The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-04

part of those in house culture love
light, especially sunlight, and never
do their best without it.
MarjOrie's window Boxes.
Majories window boxes are sprin-
killed. lavishly twice a day. If it is dry
and dusty, the leaves are we'll shaken
before the sprinkling. They over
run with bloom-geraniums, petunias.
nasturtiums and so on. Many beauti-
full plants are barred by the fact that
they infallibly fall prey to plant lice
and root lice. AS a preventive of root
lice, Majorie often scalds or bakes
earth before putting it in pots and
boxes. If possible she gets earth
from an old hotbed-rich loan land
rotten manure, about half and half.
Failing that, she takes any which
is handy and enriches it with am
nominated bone meal, mixed we'll
through, or else with rotten sheep
manure. A heaping teaspoonful of
the bone meal or tablespoonful of
manure is enough for a six-inch pot
of earth. Neither must be kept di-
rectly on the roots of plants. Liquid
fertilizer likewise must be kept off
roots, stems and leaves. Make a hole
at one side, or a trench just inside the
pot rim, pour in the fertilizer and let
it sink, then put back the earth, and
water the pot well.
To make liquid manure, pour half
a gallon of boiling water upon two
heaping tablespoonful of sheep ma
nure, or one of ammoniated bone
meal, stir we'll, let it stand over night,
then apply in the proportion of
small cupfull to a six-inch pot. Dig
the undisolved residue in the earth
of the bigger pots, as those of rubber
plants, palms and so on.
Fern balls should be we'll watered
before getting the fertilizer. 1t will
spread all through the wet mass by
capilliar attraction. Vigorous plants
will take up and rejoice in twice as
much fertilizer as sickly or stunted
ones of the same size. Indeed, care
must be taken not to over-ferterlize a
sickly plant, on pain of having its
last state worse than it's first. Give
the feeding stuff very moderately until
growth is we'll established. This ap-
plies especially to bulbs and woody
stemmed things, such as fuchias and
lemon Verbenas, also roses and camel
las.
GrandmOther's Flowers.
Marjorie has roses and camellias,
also Daphne and cape Jessamine.
Now that We have gone back to the
fashions of our great-grandmothers
why not also their flowers ?" she asks.
All of these she keeps in a living
room, steam heated and fairly light.
Flat, open saucers, filled daily with
clean water. sit on top of the two
radiators. Thus the air is kept moist
enough for the plants and equally
grateful to human lungs. There are
hinged brackets all up and down the
two sunniest windows.
Whatever Marjorie wishes to force
she puts on high bracket, we'll know
ing the temperature there to be ten to
twenty degrees higher. But she is
careful not to shift other than bloom
ing plants too suddenly. The change
might make them turn yellow and
lose leaves. She pots a Few pups
every fall, putting hyacinths singly
in four-inch pots. jonquils, iris, tulips,
and so on, in clumps from three to six,
III bigger ones.
First, the pots have an inch of
crooks at the bottom, then are half
filled with earth which is at least half
rotted manure. After it is well shaken
down, the bulbs go in and are covered
an inch over the crown. Then the pots
are we'll watered and set where it is
dark for a fortnight, and kept moist,
but not wet, throughout that time.
This is to encourage them in making
roots, without a good supply of which
the flowers will be stunted and
crowded.
Next the pots are set in a cool room
moderately lighted, and stay there till
flower buds peep up among the leaves.
Then they are taken, a few at a time,
into the living room. where sunshine
and warmth bring them quickly into
full flower. AS the first flowers fade,
others take their place. Thus. from
the same planting, Marjorie is able to
show two months of steady bloom.
BY thus knowing what to do, and do
ing it regularly and in time, she has
much pleasure and precious little
trouble.