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Q. My leaves will root in water, but they 
don’t grow when put into soil. Why? Miss M.AS., 
Michigan. 
A. A common propagation error is to leave 
the cuttings in the water too long. If you leave 
your cutting in a rooting medium, regardless of 
what it is, until the young plants begin to form, 
there will be some trouble when the shift to soil 
is made. Much better practice to induce your 
roots to about an inch in length, then shift. Also 
remember to use at least one-third sand in the 
soll mixture for these young plants. Violets of 
ey aes don’t do well in a soil which packs down 
easily. 
Q. I have a violet with several seed pods. 
If these are allowed to ripen will it injure the 
plant? I had one plant go “sick” after leaving a 
seed pod on it. Mrs. A.K., Nebraska. 
A. Oh, no. If the plant were too weak to 
grow seed, the seed wouldn’t ripen in the first 
place. A ‘plant might sicken and die from any 
number of causes, but not from growing seed. 
Q. What causes the new center leaves to be- 
come light in color? Mrs. H.L., Winois. 
A. New center foliage is frequently lighter 
than the other foliage. This is often particularly 
noticeable in the spring, when the plants take on 
a new surge of growth. If the “lighter color” is 
accompanied by a stiffening or coarsening of the 
center leaves, it is possible that you have an in- 
festation of cyclamen mite. 
Q. What are those little gnat-like insects that 
fly around the violets? Are they harmful? They 
multiply like nobody’s business. Will P-40 de- 
stroy them? Mrs. L.S., Florida. 
A. These little pests are called bine flies, 
and they are quite harmless. They have a bad 
name, however, because when a plant begins to 
rot, they thrive in the decaying matter beneath 
the soil level. This leads many folks to believe 
that the flies caused the rot when the truth is 
just the reverse. Am not acquainted with P-40, 
but many collectors have sprayed DDT prepara- 
tions immediately beneath the plants with some 
success. We recommend watering the plants with 
a nicotine sulphate solution, leaving out the soap. 
Just mix the solution as you would for spraying, 
and water from the top with it. Keep it up for 
about two weeks. 
Q. You have taken me off your mailing list. 
Ain’t we friends anymore? Mrs. T.D., Virginia. 
A. Of course, we’re friends, honey. It’s just 
that when we don’t hear from you, month after 
month, (cough$!) we begin to wonder if you’ve 
moved or something. 
DOES 0 SRD OG OED) GT-R 
