ED 1) ER SE) OE) OD) IP OD (EE) DED AD ER 8 
much to worry about. You won’t have as many 
bugs, you won’t have as much crown ret, you 
won't need to fertilize as much, there’ll be no need 
for turning the plants for even light exposure, 
and unless your water supply is very heavily 
doctored, you won’t need any fancy special water 
for the plants. In short, the whole operation is 
just a darn sight easier with a greenhouse. Of 
course, you can expect faster growth, and no doubt 
you'll spend more time in plant grooming (pick- 
ing off dead blooms, crown division, ete. .... ) 
As for setting up your greenhouse propaga- 
tion beds and watering arrangement, there are so 
many suggestions that could be made it would be 
a little futile to go into them here. The size of 
your greenhouse, type of work you intend to do, 
(propagation, grooming a few fine plants, or hybri- 
oan and the amount of time and money you 
would have to devote to your hobby would all 
enter into your plans. If you will have more 
than fifteen plants to take care of, however, you 
will find that some method of community water- 
ing will be necessary. 
Also a word about shading your greenhouse. 
Remember that Old Sol can stew a violet beyond 
redemption in ten minutes. So don’t put a single 
plant into the house until you have applied some 
sort of shade to the glass to screen out the direct 
sun. Shading is always a problem because you 
need a lot in the summer and not so much in the 
winter. In other words, what goes on in the 
spring will have to come off in the fall. Even in 
the winter, however, you'll need a light shade. 
You may apply a light coat of permanent oil paint 
to the interior glass surface or line your house with 
cloth. With the onset of summer, spray whiting on 
the outside as you need the extra shade. all 
rains will gradually wash off the outside whiting 
and your inside paint or cloth will give you what 
protection you need during the winter. 
Now, if you use straight whiting with water, 
it will all wash off with each and every shower. 
To avoid spending the summer squirting white- 
wash, you should add something to make it stick 
to the glass. We've tried a lot of different sizing 
products but have found linseed oil the most 
satisfactory. One quart of heated linseed oil to 
two Faucrs of mixed whiting about does it. This 
can painted on if you have a small house. 
Addresses many of you have asked for: 
African Violet Society: Warren Gottshall, 
Treasurer, Box 901, Alexandria, Virginia. 
$3.00 annual dues. Tell ’im Russ sent you. 


