
supply to cause something like that? Do cities 
put borax in the water? 
Are you bothered by worms in your plants? 
Not ants, worms. Earthworms. The latest dope 
from the Howard Days of Maryland is that these 
beasties will cause crown rot. They found theirs 
wrapped around the bases of the crowns, boa con- 
strictor style, literally choking the poor plants to 
death. 
Mrs. Day reminded me to comment on the fact 
that mice (also rabbits, gophers, hamsters, and 
skunks) find the flowers and foilage of the Afri- 
can Violet a particularly dainty dish. If your 
plants are being nibbled, remember to cage your 
pets at night. 
Last month, remember, we talked about grow- 
ing plants in water, and mentioned the crust which 
would accumulate on the container if used for 
very long. We knew at the time that hydrochloric 
acid would remove this crust, but since it is a 
deadly commodity to have around the house, we 
didn’t mention it. Mrs. Street, of Kentucky, says 
that plain old household vinegar will remove this 
crust with ease. Soak overnight. 
Before I forget it, I want to get a word in 
about Lady Geneva and similar varieties. As 
you know, African Violets are queer sisters. They 
do odd thngs. Because they do odd things, they 
are at once delightful and maddening. I'll never 
forget the first batch of Moire we brought from 
the originator of the variety. They weren’t in 
bloom when we first got them, and to our horror 
(they cost us a pretty penny!) the first blooms 
came up just as Blue Boy-ish as you please. 
Needless to say, we wasted no time registering 
a complaint. We were told that the first blooms 
could be expected to do this, and, furthermore, 
that when we shipped them out, the shock of travel 
would make them bloom “plain” for awhile. 
We found this to be quite true of Moire, and 
so were not too surprised to find it true of Lady 
Geneva as well. Sometimes the entire white edge 
will just disappear not only from the open bloom 
on the plant at the time of shipment, but from 
the buds, too. More often, the white edge will 

