The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-10-21

good appearance. This seems az first
sight easy enough to do, but is it?
What has been your experience? AS
the summer draws to q close and the
floral beauties of the garden fade,
the question comes up, What shall
be grown in the house? There may
have been a few cuttings struck and
u few plants plunged in the border,
the residue of last winters stock.
Perhaps there are few plants that
have been kept on the versnda or in
the house all winter. Some look very
thrifty and promising, but where are
the flowers? The plants are put on
the shelves in IA haphazzard way,
cared for faithfully, and one or two
will do very well, but the majority
exist and grow very slowly, and
meanwhile where are the flowers I?
Is 1t not seen how important and
much more satisfactory a little pre-
vious thought and selection would
have been? 1t will depend some
what upon the location what plants
can be grown most successfully,
whether more or less sunshine can
be obtained. Remember bloom is
wanted, and bloom from some plant
or the other all the time. 1t is not so
very difficult if little thought IL
given to it.
Now for the arrangement. That
must necessarily be lett to the owner.
But one important point, do not
crowd, or the plants will be spindling
and the bloom weak. House plants
require more careful attention when
first brought into the house than at
other season of the year. We are apt
TO expect too much from the window
garden, particularly from plants taken
from the open border and which have
not become well established In their
new homes at the start. The most
formidable enemy house plants have
Is over watering, and in their man
agement simple and common rule
Will be almost of itself n sufficient
guide, and that is to give no more
water than is really necessary, such
necessity being determined by each
plants appearance, or rather by the
state OF the soil in the pots. This
should never get absolutely dusty,
nor should the leaves of the plants
ever droop. Plants as rule make
but little growth the first few weeks
after being taken into the house, con-
sequently they need but little water,
and the more food of any kind the
plants have which they cannot con.
sumo is an injury to them. Too much
heat is equally injurious as it has
tendency to stimulate growth for
which the other conditions Of plant
development are not fitted. / seldom
fail to carry my plants through the
winter, for the reason, perhaps, that
l strive to keep my plants healthy.
When plsnts begin to lose their
leaves, hunt up the cause and apply
the remedy at once. When the tenn
perature is too high in your plant
room the growth will be rapid aud
spindliDg, the buds will blast and the
leaves turn brown and fall off. This
IL not all due TO the heat of the at
mosphere, but to dryness which re-
suits from heat. Keep the temper
AZURE in your plant window moist by
placing open vessels of water on the
stove where 1t will evaporate. Too
many give up house plants because
they never have any luck with
them" There IL no "luclln about il,
but attention to their wants and n
quick taking hold OF what you have
and adapting it. Give chem plenty
of fresh air where the cold air cannot
strike them and don't give too much
pot room. 1t isn't thinking and fuss
ing over the plants all the time that
makes success, but just remenib ering
them at the right time. There Is no
family 80 poor that may not be cheer
ed by them.
A lady 7aid, '"don't write unless
you can say something new on the
subject" How is person to know
that? Our experience may he new
to some and OLD to others, and to
benefit the former we would risk the
telling of it even though it seem to
be vain repetition. The failures we
make are IA benefit to others, in as
much as they are enabled to avoid
the rocks we were wrecked opon.
The popular taste for flowers has
been carefully cultivated or it has
grown of its own accord, for never
was there n more eager interest in
flowers than at the present time.
II has not been very many years
since the ordinary flower grower con-