ee) a ED) EE) -o 
A. You’re watering too much. Or it could 
be that you’re feeding a fertilizer which is too rich 
and burning the roots, causing crown rot. Most 
probably you become more and more zealous in 
your care of them as they begin to approach per- 
fection, and an over-dose of zeal, with violets, is 
frequently fatal. Bear in mind that the big pretty 
plants don’t need oy more water or fertilizer than 
the scrawny ones. Less, if anything. 
Q. What to do to keep pests off the violets. 
I have used alcohol to touch and kill them but as 
a rule the plant dies. Mrs. E.H.H., Texas. 
A. Why not try a monthly spraying with 
nicotine sulphate or NNOR? Alcohol is good for 
“spot-removing” of mealy-bugs, and unless you 
downright BATHE the plant in it, shouldn’t kill it. 
More likely that your plant died from too much 
water. Spring, particularly, is tricky. You don’t 
realize how much extra moisture you have in your 
house when you open it up after it’s been closed 
all winter. If you keep up the same watering pro- 
gram with your plants, you’re due to run into 
trouble come the first rainy spell. 
HEY. Mrs. A.S.R., Kansas. Mrs. E.B., Mis- 
sourl, say: “Butane gas does NOT have any bad 
effect on violets. I use it. But it does seem to 
dry out the air, so be sure and keep water around 
—plenty of it.” 
. Leaves around edge of pot wither and 
die. Flowers so small it’s a joke. I use a soft 
brush to brush the leaves. What are violets seeds? 
Where do they come from and how are they 
planted? Mrs. T.O.H., Missouri. 
A. If it’s ONLY the leaves at the edge of the 
pot, put some aluminum foil, florists foil, or wax 
paper around the edge of the pot. Accumulations 
of mineral salts on the edge of the pot cause the 
disintegration of leaves resting thereon. If it’s the 
leaves AND the flowers of the same plant which 
are so laughably small, you have crown rot. You 
might try cutting the crown off at the soil level 
and re-rooting it on sand, but this isn’t guaranteed 
to save it. A small brush is fine, but it’s easier 
to wash the leaves off under a slow-running tap, 
using luke-warm water and allowing to dry 
thoroughly in a shady place. Violet seeds are vio- 
let seeds are violet seeds, with apologies to Ger- 
trude Stein. They are what is left when you put 
pollen from one blossom on the stamen of another 
blossom, the flower part drops off, and the ovary 
begins to swell and after about six weeks, having 
finished growing, begins to shrivel. Open up the 
pod and plant seed on very fine sifted soil. Cover 
with glass. 
Q. Why do bottom leaves curl under? Mrs. 
L., Illinois. 
A. A little too dry and/or a little too chilly. 
Some varieties just ‘‘do” that. 
‘Bye until next month. 
Ww Ip 44 
