Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/279

Rh be safe; house tender subjects that are likely to suffer from wind and rain. Pot a few bulbs for early bloom. Ornithogalum, lachenalia, ixia, and sparaxis force well, and narcissus bulbocodium will be useful if kept in ordinary greenhouse temperature for early bloom.

.&mdash;House at once whatever is to be wintered under glass. Remove the shading, give plenty of air, and whenever green fly or thrips appear, resort to effectual methods at once, and much future annoyance will be saved. Plants that are to bloom during the winter should have the best place as to warmth. Give plenty of air, day and night, and remove the shading, so as to let in all the sunshine that can be had. Avoid making up fires; but when it becomes necessary to do so, make a brisk fire, so as to dry the house and promote a current of air; otherwise, push nothing into growth more than may be needful to ensure vigorous health and plenty of stamina. Chrysanthemums will now keep the house gay for a while, and, as they go off, fuchsias and geraniums, from summer cuttings, may be got into bloom by giving the plants good places and shelter from draughts. If mildew appears, use flower of sulphur; for green fly, tobacco smoke. If aphides get possession of the tender crowns of cinerarias and fairy roses, and smoke fails to dislodge them, turn the plants upside-down into weak tobacco-water, and then lay them on their sides, and syringe them well with soft tepid water.

.&mdash;There is great danger of overcrowding the plants newly housed, owing to the numbers that are propagated during summer. It would be better even to destroy surplus stock than to spoil a whole collection by cramming too many plants into a limited space. Give plenty of air, but guard against sudden night frosts. Withhold water as much as possible, to induce a state of rest in the plants, but allow nothing to get dust-dry, for that is an injury to the tender roots, on which the plant has to depend in a great measure to sustain itself. The first frost is generally severe; if by accident any plants get caught by it, keep them shaded, and occasionally sprinkled with cold water, but remove the shade as soon as they show signs of recovery. Fuchsias, late-struck geraniums, salvias, camellias, begonias, and chrysanthemums will now contribute greatly to the gaiety of the conservatory.