Violets
Violet. While the culture of Violets as house-plants rarely proves successful, there is no reason why a good supply may not be had elsewhere through the greater part of the winter and the spring months. A sheltered location being selected, young plants from runners may be set in August or September. Have the ground rich and well drained. These plants will make fine crowns by December, and often will bloom before weather sufficiently cold to freeze them. In order to have flowers through the winter, it will be necessary to afford some protection to the plants. This may best be done by building a frame of boards large enough to cover the plants, making the frame in the same way as for a hotbed, four to six inches higher at the back than the front. Cover the frame with sash or boards, and as the weather becomes severe, mats or straw should be placed over and around the frame to protect the plants from freezing. Whenever the weather will permit, the covering should be removed and air admitted, but no harm will come if the frames are not disturbed for several weeks. A large amount of sunlight and a high temperature through the middle of winter are to be avoided, for if the plants are stimulated a shorter period of bloom will result. In April the frame may be removed, the plants yielding the later part of the crop without protection. Violets belong with the “cool” plants of florists. When well hardened off, considerable frost does not harm them. They should always be kept stocky. Start a new lot from runner-plants each year. They thrive in a temperature of 55° to 65°.
Walks. The place for a Walk is where it is needed. It should go directly between two points. It need not be straight, but if it is curved, the curve should be direct. That is, the pedestrian should be conscious that he is going in the direction in which he desires to go, and is not making a detour for the simple purpose of following the walk. Convenience should be the first thing to be considered. After the Walks have been laid in the most convenient places, the question of ornamenting the borders may be considered. It is always well to avoid, so far as possible, the bisecting of lawns by Walks, as that makes two lawns where there should be only one. The larger a greensward can be made to look, the more park-like and natural is the place. Avoid taking the Walks circuitously around the borders unless they are laid for the simple purpose of making a ramble to show off the grounds. All Walks which are designed for serious use should appear to be necessary, direct and convenient.
Some soils which contain considerable loam and sand will pack with tramping and will make good Walks, but it is usually necessary to lay some material on the soil. Gravel, cinders, and the like, may be better than the natural surface; but in many cases they are worse, since the surface is loose and is unpleasant to walk on. In Walks which are on decided slopes, and down which the water is likely to run, any loose material is very objectionable, since it runs to the low places. The best material for Walks, all things considered, is cement, or what is called artificial stone. If well made, it is as durable as flagging, and is not so likely to get out of place. It holds its surface perfectly year after year.
The only objection to cement Walks is when they are more or less temporary, for in such cases they cannot be moved. There is often very serious difficulty in securing good cement Walks, but the difficulties are easily overcome. They are chiefly two: there is not sufficient draining material beneath the cement; and the cement itself is not made strong enough. There should be at least a foot of loose material, as brickbats or cinders, below the cement cover; and if the place is low and likely to hold water, there should be still greater drainage. Pound the material down, or let it stand for some time until it becomes thoroughly settled together. Then lay the cement in two courses. The first course may be three or four inches thick and made of well mixed mortar, comprising three parts Portland cement, one part water lime, and two to three times as much sharp sand as Portland. When this has become partially hardened, but before it is set and while still moist, put on a finishing layer of one inch, made of one part Portland cement, one part water lime, and one part sharp sand. It is important that the materials be very thoroughly mixed. See that the edges of the walk are made square and true by laying down a form of boards lengthwise the area before the cement is put on. The edges should be as thick as the middle, for a thin crust on the edge tends to snap off. A walk made in this way on a well-drained foundation will last almost indefinitely. It is best that it be made in such season that it can become thoroughly set before frosty weather comes.
Wallflower. A favorite plant for pots or garden, having a clove-like fragrance. Seed of most varieties should be sown the year before wanted. One kind, being an annual, will flower the same season the seed is sown. Hardy. Two to 3 feet.
Washing orchard trees is an old practice. It usually results in making a tree more vigorous. One reason is that it destroys insects and fungi which lodge underneath the bark; but probably the chief reason is that it softens the bark and allows the trunk to expand. It is possible, also, that the potash from the soap or lye eventually passes into the ground and affords some plant-food. Trees are ordinarily Washed with soap suds or with a lye solution. The material is usually applied with an old broom or a stiff brush. The scrubbing of the tree is perhaps nearly or quite as beneficial as the application of the wash itself.
It is customary to wash trees late in spring or early in summer, and again in the fall, with the idea that such Washing destroys the eggs and the young of borers. It no doubt will destroy borers if they are just getting a start, but it will not keep away the insects which lay the eggs, and will not destroy the borers which have found their way underneath the bark. It is perhaps quite as well to wash the trees very early in the spring, when they are starting into growth. It is an old practice to wash trees with strong lye when they are affected with the oyster-shell bark louse. The modern method of treating these pests, however, is to spray with some kerosene compound when the young growth is starting, for at that time the young insects are migrating to the new wood and they are very easily destroyed.
Watering House Plants. It is impossible to give rules for the Watering of plants. Conditions that hold with one grower are different from those of another. Advice must be general. Give one good Watering at the time of potting, after which no water should be given until the plants really need it. If, on tapping the pot, it gives out a clear ring, it is an indication that water is needed. In the case of a soft-wooded plant, just before the leaves begin to show signs of wilt, is the time for Watering. When plants are taken up from the ground, or when plants have their roots cut back in repotting, gardeners rely, after the first copious Watering, on syringing the tops of the plants two or three times each day, until a new root-growth has started, Watering at the roots only when absolutely necessary. Plants that have been potted into larger pots will grow without the extra attention of syringing, but those from the borders, that have had their roots mutilated or shortened, should be placed in a cool, shady spot and be syringed often. One soon becomes familiar with the wants of individual plants, and can judge closely as to need of water. All soft-wooded plants with a large leaf-surface need more water than hard-wooded plants, and a plant in luxuriant growth of any kind more than a plant that has been cut back or become defoliated. When plants are grown in living-rooms, moisture must be supplied from some source, and if no arrangement has been made for having a moist air the plants should be syringed often. [See Syringing.]