has been found out. YOU CAN’T GROW 
VIOLETS IN CLAY. Mix enough peat moss, leaf 
mold, vermiculite, or sand into your soil to give 
it a loose, porous consistency. 
pote OUTER FOLIAGE—Try a warmer 
spot. 
STREAKED FLOWERS—(Bud Blast)—If ac- 
companied. by white spots which develop into 
larger blotches on leaf reverse, see THRIPS. 
Sudden temperature changes often cause white 
streaks which radiate from the center of the blos- 
som to the edge, also some deformity of flowers. 
Remember to put the windows down on cool 
nights. Bud blast may be caused by over-fertiliz- 
ing, low humidity, or leaking artificial gas. Bud 
blast in double varieties may be combatted by 
generous fertilizing, extra light. 
ROTTING OUTER LEAVES—Accumulations 
of mineral salts on the rims of pots can cause the 
decomposition of leaves resting thereon. Coat pot 
rims with paraffin or devise decorative pot cov- 
ers with aluminum foil. If these leaves suddenly 
begin rotting at an alarming rate, (one or two a 
week), it’s probably crown rot. 
EARTHWORMS IN POTS—These pests make 
themselves known by their casts on the surface 
of the soil and in the saucer. The plant may be 
turned out of the pot and the critter removed, or 
water the plant with a solution made by dissolv- 
ae: % teaspoon of powdered lime in a quart of 
water. 
CHEWED-LOOKING PLACES — These will 
occur (or most probably will have already occur- 
red when you buy the plant) down close to the 
crown on the stems. They are caused by dead 
flowers dropping down on the plant. In the humid 
greenhouse atmosphere, these dead flowers de- 
compose and sometimes rot out the delicate stems 
with which they come in contact. Very rarely 
happens in a home collection where air is dryer 
and plants are spaced to allow free circulation of 
air. Rather unsightly scars but otherwise not 
important. 

