
treme cases, growth stops and the plant dies. This 
condition is due to the injection of various chem- 
icals into water supply, and may be avoided by 
using rain water, or water from a cistern. 
PANIC TROUBLES 
(better get busy) 

ADVANCED CROWN ROT—Leaves decom- 
pose one by one up the crown .If the violet is a 
very flat, one-crown job, it can be laid low in 24 
hours. Not much you can do if you haven’t tend- 
ed to it at the droopy stage. Save what leaves 
you can as starts for new plants. 
NEMATODES—Microscopic parasitic worms 
which work their way inside the roots, forming 
knots and small swellings which you can see if 
you're curious enough to wash all the dirt off and 
take a chance on stopping up the kitchen sink. 
Re-rooting will delay the action on these but 
sooner or later they’ll probably turn up again. 
Best preventative: sterilizing soil. 
CYCLAMEN MITE—Twisted, distorted leaves 
in center of plant caused by feeding of tiny (in- 
visible to naked eye) insects which prefer tender, 
young leaves. Best preventative: regular spray- 
ing or sodium selenate treatment. Isolate infected 
plants. No certain cure, but you might try NNOR 
dip (prepare solution as for spraying, immerse en- 
tire plant for about 30 second) or mothball fum- 
eee (for 12 hours, and be SURE your plant is 
y. 
THRIPS—Little black bugs size of sharp end 
of a pin, one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an inch 
long. Very active. Lay eggs in plant tissue, on 
violets usually leaf reverse. Recognized as whit- 
ish spots which enlarge to dead-looking blotches 
as eggs hatch and the young feed on the surround- 
ing terrain. The adults prefer the juicy morsels 
to be found inside the flower buds, and cause 
such irregularities as streaked flowers, and pre- 
mature dropping of flowers and buds. Try NNOR 
dip and keep a sharp eye out for recurrances. 
In closing, may I hope that you won’t have 
much need for this issue of the Newsletter? Saint- 
paulias should, and can be a most delightful 
hobby. The collector must remember, however, 
that though the African Violet is the Queen of 
Houseplants, she is also the most temperate babe 
in the Garden Encyclopedia. Not too light, not 
too dark; not too wet, not too dry; not too hot, 
not too cold. Indeed, we might find a moral les- 
son in her determined pursuit of the Golden 
Mean. 
« Rasy 

