The Portland daily press., 1898-09-13
THE HOME,
THE PALM.

Palms are SO much used for house deco
ration that the following advice from
VHck's Magazine about their care IS OF
general interest and value.
Palms will do we'll in strong hgh'
without sunshine. They are often grea'-
ly injured by being kept constantly IN
dsrkened halls and in apartment 'naU
preclude the treatment essentlal W Uieif
health. A daily sponging of their fohage
with tepid water may be given by careful
hands without damage to surounulngs'
and If they are carried to announcer apart
,nent for an hour of morning sunshine,
and tborouo bly showered once or twice a
week they will remain in a healthy con-
dition. with judioious watering as de-
manded. Remember always that while
limited and early morning sunshine
brightens and invigorates the palm,
strong sunshine destroys the rich greesn
color. Palms are easily potted when re.
oeived by express, and from pains tax
ing florist-coming with the soil and
roots intact, just as removed from the
pot, these enveloped in excelsior and
bound with Irvine. Provide pot of large
size and as deep as possible-twice as
deep as wide ia none too much. The
roots of nearly all palms run downward
instead of spreading; if you have ever
grown one from seed. especially a date,
you have an idea of their delvlng pro-
pensities. They must have good drain
age, as they will not remain healthy IN
soggy soil; place three or four inches OF
charcoal or broken pottery in the bottom
of the pot, and over this layer of srhag-
mum (iorist's moss) or some fibrous ma
terial to prevent the soil washing into the
drainage; over this a generous layer OF
soil; place the palm on it and fill around
with soil; water thoroughly and keep IN
light, cool place, but out of the sun, Tor
a week or more. The soil should contain
q large proportion of fibre-well rotted
sod with the addition Of some good gar
den loan and little sharp sand MAKE
good mixture. A lighter soil Is not ad-
vlsable because of its drying out too
rapidly.
When palms are once established DO
not water them until the surface OF the
soil looks dry and shrinks slightly nom
the pot. Then give sufIic Gent tepld wafer
to thoroughly saturate the soil and to run
through into the saucer, but do not allow
any of the surplus water to remain. sur
face watering, or a slight a nd frequent
dribbling is ruinous to all plants, and
especially so to the mass OF deep roo1s
developed by a vigorous palm. Shower
them at least once week-better every
other day if you want them to shine as II
vanished; the bent-neck plant sprlnk-
lers are excellent, as it is necessary that
every part be reached; get the largest
sprinkler for best resalts. IT not convent
ent to shower them SO often, sponge the
stems and upper and under side OF foilage
three times a week with tepid water;
daily sponging is better, using soft,
fine sponge as least liable of all things
to catch and tear the foliage. Treated IN
this way they will be free from red spi-
ders which appear in dry, heated AT
mospheres-in fact no pest will trouble
them if the work is thorough. An occa-
sional scale may appear; rub oil the hrst
one as soon as discovered and there will
be no trouble No plant is more free
from pests than the palm and with only
half care. If small, white worms appear
in the soil give thorough soaking Wi6n
lime water; If one application does not
answer give a second. Add piece OF
fresh lime as large as an orange TO three
gallons of water; when dissolved ana
clear, pour off the clear water Tor use.
The lime water Is perfectly harmless. A
saturated solution. which means all the
lime the water will dissolve, will not
harm the plants. Lime that has been ali :
Stacked is worthless.
Do not repot palms oftener than once in
two years, or longer If not root bound.
Remove the portion of the old soil from
the top without disturbing the roots, and
replace with a fresh, rich soil. DO this
once or twice year, and give some good
fertilizer once month. An occasional
soaking with weak SCOT tea, when the
soil is dry, will intensity the color ana
gloss of the foliage. Bone meal well
worked into the soil is most excellent
fertilizer the best time to add the lat
ter is wnen repotting.
HINTS TO OUSEKEEPERS.
An excellent perfume for psrfuming
clothes that are packed away, and which
will retain its properties for long time,
can be made IN the following way:
Pound to powder one ounce each of
cloves, caraway seed, nutmeg, mace, oln-
namon and Tonquin beans; also, as
much orris root as will equal the weight
of all the foregoing ingredients. All that
Is needed is to fill little bags of muslin
with this mixture and lay them among
OAC ShhAhOAeSs
Tie three knots in your veil if you
want to adjust it easily and properly.
he knot at the middle of one edge is to
place directly in front of your hat or bon
not. the others are to pin at the back
without any fussy gathering or tying Of
ends.
1t is sometimes necessary to make cup
Of coffee for a single person. Take
tablespoonful of coffee and stir with per-
haps the quarter of the white of an egg.
Add half cup of cold water, boil, and
then add full cup of boiling water.
After this put in boil two minutes.
Few cooks are able to accomplish the
economical and palatable service of sin
gle cup of coffee.
A very simple way to remove grease
spots and one which is commonly used, is
to cover the spot With French chalk,
magnesia or white blotting paper, letting
ii lie for several hours. If the grease has
not been absorbed place slightly warm
iron near the soiled spot, as the heat will
melt the grease and cause it to run more
readily.