St. Landry democrat., 1879-08-23
Plants and Flowers.

~
To destroy the vitality of weed seeds
in soil by baking will in great measure
destroy the fertility of the soil. A
better way is to spread the soil out
thinlv in a warm place and keep it moist.
In a few days most of the seeds will
germinate, after which the soil should
be stirred and allowed to become dry.
To grow geranium cuttings: Take
coarae, clean sand about three inches in
depth, insert the cuttings about one to
one ard half inches deep therein; press
the sand firmly around them and water
freely at first afterwards use it spar
ingly. One cause of geranium cuttings
turning black is the keeping of them too
wet. No kind of cuttings are better
adapted for sending by mail than geran-
iums, as the drying of the cut seed is
conducive to roofing them easily, and
they universally give satisfsction.
Geraniums when first set out in the
beds are very apt to cast their leaves.
Do not be discouraged, new ones will
come, for geranium is such an accom-
modating plant it will grow without
petting or coaxing, and very often where
10 plant will grow. was asked day
or two since why some geraniums pro-
duce such an abundance of leaves, but
NO flowers. On inquiry I found the bed
had been heavily manured.
The Gala lily requires plenty OF water
during the growing season. 1t is one of
the best house plants grown, being sure
to bloom. In the summer season I set
them out in their pots under shady
tree and let them rest until the fall,
when shake off all the dirt and give
them new soil. Give your calla hot
water as stimulant, commencing with
1t as hot as you can bear your hand in !;
then, as the calla becomes used to it,
you can give it boiling hot.
The snails I have sent out to several
"Household' members are the curiousl Y
formed seed vessels of medicago, q
clover>like plant with small yellow
flowers.
The seeds of perennials, that is, plants
which throw up their flower stems, ma
ture their eeeds and then die down to
start up again the following spring,
may be sown to bloom next season, in
July, August and September; but the
earlier sown, SO much larger and stron>
ger will the plants be, and therefore
mole able to stand the winter.
Among these perennials we find a
great many flowers which our grandma.
therssused to cultivate. There is the
white lily, which has been in cultivation
some 800 years. and is still favorite.
It Il spotleas white, perfectly hardy
and very fragrant, and is considered an
emblem of purity. Then the bleeding
heart Il purposely give popular names)
everybody admires it, with its lovely
branches, loaded with rosy. red, heart
shaped flowers. Lily of the valley,
know all who read this will appreciate,
for it is universal favorite. It thrives
best in shady place, which has been
made quite rich by well>rotted manure.
The foregoing perennials are increased
by division Of the roots, but very many
others are produced from seeds. If a
good selection is made now, and sown in
the early summer, you will have bloom
ing plants from early next spring, com.
mencing with the pretty forget.me>not
and continuing all through the summer
with pansies, sweetrwilliam, sweet rock
eA snap'dragon, honesty, larkspur, fox
glove, hollyhock, Can't: rbury bell and
Others. Then among the perennial
climbers We have everlasting pea and
honeysuckle. There are a great many
who write to me for seeds who are unable
to lay out money every spring or annu-
als