The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-07

lease the receptacle for the plant has no pertoration for drainage. The charcoal, clay or sponge absorbs the moisture and 1 keeps the soil from becoming soggy. A pot should never be kept standing in a | saucer of water and if the water drains
 into the saucer, the latter should be | quickly emptied. Never water flowers | unless the soil seems dry, and never | give them more water than the soil will l quickly absorb. Florists say that nine | tenths of the amateurs fail with flowers | because they water them too freely; yet I a mistake in the other direction is as fa- | tai and very few amateurs realize the | importance of washing the leaves and
 stems of plants carefully and frequent | ly Plants breathe through the pores in l their leaves and when these pores are clogged with dust the health of the plant suffers, In city streets, the dust | is necessarily plentiful and window or | balcony plants require washing at least | every day or two
 An elastic plant sprinkler or plant syringe is best for the purpose, because l it throws a fife spray with force enough | to dislodge the dust or any insects eggs | that may have been laid on leaves or stems. If a sponge Is used, the process | is rather tedious and there is danger of
 injuring tender leaves. Fertilizer
 should be used as plant food. but used sparingly. Once a week is as often as it is needed, and perhaps the most gen erally ef1icacious solution is a table spoonful of guano in gallon of water. One teaspoonful of aqua ammonia in
 gallon of water also makes a good solu- tion bath fors washing and watering
 plants, The water should always be at
 least tepid, never cold. Some experts
 recommend very hot water for certain
 plants. but middle-of f-the-road policy
 is safer for amateurs. By the way, hot
 water will often revive cut flowers, even
 if badlya withered, and a lump of char
 coal in the water will keep cut flowers,
 fresh for surprisingly long time. If
 an elastic sprinkler or syringe is out of
 the question and flowers need shower
 bath, a whisk broom dipped in water
 will provide it.
 When it comes to plants raised from
 cuttings, geraniums, fushias, heliotrope,
 roses, etc, the gardener without experi-
 ence would do better to buy of a florist
 piiitN lte'uy NGii IJoltu' u ID
 safe to buy of street vendors unless one
 is sufficiently experienced to tell for
 ones self whether plant is in thor
 oughly healthy condition. The plants
 sold by the vendors have often been much abused and bought from the
 wholesale dealers at low prices, because
 they are not all they might be- Then
 they have been hawked about the streets collecting dust and dirt and carelessly watered. They may seem
 healthy because blossoming profusely, but that very fact Is an argument
 against them. They have been forced into blossom for sale, and the forcing process injures them.
 The first thing to be done, if one does
 buy such a plant is to pick off every flower on it, and the buds as we'll until the plant regains its normal, sturdy strength But. as said before, it is bet ter if possible to go to florist for the plants, and seeds, too, should be bought at a trustworthy place. The amateur gardener is wise who goes to a florist l for his soil, also. Every professional gardener has large supplies of prepared soil, often the result of years of prepar- ation, and is usually willing to sell a little of it, If the non professional can not afford this course, or is too inde- pendent for it, he can experiment with |, the best materials at hand fourth | of the mixture should be sand, and the | rest garden earth manure and forest or | leaf mould, A professional mixes these | according to the needs of | different plants, but equal parts make good general soil, and if all four are not | available, sand and either the garden or leaf mould will make a fair soil The manure must not be used in excess
 When the amateur wants to try rais- I ng plants from his own cuttings he must take hard stem of, say geranium, ut to leave at least two or three joints or eyes. Set 1t into wet sponge or wet moss and leave 1t in cool, dark place Or three or four days, or perhaps a week. By that time the cutting will be 'eady to sprout roots, Plant it in sand, sticking 1t in as deep as the second eye, md, when well rooted, transplant it nto ordinary soil
 Insects often attack the city flowers: )ut this seldom happens if care enough g taken in washing the plants. Clean- mess is fairly sure preventive; but If fails, cure for the ordinary insects may be found in tobacco smoke IT in a solution of quassia wood one unce of wood being boiled in three
 ints of water. The plant must be ponged with the luke-w solution eft fifteen minutes and then rinsed in lean water. One tablespoonful of spir- Is of camphor in one and one-h half pints | f water also makes good wash.
 A window toward the south or east. of purse offers the best situation for flow r growing, and it is important that lowers should have the morning sun; ut floral wonders are wrought even in he dark dngy back yards of the tene- lent districts. If some rich soil can be | rocured and substituted for the hard lay, hardy flowers and vines may grow 1 nd quite transform one of these forlorn tile plots. The East Side kinderger- ens and children's clubs have proved ( his fact and the children under capa- le teaching have turned dark holes I hQked with rubbish into veritable bow l IS. The example set in this way has rept into the homes and there is many
 creditable window and roof and back ard garden in the slum district, started n a basis of old tomato cans, beans, l ( Neet potato tubers and stray seeds. he scarlet bean is one of the hardest l nd prettiest of climbing vines, and fig res largely in uptown balcony and {