They require good, rich
earth, with about one-fifth sand ; liquid manure once a week will
greatly encourage their growth. If the plants drop their leaves, gra-
dually cease watering, then put them to rest for the winter, and in
spring they will sprout again, much benefited for the season of rest.
Certain varieties of fuchsias are good winter bloomers and are all
excellent window plants. They are voracious feeders, however, and
will not thrive upon the same diet as geraniums will. A liberal quantity
of well-decayed manure must be given them. They are very fond of
sulphate of iron, and some people put rusty nails in the earth they are
grown in.
Fuchsias for winter blooming must be put through a course of train-
ing in the summer, by pinching off the flowers as fast as they appear.
The varieties called Speciosa and Lustre are the best.
GERANIUMS
Geraniums are very easy to cultivate if properly managed. To begin
with, about midsummer, and so along up to the last of October, obtain
young, healthy cuttings. To root them successfully, take coarse, clean
sand, about three inches in depth, insert the cuttings about one to one
and a half inches therein, press the sand firmly around them, and water
freely at first ; afterwards only water sparingly, and, as soon as they
commence to grow, pinch back to make them stocky, or throw out
branches ; for, if left to grow of their own accord or will, you will have
plants very awkward in appearance. Pot them now in two-inch pots,
using soil made up of two-thirds garden soil, one-third leaf mold, and
a little sand to keep it porous. In the autumn, change them into
three-inch pots, and get them into the windows before fires are made,
and thereby acclimatize them. Geraniums treated in this way will
GERANIUMS. HI
bloom about the 1st of January, if in a sunny window, and continue to
bloom all winter.
Sometimes the leaves turn yellow and black. This is a sign they are
having too much water.
In summer they should be bedded out, and the garden will be a mass
of bloom until frost. Start new plants each year, for it is the young
wood that is depended upon for bloom.
Geraniums are very easily grown from seed. Sow in very sandy soil
at almost any time — in-doors, of course— and, as soon as the seedlings
can be handled, pot off into smallest-size pots.
Keep them growing on until the roots show through the hole in the
bottom, then shift into next size. In this they will bloom.
The leaves are distinguished as follows : Ivy-leaved, zonal, sweet-
scented, and fine-flowered. Of the ivy-leaved the bronzy-red leaf, with
a golden edge, makes a showy vine for a hanging basket. Of the zonal
or horse-shoe variety, Happy Thought is odd looking, having a dark
green leaf with a gold-colored center. In tri-colors, Madame Pollock,
Lady Cullen and sunset are very pretty. The sweet-scented are best
known of all, and are beautiful for a bouquet. The lemon and nut-
meg have miniature foliage. The rose has a large, finely-cut leaf and
deflbate scent. Some of the dwarf varieties have flowers as large as
large plants. The flowers are in every shade of scarlet, crimson, orange,
white, pink and rose. Cold does not easily affect them.
Page 98
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
They require good, rich earth, with about one-fifth sand ; liquid manure once a week will greatly encourage their growth. If the plants drop their leaves, gradually cease watering, then put them to rest for the winter, and in spring they will sprout again, much benefited for the season of rest.
Certain varieties of fuchsias are good winter bloomers and are all excellent window plants. They are voracious feeders, however, and will not thrive upon the same diet as geraniums will. A liberal quantity of well-decayed manure must be given them. They are very fond of sulphate of iron, and some people put rusty nails in the earth they are grown in.
Fuchsias for winter blooming must be put through a course of training in the summer, by pinching off the flowers as fast as they appear. The varieties called Speciosa and Lustre are the best.
GERANIUMS
Geraniums are very easy to cultivate if properly managed. To begin with, about midsummer, and so along up to the last of October, obtain young, healthy cuttings. To root them successfully, take coarse, clean sand, about three inches in depth, insert the cuttings about one to one and a half inches therein, press the sand firmly around them, and water freely at first ; afterwards only water sparingly, and, as soon as they commence to grow, pinch back to make them stocky, or throw out branches ; for, if left to grow of their own accord or will, you will have plants very awkward in appearance. Pot them now in two-inch pots, using soil made up of two-thirds garden soil, one-third leaf mold, and a little sand to keep it porous. In the autumn, change them into three-inch pots, and get them into the windows before fires are made, and thereby acclimatize them. Geraniums treated in this way will
GERANIUMS. HI
bloom about the 1st of January, if in a sunny window, and continue to bloom all winter.
Sometimes the leaves turn yellow and black. This is a sign they are having too much water.
In summer they should be bedded out, and the garden will be a mass of bloom until frost. Start new plants each year, for it is the young wood that is depended upon for bloom.
Geraniums are very easily grown from seed. Sow in very sandy soil at almost any time — in-doors, of course— and, as soon as the seedlings can be handled, pot off into smallest-size pots.
Keep them growing on until the roots show through the hole in the bottom, then shift into next size. In this they will bloom.
The leaves are distinguished as follows : Ivy-leaved, zonal, sweetscented, and fine-flowered. Of the ivy-leaved the bronzy-red leaf, with a golden edge, makes a showy vine for a hanging basket. Of the zonal or horse-shoe variety, Happy Thought is odd looking, having a dark green leaf with a gold-colored center. In tri-colors, Madame Pollock, Lady Cullen and sunset are very pretty. The sweet-scented are best known of all, and are beautiful for a bouquet. The lemon and nutmeg have miniature foliage. The rose has a large, finely-cut leaf and deflbate scent. Some of the dwarf varieties have flowers as large as large plants. The flowers are in every shade of scarlet, crimson, orange, white, pink and rose. Cold does not easily affect them.