GIFT OF
Prof . E . J . U i ckson

MAIN

DITFT

STUDY TABLE AND WINDOW NUMBER ONE.

[Frontispiece.]

inter Greeneries

AT HOME.

BY

EDWIN A. JOHNSON, D. D.,

\ ^

AUTHOR OP " HALF HOTTR STUDIES OF LIFB," " THE LIVE BOY," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED.

NEW YORK-

OKANGE JUDD COMPANY,

245 BRO ADWA Y.

J

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by the

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

CONTENTS.

Preface...

CHAPTER I.
PLANTS AS COMPANIONS.

The Story of Picciola.— Its Lesson 9

CHAPTER II.
THE NEW EDEN.

The Living Room. — The Climate. — Openings Skyward. — What
More ? — A Simple Specimen 15

CHAPTER III.
SUITABLE PLANTS.

The Differences. — General Hints. — Selections for Situations 30

CHAPTER IV.
PROPER TREATMENT.

The Proper Soil.— Suitable Pots.— Their Management.— Regulating
the Rain 42

CHAPTER V.

PROPER TREATMENT — CONTINUED.

Heat, Light, and Air.— Protection and Rescue.— Insects.— Inanimate
Dust.— Worms.— Disease and Decline.— Frozen Plants 53

CHAPTER VI.
WINTER BLOOM.

The "Bloomers."— Special Treatment.— Liquid Fertilizers.— Care of
the Flowers 63

CHAPTER VII.
FURNISHING AND FIXING.

The Garden-Box. — Various Vases. — Hanging Baskets. — Side
Brackets 78

CHAPTER VIII.
FURNISHING AND FIXING — CONTINUED.

Supports and Shapes. — Natural Training. — Ward! an Cases 86

CHAPTER IX.
PROPAGATION OP PLANTS.

Plants from Cuttings.— Seeds and Seedlings.— Plants by Mail 94

CHAPTER X.

ET CETERA.

Use of the Cellar. — Substitutes for Pots. — An Outside Question. —
The Children's Share 4* ••

5

P E E F A C E.

My Dear Uncle :

A few of us girls — they call us " young ladies," but I like girls,
and we are only young girls — have been trying to keep plants in
our rooms through the winter. We are Rose and Lilly Rich-
mond, Mary Miner, Jennie Weeks, Daisy Burritt, and myself.

We began last winter in a small way, and made rather sorry
work of it. So many of our plants either died outright, or just
lingered along like invalids. But a few did tolerably well ; so we
are not entirely discouraged, and we are not going to give it up
yet. We have no trouble with our pets in summer time ; it is all
in winter. Oh, if we only had a greenhouse ! But that's out of
the question.

I know well enough that we need help. We have tried to get it
from books; but the few that we have seen have a great deal
more to say for outside gardens and rich men's conservatories
than for our poor little greeneries. We have questioned Judge
Kent's gardener, and have found out some things from him ; but
he has never tried plants in rooms like ours, except to bring them
in for a little while from the greenhouse ; and so he can't tell us
exactly what we want to know. All our friends who try to keep
plants through the winter are but little, if any, better off than we
are. We have frequently compared notes with them, and, of
course, have gained a little ; but it is, oh, so very little !

But now we begin to have hope. Before Aunt Mina left us last
week (what a delightful visit we have had with her !) she told us
about some of your experiments, and how much interested you are
in all such small attempts at floriculture. You didn't " profess to
be a florist," she said, but she was sure that you could tell us many
of the very things we need to know ; and she thought you would
be willing to write us a few plain letters about our plants, but I
must write first, and ask you.

So, now, please do ! That's a dear, good uncle. Tell us all
about that embowered study of yours. How I wish we could see
7

yill PREFACE.

it. Write as many letters as ever you can, and tell us anything,
everything; for we are fearfully ignorant in floriculture — little
better, in fact, than " babes in the woods."

Rose and Lilly say : " Won't it be nice to have such instruction-
plain and familiar, &n& just for •MS, you know."

So say all your humble petitioners ; and we promise to be very
faithful disciples, too. I am sure one of the most grateful will be
Your affectionate niece, FLORA.

Whether the letters written in response to the forego-
ing fully met the glowing expectations of Flora and her
friends, or not, they seem to have found a very cordial
appreciation, and to have been of some real service. Of
which fact no better proof could be given than the unan-
imous request of the fair florists, that they be put into
book-form :

" So that each of us can have a copy, and anybody else
that wants one ; and as they have helped us, why will
they not help other girls, too ? "

Of course there could be but one answer to such an
appeal — the publisher consenting.

Accordingly, the letters, having been pruned of mere
appendages, and somewhat enlarged, now form the chap-
ters of this unpretentious book. Is any apology needed
for allowing it to retain the freedom of a private corre-
spondence ? The author ventures to hope that, with
such familiarity of style, it may prove to be only the more
acceptable, and that, as a simple primer of floriculture, it
may afford to the " girls," in many happy homes, some
encouragement in the first care of their " Winter Green-
eries." E. A. J.

ALLEGHENY CITY, PA., 1878.

WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME,

CHAPTER I.
PLANTS AS COMPANIONS.

>AVE you ever read the charming little story
called "Picciola" ? (Pronounced Pet-chee-
o-la.) No? Then there is something for you
to do afc the very first opportunity. If you
answer yes, I think it altogether probable that
you haye not forgotten the part of the singular
heroine. However, let me remind you.

Count Charney, a proud, misanthropic, and atheistical
philosopher, is detected in some political conspiracy
against the first Napoleon, and is thrown into the fortress
of Fenestrella, one of the prisons of State. Here he is
confined in a bare and gloomy chamber, cut off from all
communication with the outside world, with no attend-
ant but his jailer ; no books, pens, or paper ; no employ-
ment whatever but thinking his own bitter thoughts,
writing with charcoal on the walls, or carving fantastic
designs on his table. One privilege alone is allowed ; for
two hours each day, in favorable weather, he may walk
under the sky in the small paved court of the prison.
After long months of such solitary confinement, he is
9

IP c , ^IKTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

one day pacing this court, when he happens to notice a
slight upheaval of earth between the stones of the pave-
ment, and on examination finds a small plant pushing its
way upward. This is "Picciola" — la pauvre picciola,
" the poor little thing," as the kind-hearted jailer calls it.
Perhaps it is only a " Gilly-flower," but it brings a won-
derful relief to the prisoner. It becomes his care and
study, his companion and instructor, and finally the
means of his deliverance from both skepticism and prison,
and of his marriage to a far higher ' ' Picciola. "

A delightful story of — love ? Let us say of very hum-
ble, but successful floriculture — of floriculture under the
most unfavorable circumstances, and yet with the hap-
piest results. To say the least, it is a touching picture
of companionship between a lower and a higher form of
life — the plant and the man.

Can you for the moment put yourselves in the place
of the prisoner of Fenestrella, and really understand the
subtle charm of his mute companion ? How it stole into
his heart, beguiled his hours, changed his fortunes !
And yet nothing seems exaggerated, or in any respect
improbable. The story describes only the natural pro-
gress and the very possible results of the plant's influence
on one in the peculiar circumstances of the Count.

Happily, you have no such need of it as he ; though I
have heard of young ladies who were quite as much at a
loss for something agreeable to do during the cold,
stormy days of winter. Their in-door sources of enjoy-
ment were so scanty that — on their own testimony, it is
said — home seemed to them almost a prison. What a
pity!

But, for any one, winter is itself a sort of prison at the
best. It may not confine you to the house, or really
diminish your home delights, but for long months it
sternly interposes its icy barriers between you and all the
verdure of gardens and fields and woods. Under such

PLANTS AS COMPANIONS. 11

circumstances who does not feel the blessed influence of
some rescued bit of summer, some "Picciola" sheltered
in the home. It may be only a pot of Ivy, or a feeble
" Gilly-flower," but it is something green and growing
in the midst of wintry bleakn-ess and desolation. It
bears a message from the once verdant fields, speaking of
life and sunshine, of nature and God. It may do a work
not unlike that of the prison plant. And many there are
who need its service nearly as much as the Count of
Charney ; not perhaps to furnish employment, or to
correct error, but to soothe, cheer, and refine by the in-
fluence of a most gentle companionship.

But I hear you ask : "Why did not he get such ser-
vice before, while in possession of his yast estates ? "

That question goes deeper into the mysteries of human
life than perhaps you are aware. Who can say that it
was not an overruling Providence that brought the proud
atheist to bend before the humble plant, and there sur-
render his unbelief ? Only in the confinement and sol-
itude of the prison would he be likely to notice it at all,
or be in any proper condition to accept its lessons. It
was by the very stress of circumstances that teacher and
learner came so near together that instruction could be
given and received.

And is it not so to some extent with you ? Though
you are not the victims of such misanthropy and atheism,
yet, like the Count, you may learn many wonderful
things from one little plant, and are most likely to do so
in winter time, with the plant for a companion.

" If our plants would only grow like his," do you say ?

Well, yes, that is important. Poor companions, they
that never grow at all in any sense. But you have a
much better place for yours than the crevice of an ex-
posed pavement, and need not be discouraged.

" But how did he succeed so well ? "

I think he would tell you, if he could, that it was because

12 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

he loved "Picciola." His sympathy with the plant, im-
prisoned like himself, soon grew into an affectionate at-
tachment, and his awakened curiosity became a deep and
intelligent interest. He studied the little plant until he
could interpret its language, understand its needs, feel
the charm of its beauty, and read its marvelous designs —
proofs of a great Designer. So he became its pupil,
friend, and guardian. Is it any wonder that " Picciola"
grew and bloomed under such loving care ? Was not
that the true secret of the Count's success ?

You ask me to tell you how to treat your plants. Ask
them, also, and they will tell you in some particulars, at
least, and much more to the point than any words of
mine.

Such wide-awake observers as you must have noticed
how your plants talk through their most sensitive organs.
When the leaves wilt and droop, they say in the plainest
kind of English : " Water ! water ! " Their curling and
shrinking calls upon you to save them from ravenous lit-
tle insects. If they^i'ade and fall, they admonish you
that something is'wrong, and needs your attention, per-
haps at the roots. If you give them a bath when stained
and dusty, how fresh and bright their thanks. How
lovingly they turn to the light, and rejoice in the sun-
shine ! You yourselves could not say more plainly than
they : " It is a beautiful day." And then in their won-
derful structure and growth, how they talk of the great
Provider, of His perfect wisdom and constant care,
reaching even the smallest of His creatures. So " Picci-
ola" talked to Charney, and led him out of bondage and
darkness into liberty and light. So also will your plants
bear you pleasant company if you give them intelligent
heed. It was for the best of reasons that One said :
"Consider the lilies."

Of one thing I am sure — the more you study your
plants, the more will you be interested, pleased, and

PLANTS AS COMPANIONS. 13

profited. As you cultivate them, you will really cultivate
yourselves. Do you ever think of them as being more
than companions, and in some sense your relatives f
Such is the fact, for they have the same wonderful thing
called life. It is in a lower form, but is equally a divine
gift, full of mystery and meaning. Perhaps this accounts
for the sympathy that comes with their acquaintance,
the peculiar interest and charm of their companionship.

This sympathy with nature in all its varied life is well
worth cultivating. It is a most desirable element of
character, as well as a rich source of happiness. It may
be cultivated the whole year round, and does not require
of necessity the costly appointments of a greenhouse.
You are with your plants in the " living-room" much
more than you could be in either greenhouse or garden,
and so have abundant opportunity even in winter time of
becoming acquainted and interested.

In such case, the love of plants will surely grow, as
surely with you as with Charney, or others more like
you. Why, I have seen grave m> n. and venerable ma-
trons become as enthusiastic over their "Picciolas" as
any little boy over his first pair of boots ; and I have al-
ways observed that such persons bear a sort of perpetual
youth — the summer of the heart in the winter of age. Is
not this the result of their interest in all growing life ?

I hardly need say to you that it is a very different thing
to cultivate plants merely for fashion's sake, because it is
accounted "the proper thing to do," or in order to hear
some one say : " Oh ! your plants are so much nicer than
Miss Grundy's." Such a motive as that seems to be
almost a desecration, and certainly it can never have the
rich reward that comes from the true love of " Picciola."

This letter is already long enough for the first, and yet
I can not close it without some reference to the connec-
tion between "Picciola the plant" and "Picciola the
maiden." How natural, poetic, beautiful ! It was fit-

14 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

ting, indeed, that the maiden should supersede the plant,
when the latter had accomplished its mission ; but how
much were both she and the Count indebted to that
" little thing." Is it any wonder that they carefully re-
moved it to the home of their freedom and love, after it
had so happily opened their way to such a home ?

The plant may well be associated with the maiden or
the matron in every home, whether it be cottage or pal-
ace, a prison or a paradise. It would certainly help to
make the brightest abode more attractive, and the drear-
iest more tolerable. Even the man of sternest mould
could not remain wholly insensible to the charms of win-
ter verdure and bloom. And who is so competent a
guardian of such charms as the refined and gentle wo-
man ? Home, as her own peculiar realm, is worthy of
all possible adornment ; and here she may bring into her
service, if not the costly treasures of art, at least the
simple and inexpensive beauties of nature. Whatever
may have been Adam's part in Eden, the work of Eve, it
seems to me, must have been with the smaller plants and
flowers — the "Picciolas" that helped to make her par-
adise.

But you have already learned this lesson of the story,
and of Eden. Proof of it, not only in your own " little
greeneries," but in your very names. What a coinci-
dence ! Rose, Lilly, Daisy, Elora — is there a Viola or
Camellia ? Your love of plants must be directly inher-
ited, if your names were given by your parents. Is there
some resemblance between you and the flowers.? Prob-
ably much more than between the two " Picciolas." At
any rate, you are lineal descendants of the first fair Flor-
ist, and may justly claim the inheritance of plants as
companions.

CHAP TEE II.
THE NEW* EDEK

THE LIVING-BOOM. — THE CLIMATE. — OPENINGS SKYWARD. — WHAT
MOKE ? — A SIMPLE SPECIMEN.

'HE site of the old Eden, they say, is forever
lost. Well, it could be of no possible use to
us now. Were we to find it, we could not
occupy it. Besides, we have each the power to
open a new Eden of our own. The site of that
is the question of present interest. — Where shall
our Eden be ?

THE LIVING-ROOM.

"In the old house at home," of course. The conser-
vatory or greenhouse being " out of the question," as you
say, the only place available is the "living-room" at
home. But a real Eden always means home. It would
be much less than Eden, or none at all, if we could not
live in it. So it is settled that ours must be just where
we are. If, however, there is an opportunity of choosing
between different rooms, we may wejl accept it.

TheTolcfren is ufluii the betsL place to be found, espe-
cially if it is large, and has sunny windows. It is more
likely than other rooms to have an atmosphere charged
with moisture, and frequently changed by the temporary
opening of an outside door, besides being left in darkness
after the work of the day is finished. And does not the
kitchen need to be made more like an Eden than it ordi-
15

16 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

mirily is ? Would not its very necessary and really hon-
orable work be rendered more attractive by the company
of verdure and bloom ?

If the kitchen is not available for our purpose, perhaps
there is a well-lighted chamber, which may be warmed
from the hall or an adjacent room. If it is generally
unoccupied at night, or during the evening, it is so much
the better, and may be made to furnish the most im-
portant conditions required for the cool greenhouse
plants. Next in advantages for such plants is the mod-
erately and evenly heated parlor, and last of all the com-
monly overheated sitting-room. But the last for some
purposes may be the first for others ; and if this room
must resemble a hothouse, it is the best for hothouse
plants.

Whatever ( ' living-room " may be selected, it is doubt-
less not quite so well adapted to our plants as to ourselves.
It is not their natural home within doorsj and they have
no power of helping themselves by going out for a change.
But were not plants and people made to live together,
more or less ? And, in these artificial conditions, can we
not make some compromise which shall be favorable to
both ?

It is an important fact, and one often overlooked, that
for the most part what is good or bad for the plants is
equally so for us. Do they need pure air and abundant
light ? So do we. Do they suffer from the parching
dryness of our rooms ? It is bad for us. Are they choked
with the dust from -our carpets ? How we sympathize
with them. Some tropical plants require a tropical heat,
but our most familiar friends are temperate in their de-
mands— perhaps more temperate than we. On the
whole, we thrive best in just such a condition of our
living-room as is best for our plants ; that is, in as near
an approach as is possible to out-door summer. And
isn't that something like Eden ?

THE NEW EDEN. 17

So the artificial arrangements of our garden are to have
in view the health and comfort of all its occupants alike,
and must follow very closely the larger pattern furnished
by Nature. — . ^

THE CLIMATE.

As it is winter time, our first care is the artiQcial tem-
perature ; and, of course, we need the service of that in-
fallible detective, a good thermometer. I need not tell
you that Jack Frost must be kept out entirely. He
stands ever ready to enter, and his entrance would be as
fatal as that of the " old serpent."

The heating apparatus must, therefore, have the "gift
of continuance. " It may be a furnace, if its air is drawn
from the outside instead of the cellar. An anthracite
(( base-burner" is cheaper, and, if well managed, it never
fails ; but any common stove or grate may be made to
serve our purpose by adding fresh fuel at night, and cov-
ering with coal-slack or ashes.

As a further precaution on very cold nights, the plants
should be drawn back from the windows, or covered with
sheets of newspaper in the form of an inverted sack. If
the covering is closed tightly at the top and sides, it
holds the warm air around the plants for some time,
and the temperature of the room may drop temporarily
even to the freezing point without injury. An ingenious
friend of mine, whose house is rather open, has a light
frame- work closely covered with two or three thicknesses
of paper, into which he puts his plants when necessary,
and so keeps them safe in the coldest nights.

In managing our night temperature, we shall find one
thing in Nature's pattern exactly suited to our conven-
ience. Summer nights are cooler than summer days.
All plants require a lower temperature in darkness than
in light — lower by at least ten degrees. They need rest
as well as we, and this is their way of taking it. So a

18 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

temperature which would be slightly uncomfortable for
us while sitting up, is the better for our plants at night ;
and if we are sure of 45 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit, we may
sleep without fear for their safety.

Perhaps you have noticed another interesting and con-
venient fact. Your rooms, divided in a vertical scale,
have several degrees of latitude. The ceiling inclines
toward the Tropics, and the floor toward the Arctic
Zone. That is to say, the hottest air is at the top, and
the coldest at the bottom. Between the two extremes
there is ordinarily a difference of ten or fifteen degrees of
the thermometer. This difference we shall find to be of
use when we come to fix the regular places of our plants ;
but at present it gives us the hint to guard against freez-
ing at night by lifting them up from the floor.

OPENINGS SKYWARD.

Next in importance to the heating is the lighting of
our garden. Here we shall meet a difficulty which arises
partly from the unfavorable construction of our dwell-
ings, and partly from the bad habits of their owners.

Antiquarians tell us that at some remote period of the
past — since the first Paradise was lost — our ancestors for
many generations were reduced to the extremity of dwell-
ing in dark caves. " Troglodytes" these cave-dwellers
are called ; and if they are not exactly our ancestors,
some of their lineal descendants are still to be found.
Otherwise, how can we account for the fact that so many
people have a strange preference for darkness, and care-
fully exclude from their homes every ray of the blessed
sunlight ? It really does seem to be something in the
blood — a remnant of barbarism transmitted from the
dwellers in caves. At any rate, I am sure that just in
proportion as light enters the mind, it is welcomed to
the home. Besides, how absurd is the very idea of an
Eden without sunshine !

THE HEW EDEH. 19

We must, therefore, have sunshine at any cost ; and
as we have no openings in the ceiling, we must take them
at the sides. I hope your windows do not open due
north, for in that case you are limited in winter to a
comparatively few kinds of plants, and must give up
nearly all hope of bloom. The direct southern, or rather
southeastern, exposure is by far the best ; and next in
order of value are the other points of the compass toward
the east and the west.

If we were to find a large, sunny bay-window, we might
be pardoned for going into raptures at once. It would
have several very decided advantages, furnishing a greater
abundance of light, and from three sides, instead of one,
besides affording the opportunity, if desired, of shutting
off the plants from the main room by curtains or glass
doors, making, in fact, a sort of parlor conservatory.
Certainly there could be no better place in which to plant
our home-made Eden.

But taking the best windows that we have, let us make
the most of them. We can not afford to cover up a sin-
gle square inch of the glass, except with vines.. In their
native homes, the most of our plants are accustomed to
floods of light all day long, and they can not, therefore,
have too much of it with us. If some need less than
others, we can easily find shaded nooks for them after
admitting all the light we can get. So, if there are in-
side shutters, throw them open ; if curtains, roll them
up to the very top. They can be closed again at night,
you know, and will then help to exclude the cold ; but
during the day we must have light from the whole win-
dow, and especially from the part nearest to the sky.
The rays coming through that part are more direct than
from below, and fall upon the plants at the window in a
line more nearly vertical. It is a good thing for plants
as well as people to look upward.

20 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

WHAT MORE?

Sufficient warmta and light having been secured as the
chief and indispensable conditions, the fixtures necessary
for the accommodation of our plants might next be con-
sidered ; but the description of these in detail I must re-
serve for some future letter. You will find many in-
genious but simple devices, varied enough to utilize all the
space in your windows, and suit the needs of all your
plants. — Stationary or swinging brackets, to be fastened
to the side-casings at different points from the bottom
upward, as high as you can reach, toward the Tropics ;
hanging baskets of either wire and moss, or terra-cotta,
to be suspended from wire loops let down from the cas-
ing, or on a rod fastened across the window from side to
side ; a long, narrow box, filled with plants in pots, to be
kept under the window, etc., etc.

But the completeness of our proposed Eden will de-
pend much more upon its occupants than its furniture.
If the plants are suited to the place, and properly treated,
they will grow and thrive to such an extent as quite to
eclipse their fixtures, whether cheap or costly. It is this
luxuriance and beauty, on their part, that brings the
thought of Eden, and justifies the name ; and, on our
part, is it not the appropriate character and tastes 9 With
these, then, we may hope for complete success.

A SIMPLE SPECIMEN.

Do you wonder how this Eden will look when planted
and put in order ? You ask me to tell you about the one
in which I write, "all about that embowered study" of
mine. If I am to do it at all, perhaps this is the time ; but
an Eden must be seen and enjoyed rather than described.
However, since you can not see it now, and because it is
not elaborate and expensive, but is very simple, and easily
made, I make an attempt at its description.

THE NEW EDEN. 21

The heating apparatus is an anthracite "base-burner,"
which has served me faithfully for a dozen winters. At
small expense, and with little attention, it keeps a mod-
erate and steady heat night and day, without a moment's
intermission, from December to May. It can be regu-
lated by dampers and drafts to a higher or lower point of
heat, and there it holds for many hours, until the draft
is changed.

Shall I tell you one of my conceits ? This stove has
seemed to me to be the type of a most excellent character
for ourselves — steady-going and ever faithful, regulated
by principle rather than impulse, never cold, and never
over-hot, but always giving forth a useful heat from a
warm heart. Of course, I consider a stove of such quali-
ties an indispensable and most worthy servant in my lit-
tle Eden.

The "embowered study," as you call it, is on the sec-
ond floor, and extends over the parlor below, and also,
in its front half, over the lower hall. The part over the
hall, instead of being a room by itself, as in many houses,
takes the form of an alcove, T\hich opens into the main
part under a corniced arch extending across its entire
width. The three front windows have an exposure a
little south of west — not the best, you see ; but they
have one pane of glass to each sash, and reach nearly to
the ceiling, which is eleven feet high, and this is some
compensation. The room is thus well opened to the sky,
and has a great abundance of light.

As the rear of the room is given up to books, I have to
describe only these front windows, and will take them in
order, beginning at the left. Perhaps the accompanying
sketches (figures 1 to 5), despite their unavoidable im-
perfections, may afford some aid to my words and your
imagination.

Let us first look at window number one, the sketch of
which a fancy of the publishers has caused to be used as

22 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

a frontispiece, thus conferring upon it now the honor of
beginning the book.

\Vell — directly in front of window number one, and
three feet distant from it, stands my study table. On the
corners toward the window are fixed two posts about the
length and size of broomsticks, and another near the
center of the table. These are connected at the top by
semi-circular pieces of stout wire, thus making a frame-
work in the form of an arched concave niche, opening
toward the window. From the center of the arch is
suspended a " mother-of-pearl " shell, containing a
"drooper" — Tradescantia vittata. On the table within
the niche are placed eight pots of Ivy — Hedera — each
containing a distinct variety. These ivy vines entirely
cover the frame-work, and pass in graceful festoons from
the top of the arch upward and over to the top of the
window, and thence downward and around two large wire
hoops, which are arranged like the figure 8, and are sus-
pended near the glass. Within the lower hoop lianas a
cocoannt, containing the delicate-leaved Mahernia odor-
ata (of the catalogues, but properly M. Verticillafa) ,
which is in fine contrast to the encircling Ivy. At the side
of the window, next to the wall, are swinging brackets, one
of which holds a hanging basket filled and overflowing
with Lycopodium, and just above it a pot of Isolepis gra-
cilis. If you were now seated in the easy-chair between
the window and the table, you would find it, I think, as
perfect a bower as any summer-garden could furnish.

The middle window, number two, (which is shown
in engraving No. 2,) is entirely different in its plants and
their appointments. At a point as high as I can reach
conveniently is a stout iron rod, which extends horizon-
tally across the window, and curves outward into the
room far enough to keep plants from touching the glass,
and to allow free play for the inside "panel shutters."
On this rod, at the center, I have a small vine in a shell,

THE NEW EDEN.

Fig. 2. — WINDOW NUMBER TWO AND PART OF ARCH.

24 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

and, near the sides, large hanging baskets, or basins, of
terra-cotta, filled with vines, which grow upward and
downward in dense masses. One of these vines is a F-icus
repens, exceedingly beautiful and flourishing. At the
center of the window, between the two hanging baskets,
but farther out in the room, is a large wooden vase about
thirty inches high, and fitted with casters. This holds
a small pot of variegated Ivy, which droops over toward
the window and covers the vase, and also a large pot of
the dark green small-leaved variety — Hedera gracilis.
From this large pot a light frame-work of wire is carried
up about four feet, somewhat in the shape of a balloon,
or the longitudinal section of a balloon, with the convex
side toward the window. On this the vine is trained so
as to form a close mass of foliage, the most beautiful of
window-screens. On the floor, close to the window, are
two terra-cotta vases, sixteen inches high, containing tall
Callas, nearly ready to bloom ; and between them is
another having an Ardisia crenulata.

Window number three (shown in engraving No. 3)
looks out to the sky from the alcove. The whole side of
it next to the wall, as will be seen by the sketch, is cov-
ered with vines climbing or trailing from pots fixed on
swinging and stationary brackets. At the center are two
hanging baskets, one directly below the other and at-
tached to it. The upper one contains the delicate Lina-
ria Cymbalaria, and the lower one the broad-leaved Be-
gonia manicata. Further to the left is another hanging
pot, filled with Hoya carnosa, or Wax-plant. At the
bottom of the window is a low, narrow bench, or table,
fitted with casters, and made to support a garden bed.
This is a box four or five feet long, twenty inches wide,
and six inches deep, with an inch of sand on the bottom,
and the top just even with the window-sill. It is filled
with plants in pots ; several exotic ferns at the shady
end, such as the Dicksonia antarctica and Pteris ser-

THE NEW EDEX.

. 3. — WINDOW NUMBER THREE, WITHIN THE ALCOVE.

26 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

rulata; then a flourishing Ficus clastica, or India-rub-
ber tree ; a line palm, Latania Borbonica, at the center ;
a Passiflora ccerulea, Myrtus communis, Euonymus,
Carnations, and other small plants "too numerous to
mention." No garden bed in summer ever looked more
fresh and inviting.

The alcove arch, before mentioned, springs from the
front wall at a point midway between the windows num-
ber two and three, and has a span of seven or eight feet;
this is shown in figure 4. Under this arch, at the end
farthest from the windows, is a quartette stand, holding
at its center a globe-shaped Ivy, and at its ends two large-
leaved Ivies exactly alike and of luxuriant growth. These
pass up along the arch to its highest point, and thence in
long sweeping curves on each side to the windows, where
they will have further growth around wire forms. Within
the alcove, the wall opposite the window is well covered
with ivy vines, which encircle a copy of one of Baphael's
(( Cartoons," and grow from a pot on a black walnut
bracket near the floor. In the corner, on another bracket,
is a climbing fern, the Lygodium scandens; and midway
between this and the window, several very delicate vines
are suspended under an engraving, around which part of
them are trained. A view of the rear wall of the alcove is
given in figure 5. With vines thus covering the walls,
and hanging in festoons overhead, this alcove is itself a
very -complete "greenery" and bower.

Probably you notice the absence of several things which
you would like — a bird-cage, for instance, or a small
aquarium containing water-plants and gold-fish. How
easily they might be added, and worthily too!

One piece of additional furniture I have promised my-
self in the near future, namely, a " Wardian Case," some-
times called a "Fernery." This is especially desirable
for plants which require a moister atmosphere than would
be good for books, or pleasant in a living-room. As a

1?HE HEW EDEN,

Fig. 4.— THE ALCOVE AND ARCH,

28 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

close glass cover for plants, it affords some of the advan-
tages of a greenhouse. But " the world was not made in
a day," and my bower, like yours, will doubtless improve
with time.

The almost entire absence of bloom arises partly from
not having a southern exposure, partly from the use of
gas-light at night, even though it is shaded, and partly
from the fact that Roses and most winter-flowering plants
require rather more attention than I now find it conven-
ient to give. Before spring, the deficiency will be sup-
plied to some extent by adding a few Hyacinths in pots,
and other easy bloomers ; and much more might be done
with a little labor and expense.

But taking the room just as it is, let me assure you that
it harbors no manner of discontent. That, you know,
would be altogether out of keeping with the place. The
foliage itself is so fresh and abundant, and much of it so
varied and ornamental in shape and tint, as to be no small
compensation for any lack of bloom. With the afternoon
sunshine to glorify and fill the place, and with a still
brighter sunshine in our hearts, Almina Eve and myself
find no difficulty in making our summer last all the year.
Both of us most heartily wish you each an equally happy
Eden.

THE NEW EDEN.

Fig. 5. — SIDE OF ALCOVE OPPOSITE WINDOW NUMBER THREE.

CHAPTER III.

SUITABLE PLANTS.

THE DIFFERENCES. — GENERAL HINTS. — SELECTIONS FOR SITUATIONS.

.OU remember that the planting of the old
Eden was already finished when the gardeners
took possession. It had been done by One who
could make no mistakes, who put there only such
plants as were sure to flourish under proper
treatment. That certainly was of great advantage
to the primitive florists as mere beginners. It left with
them no such question as we have now to consider. It
relieved them entirely from the necessity of selecting and
experimenting under perplexing uncertainties. They
could go to work at once with the assurance that their
failures could come only from some mistake in the " dress-
ing and keeping" — never from having the wrong plant in
the wrong place.

What a help such an assurance would be to us. It
might not be best for us, all things considered, but it
would certainly simplify the problem presented by the fail-
ures which have led you to ask from me these letters. In
that case, I might dispense with this letter altogether, and
proceed at once to the question of proper treatment. But
remembering my own early failures, as well as some later
ones, I feel very sure that yours have arisen, in part at
least, from an injudicious selection of your plants. Let
us see.
30

SUITABLE PLANTS. 31

THE DIFFERENCES.

" A few did tolerably well," you say, " but many died
outright, or just lingered along like invalids."

What a pitiful sight is this lingering and dying. How
much it detracts from the pleasure of keeping plants in
your rooms during the winter. Many persons give up the
attempt altogether, rather than watch disconsolately the
daily languishing of their pets. I am glad that you
have had enough of success to save you from such utter
discouragement.

But why did not all your plants prosper alike ? What-
ever fault there may have been in the treatment, you gave
them all alike the best you then knew how to give, and
yet the results were widely different. " A few did toler-
ably well" — neither died nor became invalids. If you
had taken only those few at the beginning, you would
have had no failure at all ; and on making another trial you
would doubtless regard them as suitable plants. As for
the others, the presumption is that they were the victims
of unfavorable circumstances. You may take to your-
selves the consoling reflection that probably, with some of
them at least, no one could have done any better — that
they could not have been made to nourish in your rooms
by any possible art or skill. As the event seems to have
proved, they were not exactly suitable. This difference
of results in your first experiments with even a few plants,
points to some unexplained difference in the plants them-
selves, by virtue of which some may be called suitable
and others unsuitable.

Looking now a little further, we come to the broad fact
which lies at the very foundation of floriculture, namely,
the vast variety of nature and need among plants. As you
know already, some live and others die in the same situa-
tion. Of course there is a reason for this. Habits and
wants belong only to things having some kind of life, and

32 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

must be duly provided for in order to the support of that
life. But in respect to their habits and wants, plants differ
very greatly. Some grow as standards, others as climb-
ers, or creepers, or droopers. All alike require light, heat,
and moisture, but in very different degrees. In their
natural situations, all these differences are fully provided
for ; the places are as varied as the plants themselves. In
every latitude, or degree of heat ; in forest-shades, or the
broadest sunlight ; in and under water, or at its margin ;
in rich, deep alluvial soil, in the crevices of naked
rocks, or on dry and barren sands — everywhere, plants are
found in natural conditions perfectly suited to their habits
and demands.

Now, these are the plants which for the most part are
cultivated in greenhouses. Almost every desirable species
has its representatives, coming from all around the world.
As their habits and wants are unchanged, you can see that
their new and artificial conditions must be made to con-
form as nearly as possible to their original natural situa-
tions. If you were to visit any extensive collection, you
would probably find many separate greenhouses with
marked differences of light, heat, and moisture. The one
problem of the florist is to make the places suit the plants;
and just as he is able to do this he succeeds.

But with us in our "little greeneries," the problem is
somewhat different, while the end in view is the same, that
is, success in having only healthy and flourishing plants.
We must take such rooms as we have, and of course
can not alter them to supply all the varied conditions re-
quired by widely different plants. Besides, our several
rooms are likely to have very considerable differences in
regard to exposure, temperature, etc. But whatever they
may be, they are our only places for plants. Our problem
is therefore a much narrower and simpler one than
that of the florist, namely, the selection of plants to suit
the place. That is to say, we must confine ourselves to a

SUITABLE PLANTS. 33

much smaller variety, and take only those plants to
which we can give something like their natural conditions.

So, you see, it will not do to select any plants we may
happen to "fancy," as we read about them in the cata-
logues of the florists, or see them temptingly displayed on
the market-stands or in greenhouses. Many of them
charm us by their wonderful beauty, and seem exceed-
ingly desirable ; but, alas, they are not for us, unless it be
for a few short days, or weeks at the most. We may take
them only as visitors or temporary guests. In selecting
our permanent companions for the winter, we need such
as can "feel at home" with us, and must decide, not by
appearances, but by character and antecedents — taking
into account their habits and wants, or "previous condi-
tion."

" But this," you will say, " requires a knowledge of the
natural history of plants. "

Very true — to some extent at least — unless you depend
entirely upon other persons to judge for you. But you
would prefer, I am sure, to judge for yourselves if possi-
ble. And the more of such knowledge you have, the
better every way, not only in the selection, but in the care
of your plants.

The information you need may be obtained, in part,
from the common descriptive catalogues of greenhouse
and garden plants ; but much may have to be sought for
diligently in larger volumes, and be rather difficult of at-
tainment. But to you, will not this fact be stimulating,
rather than intimidating ? With your spirit and enter-
prise, the unintelligent and merely mechanical cultivation
of plants would be almost stupid. You might about as
well have " artificials," and be done with it. But these liv-
ing plants are continually appealing to your intelligence
and challenging your skill, while waiting to reward you
with increasing beauty. They keep you constantly sup-
plied with some interesting subject of inquiry, something

34 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

to be followed up and found out sooner or later. "The
pursuit of knowledge," some one has said, " is better than
knowledge itself." In this case, it gives you the habits
and character of interested investigators ; and its very
difficulties enhance the profits. The genuine hunter finds
the keenest zest of his pleasure in the chase, when it is
literally a chase ; but of course he brings down the game.
So will you enjoy the very pursuit of information con-
cerning your plants ; and it may continue as long as you
live.

But the knowledge thus acquired will itself add greatly
to your pleasure in caring for your plants. It will relieve
you of needless anxiety and apprehensions, and give you a
certain sense of power and confidence. It will be some sat-
isfaction to know even their scientific or technical names,
and much more to feel assured of their proper accommoda-
tion in your rooms. And you will be delighted to find
acquaintances beyond home, through all the gardens and
greenhouses around you.

AVife and I have become so much interested in the his-
tory and habits of plants, that we get no small part of our
recreation in going regularly to the greenhouses in the
City Park. Only yesterday our visit there was rewarded by
the sight of several exquisitely beautiful Orchids, and we
are now anticipating the splendid bloom of the Poinsettia
pulcherrima — plants which we could never think of ac-
commodating in our winter greenery. Without doubt,
Judge Kent and his gardener would be glad to give you all
some such share in their greenhouse. People who love
plants themselves, are very likely to take delight in grati-
fying a similar love in others.

But I must not forget that you have only just entered
upon this interesting study of the habits and habitats of
plants. Of course I can not accept your confession of
being " fearfully ignorant in floriculture, and little better
in fact than babes in the woods ; " for have you not already

SUITABLE PLANTS. 35

had the regular first lesson of experience ? And yet, for
the present, you may properly claim the benefit of the
experience of others, especially if they are not so far ad-
vanced beyond you as to be quite out of sight. So I ven-
ture to give you a few suggestions, or

GENERAL HINTS.

1. Reject all plants which have been "forced" into
bloom for the market. This caution would be of more im-
mediate practical importance to you, if you were living
here, where many of the florists cultivate plants for sale,
and bring them to the market-stands in their most attrac-
tive stage. Such plants have been kept in hot-houses in a
condition much like that of midsummer, and having thus
reached the very acme of their growth they must soon
begin to fade. Ignorant of this fact, many persons pur-
chase them, take them home to a lower temperature, and
then complain of their failures. Some of my friends who
had thus become quite discouraged, have now learned the
better way of purchasing from cool greenhouses, and wait-
ing for the bloom.

My own experience on this point I shall never forget.
One of the first plants brought to my study, years ago
when I had a southern exposure, was a Bouvardia, full of
buds just ready to open. How tenderly I cared for it —
watched, waited, and wondered — but not a single floweret
unfolded through all the winter. To use your words, it
"just lingered along like an invalid." With a little read-
ing I soon discovered the cause. In my ignorance I had
obtained the plant from a hot-house where the forcing pro-
cess was used to supply the cut flowers which are sold for
bouquets, wreaths, etc. And I was not then aware that
the Bouvardia naturally requires a higher temperature
than I allowed in my study. Of course one lesson was
enough, and I have since done all the forcing myself.

36 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

2. Take only young, vigorous, and growing plants. If
well rooted before cold weather begins, they are more
likely to endure the inevitable hardships of the season and
situation, and you will have the pleasure of watching
their growth, if not their bloom. Youth and health, you
know, always bear the charm of an unfulfilled promise —
are full of happy anticipations — like yourselves. Besides,
full-grown plants take up more room than you can well
spare; or, if cut back, they present a rather unsightly
appearance. After flowering, they are generally used by
florists for the growth of " cuttings."

3. Give the preference to plants which take little or no
rest during the winter, or have already passed their period
of rest. Some greenhouse perennials grow more or less
continuously, while others make a pause of weeks or
months, as if waiting for " better times." The latter, if
well treated, "hold their own," and many of them are
very desirable for their beauty of foliage. Nearly all may
be expected to start into growth before the winter has
passed. But here and there a plant seems to be very ir-
regular and capricious. For instance, I have a fine pot
of " Smilax " — Myr.nphyllum asparagoides — which has
had a lazy fit of more than ten months; and I was just
ready to throw it out, when its Asparagus-like shoots
once more began to appear. Perhaps it would have done
better in a different room; but it is hardly steady-going
enough for me.

4. Make sure beforehand that your selections are not of
deciduous plants, unless you like the sight of leafless stems.

.Near the beginning of my experiments I barely escaped a
mortifying failure by observing this caution at the last
moment. I was about to purchase for winter use several
attractive but unfamiliar plants which were in full leaf—
among them the " Crape Myrtle" and Ampelopsis VeitcJiii
• — when I happened to ask if they were deciduous. You are
probably aware that many trees, shrubs, and vines drop

SUITABLE PLANTS. 37

their leaves in autumn from habit rather than frost. It
is their way of resting, or going into winter-quarters. Of
course, you will leave all such hibernating plants un-
disturbed out-doors, or in the cellar.

5. Consider the texture of the leaves. As a general
rule you may safely take plants having leaves tough and
leathery like the Hedera, or hard and smooth like the
palm, or the Ficus repens, or merely smooth and lus-
trous like the Begonia manicata. But, unless you have
a " Wardian Case/' beware of the tender-leaved plants, and
especially of such as are fuzzy, like the Primulas and
some varieties of the Begonia Rex. The leaves are vital
organs of the plant, and cannot perform their functions
well except when clean. All the first-mentioned submit
to sponging and drenching with evident delight; but
many of the latter will hardly bear the touch of water,
while the hairs studding their surface catch and hold the
dust of the daily sweeping. So in selecting plants for the
wear and tear of the e very-day room, it is very necessary
to find leaves which are ' ' warranted to wash."

6. Semi-tropical plants are generally to be preferred to
the strictly tropical. Many of the latter, like the Cissus
discolor, and the Tuberose, cannot be expected to nourish
in the moderate day temperature which is most healthful
for us, say of 65 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other
hand, the more hardy plants of temperate regions are likely
to suffer from the heat common in sitting-rooms, and
would do much better in any cool, airy place, free from
frost. You need therefore to take observations determin-
ing the thermal latitude of your respective rooms, and
select accordingly.

7. A few plants, like the ffedera, bear a great deal of
neglect and ill usage, and give admirable lessons in long-
suffering and patience. Of course, they are all the more
capable of responding appreciatively to the better treat-
ment. Let me specially commend them to your favor-

38 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

able notice. Even such careful cultivators as you may
sometimes find advantage in their excellent qualities,
since "accidents will happen." To say the least, it will
be decidedly pleasant, among your many very sensitive
friends, to have a few which will not "feel hurt" by a
little neglect, and have sufficient stamina for "'rough-
ing it " on .occasion.

8. Other things being equal, choose plants which are not
specially noted for their hospitality to insects. You will
find a great difference in this respect, though all plants are
said to be "given to hospitality," and "without grudg-
ing." Some seem to be continually overrun with guests,
having become famous, I suppose, for an excellent larder;
while others refuse nearly all applications for entertain-
ment. As the food of the insects is generally the very
life of the plant, and as you claim this for yourselves, you
can avoid competition with them only by observing this
caution. In any case, you are likely to have opportunity
of studying entomology under the microscope.

9. I suppose that, on the whole, you will prefer plants
which will stand by you winter after winter — the slow-
growing and long-continuing sort. Like old friends, well
tried and true, they have a value peculiar to themselves.
An English Ivy is now growing on my study table for the
tenth winter. It is intimately associated with all these
years of my happy home life, and was part of the time all
the greenery I had. What a blessing and delight it has
been ! But it has become so more and more with every
added year, until it seems now very much like one of the
family. I shall be glad to keep it as long as I live among
the winters.

10. You will find it necessary to guard against the
overstocking of your greeneries, when so many very at-
tractive plants are presented for your choice. Begin with
a few, concerning which you feel very sure, and increase
the number gradually, as you come to a better knowledge

SUITABLE PLANTS. 39

of suitable plants. Half a dozen, well kept and thrifty,
will give you more satisfaction than a score in the con-
dition of invalids. Allow no plant to remain after you
have become convinced that it will not thrive or cannot
adapt itself to the place.

11. Please keep a record of your plants, and in due time
report all that do well, or even "tolerably well." You
may thus contribute your share to the correction and en-
largement of lists of plants suitable for culture at home
in such winter greeneries as yours.

After all these hints, perhaps you will be disappointed
unless I furnish some such lists for you. "Well, as your
experiments have had so recent a beginning, and as some
of your friends may emulate your example and need help
at the very beginning, I venture to suggest, chiefly from
my own experience, but partly on the authority of others,
a few

SELECTIONS FOR SITUATIONS.

As situations differ in respect to heat as well as light, I
append to the name of each plant the degree or degrees of
night temperature generally regarded as most suitable,
with the understanding that about 15 or 20 degrees
higher, according to amount of light, is the best for day-
time. Practically, there may be some variation either
way for both night and day; but you will find these de-
gree-numbers a very safe guide in making selections for
rooms of a given temperature, or for the higher and
lower positions in the room, whatever may be the differ-
ences of situation as to light.

1. Shaded entirely from direct sunlight, whether in a
north window, or on the south-side of east and west win-
dows, a few kinds of plants will "do tolerably well" if
properly treated, such as : Ficus repens, 50° — Ivies
(Hedera),'Uf to 50°— Lobelia, 45°— Madeira Vine, 50°-
Tradescantias, 40° to 50°— Ferns, Pteris Oretica alba

40 WINTER GKEEKEEIES AT HOME.

lineata, and serrulata, and Dicksonia antarctica, 45° to
50° — Achyranthes, 50° — Agaves (Century plant), 45°-—
Begonia manicata, 50° to 55° — Euonymus, 40° to 45° —
Callas, 45° — Myrtus communis (true Myrtle), 45° to 50°
-Lily of the Valley, 45° to 50°— all Hardy Bulbs, 40°
to 50°.

2. A. partly shaded situation, having, say, two hours of
either morning or evening sunshine, is much better than
entire shade for any of the plants in the foregoing list,
and will afford tolerable quarters for several more in the
list next given.

3. In the forenoon sunshine, the whole or greater part
of it — that of the afternoon being somewhat less suitable
— any of the following will have a fair situation, if not
the best: Ficus repens, 50° — Ivies, 40° to 50° — Madeira
Vine, 50° — Agave, 45° — Myrtus communis, 45° to 50° —
Begonia manicata, B. Weltoniensis and B. hybrida multi-
flora, 55° to 60°— Callas, 45°— Hardy Bulbs, 40° to 50°-
Fuchsias, 50°— Lily of the Valley, 45° to 50°— Stevias,
45° — Ardisia crenulata, 45° to 50° — Centaureas, 45°-
Crassulas, 45° — Mahernia odorata (or verticillat(t), 55° to
60° — Linaria Cymbalaria ( Kenilworth Ivy), 55° — Lata-
nia Borbonica (palm), 50° to 55° — Ficus elastica (India
rubber tree), 50° to 55°— Dracenas, 55° to 60°.

4. Full sunshine, in a southern or southeastern expo-
sure, with a temperature five or ten degrees higher than in
shade, is doubtless the best place for nearly all winter flow-
ering plants, such as Koses, 50°— Carnations, 50°— Gera-
niums, 45°— Azaleas, 45° to 50°— Daphnes, 45°— and

.many others [see Chapter VI., "Winter Bloom"], and
also for the following: Cactus, 50°— Coleus, W°—Hoya
carnosa (Wax plant), 50° to Q0°—Passiflora carulea
(Passion flower), 50° — Aucuba Japonica (Golddust
shrub), 45° — Palms, and Orange and Lemon trees, 45°
to 55°.

5. For the Wardian Case, shaded from the rays of the

SUITABLE PLANTS.

41

sun, take: Ferns, nearly all the exotic varieties, 45° to 60°
— Lycopodiums or Selaginellas, 55° — Centradenias, 55°-
Rex Begonias, 55°— Pilea (Artillery-plant). 50°— Drace-
nas, 55° to 60° — G-ymnostachyums, 55° — Peperomias, 55°
— Marantas, Crotons, Caladiums, etc., 60°. Such high
temperature, you will understand, is more easily main-
tained at night in the closed case than in the open room.
An entirely distinct collection — to be kept at a lower tem-
perature— may be made of ferns, mosses, etc., gathered
from our own woods.

This classification is doubtless more or less imperfect,
and could not well be otherwise ; but it will help you to
avoid many of the most common mistakes of beginners.
It embraces a sufficient number of plants for first selections,
at least. Nearly all are " easily managed," and have been
mentioned particularly on that account. But you will
probably need some further advice before you will be able
to give them in all respects the proper treatment. Until
you can do this and prove them otherwise, you may safely
assume that they are suitable plants.

FICUS BEPENS.

CHAPTER IV.

PROPER TREATMENT.

THE PROPER SOIL. — SUITABLE POTS. — THEIR MANAGEMENT. — REGULAT-
ING THE RAIN.

OW we come to actual work, the daily
care of your plants ; and a very pleasant
work it is — having the character more of recrea-
tion than of labor. I take it for granted that
you propose to do it all yourselves, each of you
being sole mistress of her own separate realm.
Otherwise, you will lose much of the charm and most of
the profit of your "winter-greeneries." Every " Picciola"
needs a Charney, and will take a substitute only when
Charney falls sick. In such a case, with any of you,
others of the floral company, will, I am sure, be more
than competent to play the part of the kind-hearted jailer.
I can easily imagine further advantages accruing from
your happy copartnership as friends and florists. What
animated discussions over these letters, as you read them
together! What mysterious consultations, first in one
home and then in another, over the objects of your separ-
ate care, but common interest. Well, I can prophesy
only the happiest results. Long live the friends of flow-
ers ! May you prosper infinitely more than your most
prosperous plants ; and in your best care of them, may you
always find delight in the thought that you are only
42

PEOPER TREATMENT. 43

humble " workers together " with Him who cares for all
His hands have made.

I have said, heretofore, that our plants have a way of ex-
pressing their wants, and thus telling us how to treat
them. But how much they can tell, depends altogether
upon how well we can understand ; and to understand it
all, requires long and patient study and practice. All
that the most accomplished florist knows of the proper
treatment of plants, he has learned from the plants them-
selves, either directly in his own experience, or indirectly
by the experience of others. Only in this way can any one
become a master workman. As we, however, are mere
apprentices to the art, we may be glad, for the present,
to get its rudiments well in hand. So let us begin at
the beginning with

THE PROPER SOIL.

This is a matter of primary importance, because the
soil in the pots is to contain the material, which, when
dissolved in water, becomes the food of the plants. Prob-
ably you know already that plants always take their sus-
tenance in liquid form. Now, if the soil consists wholly
or chiefly of clay, it becomes so compact and hard that
the water can not penetrate to the roots, but runs off be-
tween the "ball" and the pot. We must therefore mix
with the clay sufficient sand to make it porous and open.
But to this mixture we must also add the real or chief
food of the plant, namely, well-rotted manure combined
with leaf-mould from the woods, or with decayed and finely
pulverized sod from a loamy pasture.

As the soil in the pot is comparatively small in quantity,
you can see that it ought to be of a richer quality than
any you would be likely to take up at random from an
ordinary field or garden. A good sandy loam thus taken
will generally answer the purpose, if thoroughly mixed
with an equal or larger part of a compost made of the two

44 WIKTEE GEEENEKIES AT HOME.

kinds of plant-food already mentioned, decayed vegetable
and animal matter.

It is hardly necessary to be very exact in determining
the proportions of this mixture for different plants. In
general, it may be said, soft-stemmed plants require a
somewhat lighter or looser soil than those with hard or
woody stems. Such as grow rapidly and bloom profusely,
like the Fuchsia, should doubtless have a larger propor-
tion of the leaf-mould or manure, perhaps one-half or
more. The Rose certainly needs more clay than the
Cactuses, natives of sandy plains ; and the Ferns seem to
have a special liking for leaf-mould. In taking up any
of the latter, or other plants from the woods, you will
do well to bring the soil in which they have been growing.
So also you may obtain hints as to the best soil for all
plants, by ascertaining their natural conditions.

Great importance was once attached to the proper com-
position of soil for different plants. For instance, it is
said of the weavers of England, that they were noted for
the superiority of the Carnations cultivated in their cot-
tages, and that the secret of their success lay in the use
of this formula : " One-year-old horse-manure, one-half,
and good garden soil, leaf -mould, and coarse sand, each
one-sixth, duly mixed, and exposed all winter to frosts."
You will still find some books and amateur florists very
particular in this matter, insisting upon a specific com-
bination for every distinct class of plants. But Mr.
PETER HENDERSON", the author of several books on flori-
culture, and himself a cultivator of large experience, tells
us that he uses about the same soil — a rich compost of
decayed loamy sod and leaf-mould, or manure — for all
kinds of plants in his numerous greenhouses. So I think
you may safely do the same. At any rate, you can con-
sult with Judge Kent's gardener in any emergency, and
perhaps obtain from him all that you need, already pre-
pared.

PROPER TREATMENT.

45

Having provided the "good ground," we now need

something to hold it.
that of

So the question next in order is

SUITABLE POTS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT.

1. The common earthen pots, unpainted and unglazed,
are by far the best. They have the recommendation of
being cheap, and especially that of being porous. This
quality is very important, because it allows a better drain-
age and ventilation of the soil in the pot — a condition in-
dispensable to many kinds of plants, and especially to such
as are of delicate constitution and habits. You can easily

Fig. 6.— REMOVING THE BALL.

keep these pots looking well by an occasional use of the
sponge, or may set them into larger sizes of the more or-
namental kinds. Let them be accompanied by saucers of
the same material, unless they are to stand in a garden-
box having sand at the bottom.

2. The form of the pots should be — as it commonly is
— that of a truncated cone, or smaller at the bottom
than the top. You will sometimes need to remove the
ball of earth for examination, and can not do it conven-
iently, if at all, with any other form.

3. To remove the ball without disturbing the roots,

46 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

place one hand 011 the top, with the stem hetween the
middle fingers, then invert the pot and tap the edge of it
on the table or box, as in fig. 6. If the ball does not
drop easily into your hand, repeat the tapping at another
point, or loosen the soil from the pot by pouring a little
water around the edge, and waiting a few moments for it
to soak through. It will rarely be necessary to use a case-
knife, running it around the ball, as is sometimes
recommended. With a little practice, you will soon
be able thus to examine the ball, as in fig. 7, put on the
pot and turn it right side up again, without displacing a
spoonful of the soil. And such an examination will often

Fig. 7. — THE BALL REMOVED.

be necessary to make you acquainted with the condition
of the roots, to remove angle- worms, etc.

4. Use in general the smallest pot that will hold the
roots of the plant without crowding.

Nearly all " beginners " make the mistake of taking
the largest pots they can find. They think, I suppose, of
the plants in the open ground as having unlimited room,
and thence infer that the larger the pot-room the
better. But they quite overlook certain other facts.
Plants need air for their roots as well as water. In the
open ground they send their roots along near the surface,

PROPER TREATMENT. 47

or deeper into the soil, according to their need, while
they have the benefit of the hoeing, or the operation of
natural agencies, in loosening and ventilating the soil. In
pots not too large they send their roots by the very short-
est line to the inside surface, where, if the pot is porous,
there is always the needful supply of air. But what
chance of obtaining air have the roots of a small plant in
a large pot or tub set up in the house ? So you see " cir-
cumstances alter cases," and the facts of out-door culture
really favor the in-door use of the smaller pots.

But the rule is amply supported by actual experiments,
as well as by the philosophy of the case. When a florist
has a sickly plant, choice enough to claim his special care,
he puts it into a hospital, or sanitarium, by changing it to
the smallest pot possible, and there it generally recovers.
Even healthy plants show a remarkable difference of
growth between the two conditions. I have before me now,
in a large pot with other plants, but not crowded by them,
an ivy two years old and five inches high. Another of
the same kind and age, has been growing in a small pot,
changed occasionally for the next size larger, until now it
has a length of ten or twelve feet with lateral branches.
In nearly every case where I have heard complaints that
plants would not grow, and have sought out the cause, I
have found some victim of suffocation. So far as my ex-
perience goes, there is no surer way of checking the
growth of any plant kept in the house, than to put it
into a pot so large that the roots can not easily reach its
sides.

5. To pot a plant properly, have the soil moist, but
not wet, the roots naturally extended, and the stem in
about its previous position at the surface. Pack more or
less closely as the plant is hard or soft-stemmed ; but or-
dinarily trust to the settling effect of a smart rap or two,
a slight pressure with the thumbs, and a thorough water-
ing. Leave from half an inch to an inch of pot-room

48 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

above the soil for the reception of water. In re-pot ting,
set the ball in the center with soil enough at the bottom
to bring it to the proper height, and carefully fill the
sides. If the roots are very thickly matted, a gentle pres-
sure of the ball between the hands will loosen them suffi-
ciently.

6. This re-potting consists, as you see, not in the re-
moval of the soil in which the plants have been growing,
except in rare cases when it has become soured or filled
with worms, but simply in the addition of fresh soil
around the ball in a somewhat larger pot. I mention
this, because I have recently heard of a lady who thought
she must give her plants entirely fresh soil every three or
four months. She did so, and then mourned and won-
dered over their untimely demise. But probably you have
had better instructions.

7. Change the pot of a healthy plant only when the
roots begin to form a mat around the outside of the ball,
and then take the next size larger. Ordinarily, the differ-
ence of diameter should not be more than an inch, and
sometimes a half inch is better. I am told that when
florists wish to secure an extraordinary growth, say of a
Fuchsia for exhibition, they do this work of re-potting
frequently, but with the smallest differences of size.
Each shifting, you know, brings fresh new soil to the
plant, and puts it at just the right place, near the venti-
lating pores of the pot.

8. When a plant is to remain for years in trie same
place, so that re-potting would be difficult, as in the case
of an Ivy trained over a frame- work, it may be put at once
into a sufficiently large pot ; but let it be near one side,
rather than at the center. Should fresh soil be needed
after a year or two, put it in place of so much old soil
removed carefully from the top. I have a flourishing Ivy
which has remained in the same eight-inch pot, with but
little other change than this, for ten years. Once in this

PROPER TREATMENT. 40

time, four or five years ago, it received a severe " cutting
back " and a renewal of about two-thirds of the soil ; and
now I hardly know where to find place for its enormous
growth.

9. Soak new pots in water until well saturated, and
never use an old one without first giving it a thorough
cleansing.

10. For the purpose of drainage, with the small pots I
have advised, it will not be necessary to "fill the bot-
toms with bits of charcoal and pottery," as is often recom-
mended. A piece of broken pot laid over the hole in
the bottom will prevent the soil from falling through with-
out hindering drainage there, and the porous sides of
the pot will do the rest.

11. Protect the sides of pots from the full blaze of sun-
shine by some sort of covering, natural or artificial. The
heat of the direct rays is sometimes so intense, even in
winter, as almost to parboil the roots which lie exposed
against the sides. At the top the soil affords protection,
but even this may occasionally need a "mulching" of
moss.

12. If you wish to group together several plants, as in
a large vase or hanging-basket, the best way for your
greeneries is to set them in with the pots, and fill the in-
terspaces with sand or moss. Thus any pot can be easily
lifted out for examination, or replaced by another ; and,
for reasons already given, the plants are much more likely
to flourish, than when embedded together in the usual
way. In my first winter's experiments, I lost several
choice plants by following the fashion, and so have
learned the value 01 the pots.

"But when shall we give the rain ? How often and
how much ?"

Very perplexing questions these, and it is well that we
have not to determine them for "all out-doors." But
3

50 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

here the responsibility is ours, and we must meet it as
best we can. Let us then seek for wisdom in

REGULATING THE RAIN.

1. Ill a state of rest — that is, when not growing —
plants require but a comparatively small quantity of
water, only just enough to supply the waste by evapora-
tion from their leaves, and to keep a moist atmosphere
around their roots. Without such an atmosphere in the
soil, the absorbent surface of their roots will dry up and
wither. On the other hand, if crowded with water,
it will become clogged and rot away. The danger
of such clogging is of course greatest, when the water, or
dissolved food, is not drawn up into the plant ; and that
is always the case in a state of rest. So be sparing then
of your rain ; and if the plant is entirely dormant in the
cellar, give no more than enough to keep the soil from
becoming "powder-dry." .

2. Growing plants need water, not only to supply the
waste by evaporation, but to carry the food that helps to
build them up. So they must have a larger quantity, and
are in much less danger from over watering. As you will
observe, the soil of such plants dries out much more
rapidly than that of resting plants — a fact which shows
their larger demand. It is safe, therefore, to regulate
the watering by the condition of the plant as growing or
not growing, increasing the supply gradually with the
growth.

3. Their natural habits also must be consulted. For
instance, the Calla Lily is constituted to flourish in wet
places, and may even be set into an aquarium ; though,
like other plants, on ceasing to grow it requires the
water to be gradually withdrawn. At the other extreme
are plants like the various kinds of Cactus, which have
come to us from a dry and sandy habitat, and are able to
endure a protracted drouth.

PROPER TREATMENT. 51

4. Special care should be taken where the roots are
very fine and delicate, like those of Carnations and Ge-
raniums. Such plants, even in the open ground, must
have the best drainage, and are often injured by excessive
rains. So you will need to become acquainted with the
character of the roots as they appear on the outside of
the ball, and act accordingly.

5. Light and heat are further very important regulat-
ing conditions. They not only cause evaporation, but
stimulate action in the plant. Just in proportion, there-
fore, as they increase, should the supply of water be in-
creased, and vice versa. Remember this in any long
spell of cold and cloudy weather, and especially during
the very ' ' cold snaps " of winter, when you find it diffi-
cult to keep your rooms at even a moderate temperature.
Be sparing -of water then, and you will avoid one of the
most common causes of injury to house plants in winter
time.

6. The best hour of the day for watering, especially in
cold weather, is the early morning, when the heat of the
room is to be increased, and will counteract the cooling
effect. Near the beginning and close of winter, when
the sunshine is abundant, evening may be preferable.
You will not be likely to select the sunniest part of the
day, if you follow copy, since it is generally cloudy when
it rains.

7. The temperature of the water should not be lower
than that of the room, and in cold weather it may better
be as high as blood heat, if not higher. It is said that
even 120° may be allowed occasionally with benefit, espe-
cially if the plants are not thrifty, or the soil has become
sour. In greenhouses, with the heat under the benches,
little or no attention is paid to the temperature of the
water ; but your windows are the coldest places in the
room, and the plants may well have a little warming in
the watering. The warm rains of spring and summer,

52 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

with their marvelous effects, afford all the warrant needed
for the practice.

8. The size of the pot has something to do with the
frequency of watering. Small pots, of course, dry out
much more rapidly than large ones. When the latter
seem dry at the top, they may have moisture enough
deeper within ; but not so with the former, since they
have but little depth. The small pots may, therefore,
claim the extra showers without danger of drowning.

9. The actual condition of the soil may be easily deter-
mined by the appearance of the surface as light or dark,
or by the sense of touch when the finger is pressed in at
the top, or by "hefting" the pot, which always seems
lighter when dry. A little practice will make you expert
in thus detecting the need of water.

10. Never water any ordinary plant when it is already
wet. Let it become a little thirsty, at least, but not so
faint as to droop its leaves. There should be such inter-
vals between one watering and another as to allow some
change or difference in the degrees of moisture. If
plants need to breathe as well as drink, they will thus
have a chance. It seems very certain that they can not
do both at the same time, and if kept continually sat-
urated, they are likely to die of sheer suffocation.

11. When the time comes for watering, do it thor-
oughly, so as to reach every part of the ball. If the water
runs through into the saucer, and is not soon soaked up,
it should ordinarily be poured off. For a while v after
such a soaking rain, give only a slight sprinkle, or a lit-
tle dew, now and then, if the leaves will bear it, but by
all means avoid a perpetual drizzle.

So now, with this shower of words — I leave the rest for
another time, and give you proper treatment by a pause.

CHAPTER V.

PROPEK TREATMENT.— CONTINUED.

HEAT, LIGHT, AND AIR. — PROTECTION AND RESCUE. — INSECTS. —
INANIMATE DUST. — WORMS. — DISEASE AND DECLINE. — FROZEN
PLANTS.

you, in the pause of the letters, made
any Pr°gress m mastering the problem of the
rain ? If so, I congratulate you ; for a difficult
problem it is, and well worth the mastering.
The rain, however, is only one part of the
weather, outside or inside. For our plants we
are quite as much concerned in regarding, and to a con-
siderable extent adjusting, the conditions of

HEAT, LIGHT, AND AIR.

In the arrangements of "the New Eden," we have al-
ready made provision for sufficient heat and ventilation,
and for all the light possible, giving special attention to
the place and its accommodations ; so we now have to
consider only the questions of their use in the proper
treatment of the plants.

1. Very tender plants like the Coleuses and Begonias
should be brought into the house early in the autumn, as
soon as the nights begin to be somewhat chilly, and after-
ward the more hardy. All alike should have the oppor-
tunity of becoming gradually accustomed to their new
53

54 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

quarters, by being exposed in the open window or out-
doors during the warm daytime, and brought in at night.

2. All sudden and extreme changes of heat and light,
together with strong direct drafts of air, should be care-
fully avoided. Some plants will endure considerable va-
riations of temperature for a short time without injury,
but for all, without exception, something like the uni-
formity of summer is desirable.

3. On the bright, sunshiny days of winter, the heat
of your rooms should be much higher — say about 10° —
than when the weather is cloudy and dark. Plants seem
to require light and heat in very even proportions. In
summer, their natural time of growth, this requirement
is met, the heat being greatest when light is most abund-
ant ; but. in the artificial conditions of winter, it remains
for us to supply the part that is lacking, and to do so af-
ter the model of nature.

As to the necessity of maintaining this equilibrium of
light and heat, there can be no doubt. It is said, on
good authority, that is, by persons who have made the
experiment, that a plant which keeps safely in a dark
cellar with the thermometer at 40°, soon dies if the heat
is raised by a furnace without a corresponding increase
of light. Let the sunshine fall upon the same plant in a
room having- not more than 40°, and the effect is similar.
In short, if we are to have any real summer at all in our
rooms, we must have all of its natural parts in natural
proportions.

4. At night, also, the same natural order should be
observed ; that is to say, the heat and light should be
diminished together. If your rooms are occupied during
the long evenings, give the plants the coolest place, and
screen them as much as possible from whatever light you
use, especially from brilliant gas-light. When you finally
put them to rest in complete darkness, let it be, as I have

PROPER TREATMENT — COKTIKTJED. 55

once before said, at a temperature several degrees lower
than that of the day.

5. The difference of temperature between the floor and
the ceiling has been already referred to. Take advantage
of this, so far as you can, in the arrangement of your
plants. For example, give the lower and cooler places to
Stevias, Geraniums, Hyacinths, etc., and the higher to
plants like the Begonias.

6. The leaves of plants, you know, always turn their
upper surface directly to the light, so as to receive it at
nearly right angles. Unless they are left free to do so,
they almost invariably die. This fact shows plainly
enough their constant need of such a position. It can
not, therefore, be good treatment to turn them away
from the light as soon as they have reached it, and thus
compel them to be always seeking without receiving what
they need. It is true that, if allowed to remain in the
same position, in a side light, many plants will lose their
symmetry of form, but this is one of the difficulties of
plant-culture in windows. To a considerable extent,
however, it may be obviated by setting the arborescent
or tree-like plants close to the window at the bottom, and
turning them every day, so that all sides may receive as
equally as possible their daily rations of sunlight. As
the vines do not suffer so much in appearance from one-
sidedness, they should be set farther back from the win-
dow, and never turned at all. Their leaves all pointing
in one direction, and always looking out to the sky, may
seem a little odd at first, but you will soon come to like
it, and perhaps find in it a pointed lesson on " seeking
the light."

7. Every day, except in the very coldest weather, ad-
mit fresh air to your rooms, directly from the outside,
even if it be for only a few moments. This can generally
be done with safety by opening a window at a little dis-
tance from the plants ; otherwise, open the doors into

56 WINTER GREEHERIES AT HOME.

adjoining rooms. Especially take advantage of the occa-
sional moderation of winter weather, the thaws and warm
spells that frequently occur in our latitude. As a rule,
give your plants all the fresh air it is possible to give
them without violating other equally important rules.

8. On very cold days, when your rooms can not be
freely ventilated, and there is little evaporation from the
pots, relieve the excessive dryness of the air by keeping
water in an open vessel where it may slowly evaporate,
or by watering the sand or moss around the pots. If you
can not have the atmosphere fully moist enough for your
plants, let it be at least healthfully so for yourselves.

Now, if you were not interested, you might well be
wearied with this long enumeration of particulars ; and
yet I have said nothing on the specific treatment of plants
for winter blooming. If your windows are favorable for
that, and you are ready for the extra labor required, I
must take up the subject in another letter ; but you will
understand that all the treatment here prescribed may be
quite as necessary for winter bloomers as for other plants.
So I proceed with the particulars ; and not least in im-
portance is the matter of

PROTECTION AND RESCUE FROM INSECTS, ETC.

1. From insects. — Keep a sharp look-out, and wage
upon them a war of absolute extermination. If they
once gain possession, great is their multitude, and great
their devastation.

The tiny Red Spider is perhaps the worst enemy, be-
cause it is so nearly invisible, and so very persistent. It
delights in the dry heat of your rooms, and finds a home
on the leaves of almost any plant. Where it comes from,
nobody can tell, but its presence is soon announced by its
ravages. If you have never seen one, you may at first
require the aid of a magnifying glass. When minute
specks appear on the lower side of a leaf, put it under

PROPER TREATMENT — CONTINUED. 57

the lens, and you will probably discover the pest, which
will appear, when magnified, as in fig. 8. Their
mischief is often wrought before their presence is even
suspected, and without doubt they are the real but mys-
terious cause of numerous failures.

The Aphides, or green plant-lice, you have often seen
on the tender shoots of rose
bushes in summer time. They
are very wonderful creatures
and well worth studying, as
you will find when you be-
come interested in entomolo-
gy. But they are much less
to be dreaded than the spider,
because more easily seen and
removed.

The Mealy-bug is not so
likely to trouble you as the
other insects mentioned. But
if you chance to find on the
leaves, near their axils, any

i . , . i Fig.8.— RED SPIDER, MAGNIFIED

white or grayish spots re-
sembling bits of mould, put them under the microscope,
and you will at once understand the necessity of keeping
them off from your plants. In the same way examine any-
thing having a suspicious appearance, and you will per-
haps detect some kind of depredating guest which needs
to be ousted at once, even though it be only the quiet-
looking Brown-scale on the lower side of some shaded
ivy leaf.

For protection or relief, the means commonly employed
in greenhouses is dense and stifling tobacco smoke, or,
in some cases, a strong infusion or tea of tobacco applied
with a syringe. Twice a week generally suffices for the
Aphides, at least ; and a constantly moist atmosphere is
the safeguard against the Red Spiders. In your rooms,

58 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

the smoking process is out of the question, though it
might be used somewhere outside under an inverted
barrel. But for the few plants in your keeping, you may
better depend upon the prompt and thorough use of a
sponge or brush with soap and water. In the case of
Eed Spiders, drowning will perhaps be more convenient.
Invert the pot over the edge of a well filled tub, and keep
the stems of the plant entirely submerged for an hour,
repeating the operation after a day or two, if necessary.
A very forcible application of water from a syringe or a
hydrant would of course be more effectual. My own
plants thus have a share in the benefits of the City water-
works. Such as are movable, I take occasionally to the
bath-tub, and give them the spray from a hose attached
to the hydrant, and furnished with a rose nozzle. This
spray may be made a gentle shower, or a miniature tempest
that sweeps away every vestige of insect life. In warm
spring weather, when the Red Spiders are most trouble-
some, an outside hydrant or a gardener's syringe may be
used with the same effect. On the whole, the most
healthy plants are the least likely to be infested with
parasites of any kind — another reason for keeping them
healthy.

2. Inanimate dust is less injurious than the insects,
but nevertheless you will insist upon its removal. Here
again the sponge comes into requisition, and it should be
applied to the lower as well as the upper side of the
leaves, keeping them thoroughly clean. Sometimes it
will be sufficient to "raise the wind " and blow off the
dust, or to use the feather-end of a quill as a brush. If
your plants are kept in a "garden-box," such as I have
referred to heretofore, take a small syringe or a rose-
sprinkler and give them occasionally a brisk little shower
— a natural method, you know, of removing dust.

3. Worms in the soil are not likely to cause you much
trouble. Angle-worms, which only disturb the roots,

PROPER TREATMENT — CONTINUED. 59

may be easily picked from the outside of the ball, if you
have nimble fingers, or expelled by saturating the soil
with clear lime-water. If other worms appear, it may be
necessary to shake out the roots and give them entirely
new soil.

DISEASE OR DECLINE.

This unfortunate condition of plants needs no
description for you, after a whole winter's care of
"invalids." You are already only too familiar with
its infallible signs, the dropping of the leaves, or their
turning from the healthy green to the sickly yellow-
ish or white. In general it is the result either of disagree-
ment between the plant and the place, or of the neglect
of some one or more of the foregoing rules of treatment.
In the latter case, of course " an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure. " But with your utmost care, you
will be likely to have more or less occasion for the use of a
restorative treatment. The most common causes and
remedies — besides the three just mentioned — may be
briefly summed up as follows :

1. Too much water. The roots either lose their
fresh appearance, or do not appear at all on the sides of
the ball ; then, if the over- watering is continued, they
begin to decay and the soil becomes sour. In the first
stage, remove the cause ; that is to say, give less water
and see that the drainage outlet is open. In the second
stage, shake out the roots clean from the soil, remove
decayed parts with a sharp knife, rinse carefully in tepid
water, give fresh soil in a small pot, cut back the branches
somewhat, and water sparingly until new growth appears.

2. Too little water, except on or near the surface —
the ball hard and dry, and the roots withering. Soak in
tepid water half an hour, and, in extreme cases, treat as
directed in the second stage of over- watering.

3. Sunshine too much, or not enough, for the nature

60 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

and habits of the plants. Too much is quite possible with
Ferns, Lycopodiums, and the like, which should be kept
from direct sunlight except for a short time in the morn-
ing. Not enough is much the more common difficulty,
especially in winter. Suit the plants if possible.

4. Too low a temperature — to be suspected in the case
of tropical plants. Remedy, less water or more heat.

5. Lack of nutriment — roots over-crowded and
matted around the ball. Shift to a larger pot, or, if this
cannot be done conveniently, water with the liquid fertil-
izer [See Chap. VI., Winter Bloom, page 76], or add
fresh soil at the top.

6. Bad potting by using too large a pot, or by setting
the plant unnaturally deep in the soil, or by giving it a
soil entirely unsuitable. To be made better speedily.

7. Sudden change of temperature by drafts of cold
air, causing mildew on leaves, especially with Roses.
Partial, if not entire relief, from mildew may be obtained
by washing or wetting the leaves and sprinkling them
with Flowers of Sulphur from a pepper-box, and allow-
ing it to remain a few days.

Do not wait for any diseased condition to become es-
tablished. When a plant begins to "complain" in any
way, endeavor, like a mother with her child, to find out
the cause and apply the remedy. A yellow leaf appears,
now and then, on a plant otherwise healthy, but even so
slight a symptom should not pass entirely unheeded ; and
any decided premonition of decline should receive prompt
and thorough attention. Turn out the ball and examine
the roots. Think over the past treatment of the plant
as compared with the directions here given, and make
any change which seems to be required. If individual
investigation and experiment do not prove successful,
summon your whole company as a "council of doctors,"
consult the wisdom of the books, leave no means untried
for the relief of the patient. Then if death comes, you

PROPER TREATMENT — CONTINUED. 61

will have the consolation of having done all you could to
avert it. Plants, like people, sometimes die under what
seems to be the best of treatment, but they are often ill
and recover.

FROZEN PLANTS.

Such plants I hope you will never have occasion
to treat. You remember that in the arrangements of
our Eden, we have taken every precaution against freez-
ing, by having a continuous heat, by drawing the plants
back from the windows on severely cold nights, or lifting
them up from the floor, or covering them closely with
paper. And so I hope that you may escape the touch of
frost, as I have hitherto. But it is well to know what to
do in any possible emergency.

I have seen it reported of a lady, somewhere, that she
" has saved her plants when frozen hard by leaving
them to dry in a perfectly dark cellar for three days," and
has found it much better than "showering with cold
water." If the plants thus treated "never lost a leaf,"
as alleged, they must have been of some hardy varieties
or in a state of comparative rest. Professional florists
generally agree that exclusion from the light is quite un-
necessary, if not a positive disadvantage. The one thing
on which they earnestly insist, is an upward change of
temperature, immediate but gradual, or not for some
time extreme. This was probably the real benefit of the
cellar, and is the common effect of sprinkling with cool
water. Although no guarantee can be given of recovery
in all cases, there may be a chance in apparently the
worst. As frozen plants are brittle, they should be
handled with care.

Now, it is quite probable that some item of " greenery "
management has been overlooked or slighted ; but all of
the most important, I think, have been duly set before
you. Though they present, at the first glance, a rather

62 WINTEE GKEEKEEIES AT HOME.

formidable array of things to be done, in doing them
with your aptitude and skill, you will soon master all
difficulties, and find in success the most ample reward.
The plants which exhibit so sorry a spectacle under ill-
nsage, are just as capable of showing a gladsome appre-
ciation of the proper treatment.

SAXIFBAGA SARMENTOSA.

CHAPTER VI.
WINTER BLOOM.

THE "BLOOMERS."— SPECIAL TREATMENT.— LIQUID FERTILIZERS.— CARE
OF THE FLOWERS.

VERY neat note comes from the young
florists, and the fragrance of its thanks is
more delicate and grateful than that of na-
ture's choicest bloom. But especially welcome
is the intelligence it brings that some of your
rooms have a southern or southeastern expo-
sure— the very best for winter. In the sunshine thus
afforded you may put the crown of flowers upon the
beauty of your " greeneries." So I do not wonder that
you ask for a letter, "long or short," on the manage-
ment of plants for winter blooming — " just to tell us the
whats and the hows." But please bear in mind that I
can give you now, as heretofore, only lessons in the pri-
mary department.

THE "BLOOMERS"

— among the flowers, of course — in color, not costume.
You have observed, I presume, that not all plants grant
the favor of winter bloom. In every case, flowering is
the plant's climax, its crowning achievement and con-
summate result. After its accomplishment, many plants
seem to have nothing more to live for, and accordingly
die at an age of only one year, or of two vears at most.
63

64 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

Even many of the perennials require the light and heat
of summer for their greatest work, and when it is done,
they insist upon having a long period of rest and recu-
peration. But, happily for us, some rare specimens seem
to be endowed with a genius for blooming. After due
preparation, they give us their flowers even in winter
time, not only in greenhouses, but under the less favor-
able circumstances of our rooms, requiring only the sun-
shine's potent aid ; and they continue flowering with as-
tonishing persistency, according to the amount of their
natural vigor, or so long as they continue to grow. Of
course, such plants are specially worthy of your acquaint-
ance. Let me introduce a few.

ROSES, by common consent, must lead the floral train ;
and here they come from the most remote quarters of the
globe — from Japan, China, Bengal, the south of Europe,
etc. If they have stopped on the way, it has been with
some hospitable florist, for the purpose of taking new
roots from "cuttings" of their twigs, thus to multiply
their number for the million of such as you. Strangely
enough, they join the march of modern civilization, and
travel by express or by post on the fastest trains of the
railways, as if in haste to receive your greetings. What
a magnificent titled company they are — Dukes and Duch-
esses, Princes and Princesses, almost without number !
And their apparel — well, I leave the description to you ;
but I am very sure that if they have not been in league
with the rainbow and borrowed its hues, they have been
like the rainbow in the splendors of the sun. And yet,
with all this royal display of titles and robes, they wait
to become your most gracious guests and faithful friends.

As to the select particular few whom your rooms can
Well accommodate during the winter, I am furnished
with their cards, which I here present :

Louis PhilUppe, from China or Bengal, bright crim-
son ; a profuse bloomer.

WINTER BLOOM. 65

Agripplna, Bengal, deep crimson, double ; in com-
mon use for windows.

Ducliesse de Brabant, Tea-scented, light carmine
shade ; blooms abundantly.

Bon Silene, Tea, large buds, deep salmon shade of
piftk ; very beautiful.

Safrano, Tea, bud rose, rich color of apricot and or-
ange yellow ; fragrant, free-grower.

Pactole, Tea, small, light canary yellow ; grows rap-
idly, and blooms profusely.

Phoenix, Bourbon, light rosy purple, large flower, and
fine form of bush.

Hermosa, Bourbon, clear rose color, very fragrant, and
free blooming ; a common favorite.

CARNATIONS are worthy rivals of the Eose, or attend-
ants, let us rather say. No jealousies are found among
the flowers, you know. Each has its own style of beauty,
which is only heightened in effect by comparison, or by
contrast to that of others. Each also sends forth upon
the air its own peculiar fragrance, sweet as the breath of
spices or incense rising from altars of worship. Not
singly and alone, but in happy train together, they wait
to lead us through the weeks and months of winter ; and
not least in all the train are the Monthly Carnations,
whose summer lasts through all the year. Let me intro-
duce :

President De Graw, pure and spotless white, as a Pres-
ident should always be.

Edwardsii, the protegk and namesake of some florist,
I suppose ; the flowers large, and pure white.

To the sight, these may seem a little cold, but their
breath is warm and spicy, and they are not to stand alone
in their snowy whiteness. Here are others fairly blazing
with color :

La Purite, arrayed in ample robes of deepest carmine ;
very choice.

66 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

Vaillant, bright scarlet, small, profusely blooming.

De Fontaine, petals of yellow ground, edged with scar-
let, white, and crimson.

Other varieties might be mentioned, but these are
probably more than you will need. Each member of the
group is a winter favorite with the florists, and is well
commended to your care.

I make such " honorable mention " of Eoses and Carna-
tions, not only for their superior beauty, but because of
their actual service in my behalf. During two winters,
when my study had a southeastern exposure, they
bloomed abundantly under the very serious disadvantage
of a gas-light burning half the night. This was a favor
to me which has made them all the more my favorites.
I had not ventured to hope for much in a condition so
unnatural for plants ; and when the first Kose opened its
petals and diffused its fragrance, in the midst of one of
the fiercest snow-storms of the winter, it seemed a suf-
ficient compensation for all the care bestowed. But af-
terwards the flowers became more numerous than the
storms, and fully established the success of the experi-
ment. Of course, they may be expected to do quite as
well with you under better circumstances.

As the habits of the study could not well be changed,
the variety of flowering plants then submitted to trial
was small, and the results were not all alike. A Fuchsia
speciosa, said to be one of the best for winter flowering,
put forth vigorous shoots, but dropped nearly all its
buds, affected doubtless by the gas. A fine, healthy
Passiflora cmrulea opened one of its wonderful flowers
near the beginning of winter, and thereafter had "noth-
ing but leaves." A few others gave more, or less of bloom,
namely, the Primula Sinensis, Begonia manicata, B.
Weltoniensis, Linaria Cymbalaria, Stevia compacta,
C al la, and Lily of the Valley.

Presuming that your rooms have a more favorable con-

WINTER BLOOM. 67

dition at night, and a temperature of 45° or 50° — rising
to CO0 or 70° during the day — I mention a few more of
such winter-blooming plants as have a good "window
reputation " among amateurs and professional florists :
Azaleas ; Astilbe Japonica ; Catalonian Jessamine; Cen-
tradenias (in a Wardian case) ; Cupliea, or Cigar plant ;
Cyclamen Persicum ; Cytisus racemosus ; Daphnes ;
Dicentr,a spectabUis ; Geraniums, of all varieties ; Lau-
rustinus (rather too large); Lilonia floribunda ; Lobe-
lias, for a north or east window ; Maker nia odor at a (or
vertitittaia), and all the hardy bulbs, Hyacinth, Tulip,
Crocus, Narcissus, etc.

Some of the plants which are easily forced into bloom
by the florists are hardly desirable for your rooms, because
of the difficulty of supplying the needed conditions, or
for other sufficient reasons, such as unwieldiness, inferi-
ority of flowers, etc. Camellias require considerable skill
in management, and Bouvardias, Tuberoses, and Helio-
tropes a rather unhealthful degree of heat. But if you
have an outdoor summer garden well stocked with com-
mon " bedding plants," you may draw upon them ad lib-
itum. With a little preparation, a few of these will
furnish you with abundant bloom through all the late
autumn, if not through the winter ; but more of this
further along.

SPECIAL TREATMENT.

You will not allow yourselves to be misled by the word
"monthly," as if Monthly Roses and Monthly Carnations
could go on blooming year in and year out, until they
die of old age. Even these vigorous bloomers require,
like other plants, some season of comparative rest ; and
if they do not have it in winter, they must in sum-
mer. In this fact we have the simple explanation of
what is called the "preparation" of winter-blooming
plants. It consists merely in giving them their rest in

bO WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

summer, and helping them in every possible way to store
up vigor for their work in winter. Without such prepa-
ration in some degree, it is vain to expect any satisfactory
success. But you will probably need a few directions
rather more explicit and in detail.

1. Roses, in unskilled hands, are likely to suffer by
transplanting. You will, therefore, find it better to cul-
tivate them only in pots. These should be plunged to
the rim in the open ground as early as possible after dan-
ger of injury from frost, and be kept there throughout
the summer. To prevent the roots from passing through
the hole in the bottom of the pot, cover it closely with a
flat stone. If flower-buds appear, pinch them off, but
otherwise let the plants take their own course, giving
them only such care as may be needful for their health —
good drainage in a wet season, water in time of drouth,
etc. In August or September, shift them to pots one
size larger, and return them to their places in the open
ground. This gives them an opportunity to form the
strong "working roots" on which their winter growth
depends. Allow them to remain as late as is possible
with safety, or until their leaves begin to drop under the
first frosts of autumn. Then remove them to a partially
lighted cellar, free from frost, to be kept in a dormant
state, until needed for your rooms, giving water only
enough for a moist atmosphere around the roots, but
never alloiving them to become dry.

About eight weeks before the time when you desire
their bloom, bring the plants from the cellar, and give
them a thorough "cutting back" — say from one-fourth
to one-half — so as to secure a new growth of strong bud-
bearing shoots. Put them in the coolest place in the
room for three or four days, and then in the full sunlight
of the window. At the same time gradually increase the
supply of water, but be rather sparing until the new
growth is well begun. If you desire flowers at the begin-

WlKTER BLOOM. 6$

ning of winter, you must, of course, bring some of the
plants directly to your rooms earlier in the season, hav-
ing cut them back at the time of repotting, and not al-
lowing them to become dormant. Afterward, in order
to keep up the succession, bring others from the cellar at
intervals of one or two weeks, allowing, as I have said,
about eight weeks for the formation of the new flowering
growth. Thus you may have Eoses constantly in bloom
until the flowers of spring return.

When any of the plants cease to grow, diminish their
supply of water, and return them to the cellar, or retain
them in place, as may be most convenient, until the time
for putting them out in the spring. Then, if they seem
to be very much exhausted or sickly — and only in such
case — shake out the roots from the soil, cut off such as
are dried and black, give fresh soil in smaller pots, and
after shading from the sun for a few days, plunge them
as before in the garden beds. Probably the most of them
will need only this change to the open air.

2. Carnations are less liable to injury from frost than
tender Roses, and may, therefore, go outside much earlier
in spring, " as soon as the earliest garden vegetables ;" and
I think you might venture to take them from the pots and
plant them out, but be careful to select a deep, rich soil,
well drained. Young plants are to be preferred, and if
taken from cuttings or layers as late as April or May,
they will become sufficiently large for your purpose by
winter. During their summer growth, remove the flow-
er-buds, and cut back all straggling stems so as to give
the plants a compact and bushy form. Early in Septem-
ber, carefully transfer them from the garden-bed to pots
of moderate size, with rich soil, and keep the pots plunged
in the ground until you take them late in the season di-
rectly to your rooms.

3. Callas are rather too large for a crowded window,
excepting, perhaps, the new dwarf variety, but in other

70 WINTEE GREENERIES AT HOME.

respects they are very desirable. When set in the center
of the window-box, or in vases on the floor, they produce
a fine effect, the leaves being large and graceful, and the
pure white flowers remaining beautiful for several weeks.
Both varieties are said to thrive in rooms having but lit-
tle direct sunshine, and are anywhere easily managed.
After they have flowered, whether in winter or spring,
remove them to the cellar, or some sheltered place free
from frost, and, without breaking the stalks, turn the
pots upon their sides, and allow the roots to become very
nearly dry. In August, soak the ball in water, wash off
all the soil, remove the offsets (to be used for new plants),
and repot the tuberous roots in a rich soil of clayey loam.
From this time until the next period of rest, water
abundantly every day. In this case, there is, happily,
no liability to injury from over- watering, as the Calla is
naturally an aquatic plant, and is often used for aquari-
ums, where it grows with the roots constantly sub-
merged. I have seen it reported, that with strong plants
a second flower may be brought forward immediately
after the first has faded, by pulling down and cutting
away the old stalk, at the foot of which a new bud ap-
pears. You may be interested in making the experiment.

4. The hardy or "Holland Bulbs" — Hyacinths, Nar-
cissus, etc. — are, as you probably know, the common re-
sort for winter bloom when everything else has been given
up in despair. They are doubtless the best plants that
can be selected for a cool room with windows to the
north. Indeed, the beauty of their flowers is more or
less impaired by exposure to a high temperature and
strong sunshine. As they have a great variety of colors
and are so easily accommodated, you will expect from
me "the whats and the hows" of their special treatment.

Hyacinths may be grown in wet sand, or gravel, or
moss, or in water, but much better in pots of earth not
less than six inches deep. In a pot eight inches deep

WINTER BLOOM. 71

and wide, several may be brought together — say three of
different colors. The single-flowered varieties are, in
some respects, better than the double. For the soil,
take a sandy loam, with one-third of well-rotted manure.
For a succession of flowers through the winter, do the
potting with intervals »f a week or two, or pot all the
bulbs at once and bring them to the light at different
times. Set the bulb so as to leave about half of it above
the soil when pressed down, and nearly an inch between
the surface of the soil and the rim of the pot. After satu-
rating thoroughly with water, take the pots to a dark
cellar, or cover them out-doors with anything which will,
without injuring the buds, effectually exclude light and
heat — this being the condition necessary for the process
of rooting. If the roots are found in the bottom of the
pots at the end of six or eight weeks — the time ordi-
narily required — the plants are ready to grow upward
and may be taken at once to the light. Another month
will probably suffice for the appearance of the flowers.
As the growth advances, water freely, but not to the
extent of soaking. When the flowers fade, cut away the
stalks, but let the leaves grow until they turn yellow,
when you may allow the bulbs gradually to become
entirely dry. Another season they may be forced into
bloom the same way, but with less satisfactory results,
and they may better be used in the outside garden.

When two or more bulbs are to be flowered in the same
pot, it is important that they come into bloom together.
To make sure of this, all the bulbs that are to be used in
this manner are sometimes set out in a box of sandy
earth, and this box kept in the dark and treated just as
directed for pots containing a single bulb. When the
bulbs have formed abundant roots, those may be selected
that are equally advanced as to bud, and carefully potted.

Their cultivation in glasses is not to be commended,
for the bulbs become quite worthless afterward, and the

72 WINTER GREENERIES At HOME.

flowers can hardly be as perfect as by the more natural
process ; but perhaps you will like to try it for the sake
of variety, if not of fashion. Select colored glasses, keep
the water barely in contact with the bottom of the bulb,
changing it occasionally, and let the rooting be done in
some dark and cool place. Or, first root the bulbs in
clean sand in the manner described for pot culture, and
then, having washed the sand from the roots, transfer
them to the glass. For another experiment, nearly fill a
glass-jar or other dish with clean pebbles, set the bulb on
the top, pour in water, and give the same treatment as
with the ordinary glass. A few drops of Hartshorn (the
Aqua AmmonicB of the druggist), or other liquid fer-
tilizer, added to the water, will be of some advantage.
Hyacinths will grow and bloom even in moss closely
packed in a vase or hanging-basket and kept sufficiently
wet. As in all these cases, the generous bulb must take
the place of soil in supplying the capital required, do
you wonder that it is soon forced into bankruptcy ?

The other Holland Bulbs require the same kind of soil,
the same preparatory process of rooting, and the same gen-
eral conditions and treatment as the Hyacinth. They
need, however, much less pot-room? varying somewhat
with the kinds. For example, into a pot six inches in
diameter and depth, may be put three of the Polyanthus
Narcissus, or five of the Von TJiol Tulips, or eight or
ten Crocuses. After flowering, the supply of water should
be somewhat diminished, but not entirely withdrawn until
the leaves have had time to ripen. Then the bulbs may
be dried off and removed from the pots ; but the Narcis-
sus and Crocus are said to do better if plunged in the
garden-beds, and allowed to remain in the same pots for
two or three years, or until they have become so crowded
as to need dividing and repotting. The Polyanthus
Narcissus is perhaps equal to the Hyacinth in value for
winter-blooming, and is certainly preferable to the more

WINTER BLOO^f. 73

hardy and common Daffodil and Jonquil. Of the Tulips
only a few kinds are recommended as suitable, among
which are the Due Von Tlwl, and the Tournesol All
these bulbous plants have so many varieties in the form
and coloring of the flowers, as to leave you the largest
liberty of choice.

5. Lilies of the Valley — Convallaria majalis — have so
many excellent qualities as to be well worthy the honor of
winter-bloom. As they are hardy perennials, having a
place in many common gardens, where their roots are
rapidly extended, it is necessary only to transfer them in
clumps to pots of any size desired. If, however, you
must obtain them in their marketable form as " crowns"
or "pips," select only the strongest, put half a dozen in
a six-inch pot, and allow a month for the roots to form.
Strange to say, " several severe freezes " are recommended
as an important, if not necessary, part of the " prepara-
tion." So you may safely leave the pots in any accessi-
ble place, and take them to your rooms in succession, or
as desired through the winter. They need but little
direct sunshine, that of the morning being the best. In
the spring, plant them out in a shady garden-bed, and
after two or three years they may be taken again for
winter use.

6. Azaleas — white, rose-colored, and red — are shrubby
greenhouse perennials which grow in beauty with the
years. They need a light soil of sandy loam with one-
third or one-half of leaf -mould from the woods. In May,
they should be repotted without disturbing the roots,
trimmed only enough to keep them in good shape, and
then "plunged" in some partly shaded place in the gar-
den. In September, they should be brought under cover ;
and as cold weather approaches, they may be put at once
in the room, or stored in the cellar to be kept dormant
like Eoses, and taken to the window for flowering in suc-
cession from February to May.

4

74 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

7. The Daphne-odora, a sweet-scented winter-flowering
shrub, continues serviceable for years, and is said to be
one of the best for your purpose. Take a small plant and
keep it in good shape by thorough pruning. Eepot it in
May and leave it out doors during the summer. In Sep-
tember let it have more sunshine, and before the first
frost appears take it directly to your room. It thrives
best at a very moderate temperature, and blooms more or
less from December to March.

8. The Fuchsia speciosa may be cultivated in pots
during the summer, or lifted from the ground and potted
with very rich soil in September, brought under cover
early in October, and afterward treated like the Rose,
except that it requires less sunshine. A room without
gas and with an eastern exposure is doubtless the most
favorable.

9. Abutilon, " Boule de Niege" — This, as its name,
" Snowball Abutilon," indicates, is a white-flowered varie-
ty of Abutilon, one species of which, from the form of its
leaves, is well known as the " Flowering Maple." There
can hardly be a more accommodating plant than this
Boule de Niege, as little plants only six inches high will
give some flowers, and when as many feet tall, it will
yield a profusion. A friend writes, "It comes as near
being a perpetual flower, as any plant I know of ; after
flowering in the house all winter, it may be turned into
the open ground, where it will produce its white, bell-
shaped flowers until it is time to bring it in again. It
may be pruned into any desirable shape ; I grow it with
a head upon a naked stem, three feet high, so that it may
stand well above other plants."

10. Chinese Primroses. — Of these, there are single and
double, and in colors from pure white to dark purple or
magenta ; in some, the flowers are handsomely fringed,
and the leaves also present much variety. They may be
propagated by cuttings made from the short side-shoots

WINTER BLOOM. 75

of old plants, and they may also be raised from seeds.
With seeds from a good " strain," as the gardeners say,
i. e.9 saved from choice and desirable flowers, you may
possibly raise a new and superior variety. The seeds are
very minute, and need to be merely pressed into the soil ;
lay a piece of porous paper over the surface, and water the
paper ; this will keep the seeds from being washed away.
It takes about three weeks for them to germinate ; when
the little plants begin to appear, remove the paper, and
after that, water as gently as possible. "When large
enough to handle, each little primrose must be put in a
little pot by itself, to be followed by a larger one when
the plant needs it. Seeds sown in June and July, will
give plants that will flower the next winter. But instead
of caring for the young seedlings you may prefer to get
plants ready grown from the florist — indeed this is the
only way to be sure of double ones, or of any particular
variety ; in this case, be sure and get them early in the
fall, before they have been exposed to the warm and moist
atmosphere of the greenhouse, and it will be all the
better if the flower cluster has not begun to push up-
wards at all. If plants that have been forced until they
are nearly ready to flower, are taken to your greenery,
they will show their dislike of the change by refusing to
bloom at all, but if placed at the window before they
have been pampered, they will flower freely.

All the plants best adapted to winter-flowering, whether
mentioned here or not, require about the same kind of
preparatory treatment, which, as already described, has
in view the formation of vigorous roots after a period of
rest. For this purpose they should be selected early in
the season, so as to become well established before winter.
But without such special and extended preparation, many
of the common bedding plants, as I have already hinted,
may be brought into service by simply prolonging their
period of bloom. This can be done more effectually if

76 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

they are young plants which have begun flowering late in
the season, or have been held somewhat in check ; better
still, if they have been lifted, potted, and trimmed in the
latter part of August. On the approach of frost, Gera-
niums of all sorts, Fuchsias, Passifloras, Petunias, Pan-
sies, Lobelias, Abutilons, Ageratums, Cupheas, Chry-
santhemums, etc., may be transferred to the sunny win-
dows of an airy room with but little interruption to their
bloom for several weeks. Under the most favorable cir-
cumstances some of them may continue flowering far into
the winter. In this list may be included a considerable
number of plants started from seed in the summer or
early autumn, such as Mignonette, Sweet Alyssum, etc.
Such experiments, I am assured, have been made repeat-
edly and with complete success. So it appears that, for
at least the early part of winter, no one having a home
need be without the brightness and beauty of bloom.

LIQUID FERTILIZERS.

For the ordinary growth of plants the soil in the pots
is supposed to contain sufficient nutriment, since every
shifting adds a fresh supply. But during the whole pro-
cess of flowering, the demand becomes temporarily in-
creased, and is most conveniently supplied by some kind
of plant-food in a liquid form. The best is had by put-
ting a quantity of old and well-rotted horse or cow-ma-
nure into a pail, tub, or other receptacle, and keeping it
filled with water ; the liquid to be applied freely when
"diluted to the color of weak tea." The addition of
charcoal is said to neutralize any offensive odor, but the
soil in the pots soon produces the same effect. As a sub-
stitute, when necessary, Aqua Ammomce may be used
moderately, in the proportion of one teaspoonful to a
quart of water. Guano is sometimes applied to plants in
pots, especially budding Fuchsias and Geraniums, hav-
ing been first dissolved in hot water, one teaspoonful
to a gallon ; but its use is rather unsafe for the plants

WIXTER BLOOM. 77

except in skillful hands. Pigeon or hen-manure, which
is somewhat less objectionable, may be prepared in
the same proportions. Soot dissolved in water, two
tablespoonfuls to a gallon, is highly recommended for
Eoses, and is doubtless suitable for many other plants.

The application of these liquid fertilizers — preferring
always the best — should not be more frequent than once
or twice a week at the time for watering, and should be
confined for the most part to growing plants while they
are budding and flowering. For obvious reasons it should
never be allowed in the case of sickly plants, unless the
sickliness arises from impoverishment of the soil. When-
ever repotting becomes undesirable on any account, such
as the size or situation of the plant, then of course the de-
ficiency of nutriment may well be supplied in the manner
here provided. So also with any bulbs or tubers growing
in glasses filled with water. For the present purpose, the
forcing of winter-bloom, if excess is avoided, the benefit
is unquestionable, as you will see in the increased size,
number, and beauty of your flowers.

I ought not to dismiss this delightful subject of winter-
bloom without a hint or two on the

CARE OF THE FLOWERS.

If your Carnations show a tendency to burst open on
one side, confine the petals within regular bounds by ty-
ing the calyx with a thread of green " to match," or using
the smallest kind of stationer's India-rubber ring.

Eemove flowers of every kind as soon as their beauty is
gone. You cannot afford the expenditure incurred by
the forming and ripening of seed. The same rule may
well be observed in the outside garden.

To prolong the freshness and beauty of the flowers
after they have opened, give them some protection from
the rays of the sun when most intense ; and, to make
this caution necessary, may you have no lack of winter-
bloom.

CHAPTER VII.
FURNISHING AND FIXING.

THE GARDEN-BOX. — VARIOUS VASES. — HANGING BASKETS. — SIDE-
BRACKETS.

HE chief furnishing of your "greeneries"
consists, of course, in the plants themselves ;

but the plants need more or less of some sort of
furniture, and are worthy of being so fixed as to
appear to the best possible advantage. This
furnishing and fixing may be of the greatest va-
riety, providing primarily for all the actual needs of the
plants, and then admitting of the exercise and gratifica-
tion of your tastes to an almost unlimited extent. You
will find it a work of continual interest, to be done not
in a day, but progressively, as improvements are suggest-
ed. Even the directions concerning it which I venture
to give are to be regarded simply as preliminary sugges-
tions, to be followed or modified, according to circum-
stances.

THE GAKDEN-BOX.

This piece of furniture is of the first importance, be-
cause it combines so many advantages, obviating much
of the trouble connected with the care of house plants in
winter. It protects from the sunshine the sides of the
pots, and conceals from sight such as are unsightly. It
78

FURNISHING AND FIXIHG.

79

holds a layer of sand, to catch any overflow of water and
return it in a moister atmosphere for the plants. When
set so low that the tops of the pots are nearly level with
the bottom of the window, it makes only the forms of the
plants conspicuous, and secures for them the largest
amount of light direct from the sky. If fitted with cas-
ters, it is movable at pleasure ; and when it is made large
enough to hold all the standing pots in a compact body,
and is crowned with a vine-covered trellis, it forms a
complete miniature garden on wheels.

While such a box may be made of any size, shape, ma-
terials, or cost, it is really the best when it answers to
the greatest number of demands, or is most convenient.
It is easily constructed at trifling
cost as follows : Of pine or other
soft wood — ends and bottom
thick, and sides thin — nailed
together, and painted outside
and inside, or having zinc, in-
stead of paint, as an inside bot-
tom lining — about six inches
deep, twenty inches wide, and
long enough to suit the window
— supported on a low, narrow
bench or table, or by legs of its
own, and in either case fitted
with casters. Instead of paint
for the outside, a friend of mine
has used floor oil-cloth of a pat-
tern representing tiles ; and he
tells me that it could not be dis- Fi£- ^-GARDEN-BOX.
tinguished a few feet off from the expensive tile-covered
boxes. This hint, I imagine, you will not be slow to
accept. The box may be completed by having attached
to the ends light wooden posts about an inch in diameter,
extending to any convenient height, and connected at the

80 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

top by an arch of strong iron Avire, or by a wooden hoop
stretched open and firmly fastened.

If the posts are set at the four corners, the connecting
arches of wire or wood may be crossed at the center, and
made to hold a small hanging-basket, while the whole
frame-work becomes a well-braced and beautiful support
for vines climbing from pots concealed at the bottom. If
the box is made a foot or two longer than the width of
the window, you will find the partially shaded ends use-
ful for plants needing shade or rest. In the further ar-
rangement, of the plants, consult first their needs, and
then your own tastes. Cover the bottom of the box with
half an inch or more of sand, set the smaller pots on
pieces of brick, fill all the vacant spaces with fresh moss
from the woods, and you will have at least a good foun-
dation for a winter window-garden. Figure 9 will serve
as a suggestion for a Garden-Box of this kind.

But I must tell you here how two such boxes were used
one winter, long ago, by the friend just referred to. By
the way, do you read the American Agriculturist?
Well, the editor set the boxes in the windows of a room
seldom warmed or occupied — a "regulation parlor,"
wisely converted now to higher uses — and there he filled
them with Evergreens, Dwarf Spruces, Ketinisporas,
Swedish Junipers, and the like. All winter long these
"friz and theiv," as he merrily says, "yet were always
green and cheerful, and in spring went out into the gar-
den. " So here is another hint for you, if any of your
homes have Arctic Zones.

VARIOUS VASES.

With the garden-box at one window, an agreeable va-
riety is obtained by having at another several small vases,
or a single large one. They are made of different mate-
rials, sizes, and patterns, many of which are both cheap
and elegant. If none of these are at hand, a good sub-

FURNISHING AND FIXING. 81

stitute may be found in vases easily made of wood. For
example, a section sawed off from a smooth barrel, firkin,
or keg, and fastened upon the top of some kind of rustic
tripod, or upon a turned column attached to a base of
sufficient breadth. Such a vase, if large and low, should
be fitted with casters, and used somewhat like the gar-
den-box. If small and higher than the window-sill, it
can soon be covered on the side toward the light with the
foliage of drooping vines. I find small vases set upon
the' floor very convenient for tall plants like the Calla,
Ficus elastica, etc.

HANGING BASKETS.

Very necessary articles of furniture they are, and alto-
gether worthy of the popular favor they have gained.
Without them, many a little greenery could not exist at
all, and they are never absent from the largest. Though
they can not take the place of the box or the vase, they are
more easily available, and afford many supplemental ad-
vantages. Suspended at different points in the window,
above the garden-box, they bring the plants near to the
light while forming a most beautiful screen. They are
specially conspicuous, and comparatively out of the way.
Their elevated position gives to " droopers " the opportu-
nity to droop, and secures for tropical plants the higher
degrees of temperature. The space they occupy could
not well be used in any other way, and is, therefore, just
so much clear gain of plant-room. Blessed be the man or
the woman who invented them.

" Baskets " seems to be the common name for all sorts—
for rustic boxes of wood and earthen pots or basins, as
well as for baskets made of wire and lined with moss.
The last are very beautiful when the moss is fresh and
green, but they are not suitable for the room on account
of the work they make for the broom. Those of rustic

WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

wood- work are cleanly enough, but are exceedingly wood-
en. The earthen, or terra-cotta, pots or basins are in
many respects the best, and can
easily be obtained in all sizes,
shapes, and colors, glazed or un-
glazed. For obvious reasons, the
smaller sizes should be deeper in
proportion to their diameter than
the larger ones. Give the pre-
ference to such as will not topple
over when you set them down on
a table, as you will often have
occasion to do.

The chains commonly used in
suspending them are so incon-
venient, that you will do well to
substitute strands of wire stiff
enough to keep their place, and
give support to ''climbers." For
this purpose, copper wire of the
size of a coarse Tmitting-needle is the best. It will not
rust like iron, and is so flexible that with a pair of nip-
pers, or pliers, you can fashion it as you choose. Cut the
pieces several inches longer than you desire
them to be when attached to the pot. In
order to make them better supports, form
knots or loops at intervals of three or four
inches. Do this by winding the wire once
or twice around a common lead-pencil, and
giving the pencil a turn or two to fasten the
loop. Instead of a ring for the upper attach-
ment of the strands, use a hook made of
heavy iron wire, in the form of the letter S,
with bottom curve closed. This method of
arranging the wires and hook is shown in
figure 10. You can then hang the basket upon a loop

Fig. 10. — WIRES AND HOOK.

Fig 11.

SUSPENDING.

FURBISHING AND FIXING. 83

of wire let down from the top casing (as in figure 11),
or upon a horizontal rod fastened across the window, and
may vary the elevation by links or hooks of wire of
different lengths.

To increase the number and variety of your hanging
plant-nests, take open sea-shells, and pierce them at three
points on the upper side for the wires, and once at the
bottom for drainage ; or, select any kind of wooden box,
large or small, fix suspending wires at the four corners,
and fill it with plants in pots concealed by moss. Better
still, by the use of a little ingenuity and wire, transform
any ordinary pot for promotion. Take an empty one an
inch larger than the one you wish to hang, and having
turned it bottom side up, make a ring of strong wire
around the rim, and then a net-work of small wire over
the bottom and sides, so as to form a basket of the size
and shape of the pot. Line this net-work with moss,
attach suspending wires, set in the pot for which it was
designed, and you have a fine hanging basket, on which
I shall make no charge for patent right.

After selecting or making your hanging baskets comes
the work of arranging them — a still further opportu-
nity for both taste and skill. In my opinion, three or
four of the smaller size, each having its one kind of
plant, will produce a better effect in the window and be
more likely to thrive than a single large one crowded
with different plants. Large, overflowing baskets are
very fine in the greenhouse, or under the open veranda
in summer time, where they have an abundance of light
and air ; but in winter they suifer so much in their nar-
row window quarters that I have almost entirely put them
aside for these small substitutes. Climbing and trailing
plants of delicate form may be so combined in these nests
as to leave them scarcely visible, and in course of time
they will require such shifting to the larger size as to
give you all the variety you can desire.

84 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

SIDE-BRACKETS.

Pots placed on brackets attached to the sides of the
window at different elevations have all the advantages of
hanging baskets except the middle position. As any com-
mon earthenware pot may be so used, only the brackets
need description. The kinds generally kept for sale by
dealers in florist's goods are, of course, the most elegant.
Some are fixed or stationary, others swing on pivots and
are therefore more desirable. An iron arm projecting a
foot, more or less, terminates in a disk
or cup to hold the pot, and several
such arms or cups are sometimes united
in a single bracket. But a cheaper and
very convenient bracket can be made
by any blacksmith : it has somewhat

the shape of the capital L, and is de-
Fig. 12.-BBACKET. gigned to be hung upon a nai] or kn()b?

against the wall or window-casing, the horizontal part
being simply a ring into which the pot is set. It is
sometimes made, like fig. 12, with two unequal rings,
either of which may be so used.

A similar one, and quite as good, as shown in fig. 13,
you yourselves can make out of strong wire, which should
not be less than one-eighth of an inch in diameter. First
bend it around an inverted pot of the desired size at a
point midway between the top and bottom, and, having
thus formed the ring, bend the wire so as to bring it to-
gether for a horizontal arm about two inches long ; then
turn at a right angle one part downward for a brace, and
the other upward for attachment to the nail or knob.
The lower part forming the brace should be bent in the
shape of a circle or triangle, so as to rest flat and firm
against the wall ; and the upper part should terminate
in a small ring or hook for the nail. Bind the arm with

FURNISHING AND FIXING.

85

small copper wire, so that the ring for the pot will not
spread open. Figure 14 shows the bracket in use.

If your windows are deeply seated in thick walls, you
may literally cover the broad, side or jamb-casings with
plants perched on these brackets. With an eastern or
western exposure, the casing on the south side will have
less sunshine than the other, and be just the place for

A

Fig. 13.— WIRE BRACKET.

Fig. 14.— BRACKET WITH POT.

plants requiring shade. Climbers and droopers may be
used very effectively, with a small pot interspersed here
and there of some fine foliage plant, such as a Coleus on
the sunny side, and a Begonia Rex on the other. A win-
dow thus lined on its sides with masses of variegated
foliage, and having a well-filled garden-box at its base,
with a variety of hanging baskets centrally grouped
above, forms a living picture well framed, and far more
beautiful than art alone, can ever produce.

SHELL FOR PLANTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

FURNISHING AND FIXING. -CONTINUED.

SUPPORTS AND SHAPES.— NATURAL TRAINING.— WARDIAN CASES.

INTERRUPTIONS and resumptions— such
is life ! Such, at least, will doubtless be the
order of work in your "greeneries." But a
pleasant work is only the more pleasant, if, like
this, it may be continued. And now we come
to the artistic question of

SUPPORTS AND SHAPES.

The beauty of many greeneries is almost spoiled by un-
sightly stakes and huge trellises, which are more con-
spicuous than the plants themselves. When a delicate
vine in the window is made to climb upon a frame-work
strong enough for a grape-vine in the garden, there is
concealment as well as support, and more of carpentry
than greenery. Supports of some kind are, of course,
indispensable, not only with vines, but with all tender
and rapidly-growing plants ; so it becomes a question of
some importance how to furnish and fix them.

The best answer, as to material at least, comes from
nature. So far as possible, let the supports be of natural
growth, in natural color and form — slender shoots and
branches from hard-Avooded trees and bushes. These
change only their place and manner of service in coming
86

FURNISHING AND FIXING — CONTINUED.

87

to you, and so they perfectly harmonize with the leaves
and flowers which they now artificially support. If they
are too slender for their purpose when taken singly, two
or three may be used in a self-bracing position, and
wired together at the top. To give them greater firm-
ness in the pot, set with each another short stake of wood
or iron projecting an inch above the soil, and clasp them
with a bit of wire. Such supports you will find as du-
rable as the best in the market, and far more suitable.
They are wholly unobtrusive, indeed, hardly distinguish-
able ; and this is recommendation enough if the plants
are the things to be seen.

Taking this hint in making selection of any necessary
substitute, I know of nothing better than the copper-
wire already mentioned. This in
many cases may be used alone
with good effect. For instance,
when the bracket-pots or hang-
ing-baskets contain such, vines as
the Ficus repens or Hedera gra-
cilis in a luxuriant condition, you
may wish to train their growth
downward and upward and out-
ward. This I have often found
absolutely necessary in order to
accommodate the overflow. In
such a case, the wire is the sup-
port^ar excellence. Taking a piece
of suitable length, attach the ends
to the pot or basket, and make a sort of apron in outline
of any pattern to suit your taste. With one or two cross-
pieces to hold it in place, you will have a firm support, and
may have a beautiful shape for the mass of drooping
foliage. For the upward and outward growth, make a hoop
or other symmetrical form of any size desired, and fasten
it firmly to two of the suspending wires of the basket di-

Fig. 15 — WIRE SUPPORTS.

88 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

rectly under the hook. The diagram, figure 15, will give
an idea of this arrangement. When the whole is covered
with living green, the outline against the window will
not be the least of the attractions. So, in many other
instances in the artificial training of your vines, you can
use this pliable wire in executing your own designs.

NATURAL TRAINING.

But with all your plants, whether they need supports
or not, the training must be attended to in order to secure
regular and beautiful shapes. And this is within your
power more than perhaps you are aware. You can make
a growing plant do almost anything not directly contrary
to the law of its nature. It is against the nature of a
vine to grow in the form and manner of a tree, and at-
tempted compulsion would produce only a sorry imita-
tion ; and yet the natural growth of a vine may be con-
siderably modified or controlled.

Let us see, for example, what can be done with an Ivy.
Take a young thrifty plant of Hedera gracilis, a rapid
and graceful grower. It has a
single stem, eight inches long, we
will say, at the end of which is
a "terminal bud," where the
growth is now going forward.
But other undeveloped buds lie
concealed at the axil of every leaf,
which may or may not start into
growth. If the growth is left
wholly uncontrolled, the single
Fig. 16.— TRAINED IVY. stem would probably extend itself
to great length without one lateral

branch. But if now you pinch off the terminal bud, or
take a "cutting" for use, you compel the growth of
some of the lateral buds. Perhaps several will start, but
let us suppose this of only one, at the leaf next to the

FURNISHING AND FIXING — CONTINUED. 89

end. If this alone were allowed to grow, the result would
be the same as before, with a slight angle of the stem at
the point of the new departure. But after it is well
started, pinch it back close to the main stem and await
developments. If the plant is strong enough, you will
soon find a bud starting out at each side of the little stub
left by the pinching back ; and these will give two equal
stems in place of the one. When they have grown as far
as you wish, repeat the process of pinching or cutting,
and each will give you two more stems ; and so again and
again in a manner most interesting. Thus, in course of
time, you can train a well-rooted ivy in the shape of an
open fan or the semblance of a bush, as shown in the
diagram (figure 16).

To give it something like the form of a tree, you must
fix a suitable support. Take three flexible shoots such

Fig. 17. Fig. 18.

as boys often get for whips, and put them into the pot
about three inches apart to secure the greater firmness.
Fifteen or twenty inches above the pot, bring them across
each other and fasten them together with a bit of copper
wire. Then bend the tops into any form desired, com-
pleting it Avith twigs or pieces of wire, and you have a
skeleton Avhich needs only a clothing of vegetable life to be

90 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

beautiful, if not arborescent. Make the experiment, and
see how nature submits to the hand of the artist. Two
forms of supports are here given ; in figure 17 the sticks
are fashioned to make a globe, and in figure 18 the form
of an umbrella.

With all hard-wooded plants, and many others also,
this work of pinching or cutting back is necessary to give
them a compact and symmetrical shape. Where the shoots
bear the flower-buds, they must of course be left until the
flowers are produced, and receive at some time subse-
quent more or less of cutting back. Roses and Fuchsias,
you remember, are to have this treatment when brought
from their dormant state in the cellar ; Daphnes and Aza-
leas, before going out to their summer's rest in the gar-
den ; and Carnations, while undergoing their prepara-
tion for winter-flowering. But with very many plants
it is better to prevent the straggling growth, and the con-
sequent necessity of pruning, by simply pinching off the
terminal buds just when and where the straggling begins.
With a little observation and practice you will soon be
able to keep your plants neat and attractive in shape, by
exercising your taste in merely regulating their growth.

WARDIAN CASES.

We cannot finish our furnishing and fixing, without
at least considering the question of these miniature green-
houses. Unless we can manage to obtain them in some
way, and of some kind, we must relinquish all hope of
having as our permanent home companions, some of the
most delicate and beautiful plants that grow. So the ques-
tion of what and how has a good claim to consideration.

The only difficulty, I presume, is the cost. " Wardian
Cases " have been generally ranked as articles of luxury
and made to correspond. The common and cheaper
" glass shades" might serve for single specimens of

FURNISHING AND FIXING— CONTINUED. 91

plants, but they are quite to small for our ambition —
more like an inverted goblet than a Wardian Case. And
yet our case is not so desperate as to exclude all hope of
suitable cases for our plants. If the regular manufactur-
ers will not or can not supply a cheaper kind for popular
use, we can turn manufacturers -our selves, as some of my
neighbors have done, with no other cost than that of ma-
terials. At least we can plan and superintend the manu-
facture, bearing in mind that the Wardian Case, pure
and simple, is only a suitable glass box inverted over a
suitable/4 garden box."

Here is a plan, "respectfully submitted," which any
cabinet-maker or joiner — perhaps that "big brother" —
can easily translate from the ideal to the real : The
frame for the glass to be made of black walnut, or even
of pine, as light as is possible with strength sufficient to
hold the glass together — the corner and top parts about
an inch thick and rounded outside, and the bottom part
somewhat heavier, like that of a window-sash — size
inside, 30 inches long, 15 wide, and 18 high, requiring
two panes of glass, 15 by 18 inches, two, 30 by 18, and
one, 30 by 15 — the glass to be set with putty so as to
leave as little as possible of the wood exposed to the
moist air of the case, and the top pane to be hinged or
left movable for convenient access to the inside. The
base, or "garden-box," to be of the same kind of wood
and of the same size outside, with a moulding projecting
half an inch above the upper edge to hold the glass frame
firmly in place — to be six inches deep and lined wit-h
zinc, which should overlap the upper edges so as to catch
any drip of moisture from the glass, and have at the
bottom for drainage outlet a small tube closed with cork
— the whole to rest on legs or a table fitted with casters.

If you find it inconvenient to purchase the more costly
and elaborate sort, this "home-made" case, or even a
much cheaper one, with small panes of glass in a pine

92 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

sash, will answer every purpose of use, while the plants
may be depended on to furnish the beauty.

Now as the plants have already been selected [See Chap.
III., Suitable Plants, under Selections], we have only to
see to their proper accommodation in the case. By the
ordinary method, the box is filled with soil, having about
an inch of fine gravel and bits of charcoal at the bottom
for drainage, and the plants are at once imbedded in it as
in the open ground. A better plan, it seems to me, is
suggested by the well-known advantages of pot culture.
At any rate, I shall try it at the first opportunity, and
do not hesitate to recommend the experiment to you.
After laying the drainage material at the bottom, set in
the largest pots and add sufficient soil around them to
bring up the next siz£ of pots even, and so keep on add-
ing layers of soil and pots, until all are in place with the
rims at a common level just at the proper surface of the
soil. This, you see, is only the " plunging" process on a
small scale. It certainly has some very obvious advan-
tages, such as the more convenient removal of any plant
without disturbing the rest ; while it is not open, so far
as I can see, to any possible objections. It brings the
plants sufficiently near together — they are generally quite
too much crowded — and, like the other plan, it allows the
whole surface of the soil to be covered with a mat of Ly-
copodiums or Selaginellas, and creeping Ferns.

The soil, with either method, should be more than
usually light, and composed very largely of leaf-mould
from the woods.

The box having been satisfactorily filled, and once
thoroughly watered, is ready to receive its glass covering
and begin service. It will henceforward need light, all
it can get, but not direct, or at least intense sunshine.
It will ordinarily manage the rain for itself, like an inde-
pendent little world, evaporating water from the soil
and returning it condensed by the surface of the glass.

FURNISHING AND FIXING — CONTINUED. 93

If the first supply has been excessive, allow it to pass off
by slightly opening the top glass at some favorable
time. Otherwise keep the case perfectly closed, except
for the occasional removal of a dead leaf or frondj bear-
ing in mind that its sole purpose is to give the enclosed
plants a moist, still atmosphere of their own. \V ith flow-
ering plants, however, there must be more or less of ven-
tilation, according to circumstances. A renewal of the
water will not be needed for several weeks — perhaps
months.

Instances are reported where small slow-growing plants
in such cases have been left undisturbed for a long series
of years, and have thrived during the whole time with
only the slightest attention. But if we can prove in our
" greeneries " only half the truth of all that is said, we
may well consent with the ' ' Wardian Case " to complete
our furnishing and fixing.

HOME-MADE WARDIAN CASE.

CHAPTER IX.

PROPAGATION OF PLANTS.

PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS.— SEEDS AND SEBDLINGS.— PLANTS BY MAIL.

AM pleased to see by your questions that
you are not content with depending entirely
upon other people for supplies. The propaga-
tion of plants by yourselves may not be really
necessary to stock your Winter Greeneries ; but
it is a work of so much interest that I am not
surprised at your undertaking it, and very gladly give
you any help within my power.

PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS.

The failure with your cuttings is easily accounted for,
both place and time having been unfavorable. Compar-
atively few cuttings will strike root readily in the ordi-
nary soil of pots, and during the cold of midwinter.
Florists then succeed only by making the " cutting-bed "
several degrees warmer than the surrounding atmosphere,
and they always use the cleanest sand. Besides, some
plants are very difficult of propagation, and often fail
even in the hands of florists ; but with very many you
will succeed finely by following a few simple directions.

1. The best time for your purpose is spring, when
nearly all plants start into new life under the increasing
light and heat of the sun. The hottest weather of mid-
94

PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 95

summer is with some quite as unfavorable as the coldest
of midwinter. You would probably succeed were you to
begin your experiments by the 1st of March, and con-
tinue them three or four months.

2. Select for cuttings only the strongest shoots of re-
cent growth. Any others will either fail to take root, or
will make very puny and feeble plants.

3. Make the cut with a sharp knife, in a somewhat
slanting direction, just below a leaf -joint — the third,
fourth, or fifth from the end. Trim off two or three of
the lower leaves, allowing one or two next to the terminal
bud to remain, and the cutting is ready for the sand.

The point at which to make the cut is a matter of some
importance. With some few plants roots will grow only
from a leaf -joint, and with perhaps nearly all rather more
readily from that point than any other. If the cutting
is very tender, it will rot, or " damp off ; " if old and
hard, it takes a longer time for the roots to start, if they
start at all. The best point is, therefore, somewhere be-
tween these two extremes — some florists say, just where
the stem will break and snap apart on being bent.

4. Wash the sand perfectly clean, and put it in a
water-tight dish — a coffee-cup, or something larger. In-
sert the cuttings without crowding more closely than
contact of the leaves, and keep them as much as possible
in the sunshine, with the sand thoroughly wet — "wet as
mud."

5. Examine the cuttings occasionally by lifting some
of them carefully from the sand. When any one is found
to have roots about half an inch long, remove it to the
smallest sized pot, and accord to it the dignity of a new
and separate plant. The time required to form the roots
varies from a week to a month or more, and there is hope
so long as the surface of the cut is sound and hard.

6. For cuttings of Ivy, Oleander, and some other
woody plants, a small glass bottle filled with water will

96 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

be more convenient than a dish of sand, and will be quite
as good in all respects.

7. Another method is sometimes used by florists with
soft-stemmed plants, like the Geranium, which entirely
dispenses with the cutting-dish or bed, and is said to be
very successful. The stem is partly broken off at the
proper point, but is not detached until the surface of the
fracture becomes hardened or "callused;" then it is
potted at once, and soon takes root in the soil. The cal-
lus seems to be always the precedent condition of rooting,
and its formation is thus secured in the open air without
danger of "damping off."

8. If with any particular kind of plant the cuttings all
fail to send out roots, then resort to half-cuttings, or
" layers," as they are called. The operation is easily
managed in the house by using a small pot for the "lay-
er" near the larger one. Selecting a shoot or branch
that may be laid down, make the cut half way through,
and half an inch along the center, and then carefully
bend the split part open, press it into the soil an inch
deep, and fasten it down with a forked twig, or a bit of
wire bent like a hair-pin. This method, as you see,
gives to the cutting a partial support while the roots are
forming, and so has the advantage of being rather more
sure than the other ; but it generally requires a longer
time, and is much less convenient.

Do not fail on any account to make a thorough trial of
the cutting-dish, or "saucer system," as it is called.
Your success will probably exceed your expectations, and
it may occasionally treat you to a delightful surprise,
. such as that of saving a plant supposed to be lost.

For example, I once brought home a Coleus of a rare
variety, planted it out in the garden, and soon after
found it cut down close to the ground by a worm — noth-
ing left but a stem about two inches long. This was put
into the cutting-dish, and within ten days was nicely

PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 97

rooted and potted, and it afterward flourished as if noth-
ing had happened. It was an unexpected success, turn-
ing defeat into triumph, and relieving me somewhat from
the feeling of utter helplessness against the cut- worms.
I may add that the same cutting-dish, only eight inches
long, sometimes turned out in a" single week twenty-five
plants, and became during the season the fountain of a
large and gratuitous supply.

So I am very confident that your cutting-dishes will be
sure "to pay" in the best sense, and in more ways than
one. Some plants are not easily obtained even with
money, but some friend of yours has a specimen which
can spare a cutting, and the dish soon puts you in pos-
session of a plant having the added fragrance of friend-
ship ; or you render a similar service to others, and if
" it is more blessed to give than to receive," your pleas-
ure is only the greater. Among yourselves, at least, you
will be very likely in this way to share the possession of
any highly prized plant, provided it will grow from cut-
tings. In all cases no small benefit will come from the
fact that the plants have been started ~by your own hands.
This will give you a new sense of power, and a feeling of
interest and ownership not connected with plants for
which you are indebted to other people's labor and skill.
And is not this a sufficient inducement to renew your
attempts to grow plants from cuttings ?

SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS.

In this whole matter of starting new plants for your-
selves— a work well worth undertaking for its interest if
not for its profit — you will be most likely to succeed if at
the outset you clearly understand some of the differences
between plants from seeds and plants from cuttings. Let
me therefore mention a few important facts, even though
you may already know them.
5

98 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

In the first place, many flower seeds are exceedingly
small, perhaps "the least of all seeds." On looking at
them, you wonder that they can ever produce the great
plants from which they come, and, in fact, the most of
them never do. At any rate, they must run the gauntlet
of many perils. Owing to their minuteness they are very
liable to be overwhelmed in the soil, and thus destroyed.
If they germinate at all, the seedlings are so fragile as to
yield to the slightest disturbance, even that of watering
from a fine rose sprinkler, unless it is managed with great
care. And then, with all the dangers passed, there is a
large amount of growing to be done which, of course, re-
quires time of corresponding extent. Very different in
all respects is the well-selected cutting or layer. As it
has scarcely any infancy at all, it has few critical stages
to pass. With its roots well started, it is already a half-
grown plant, and will soon attain its "majority." Such
differences as these must be of considerable importance
to all winter greeneries.

Observe, still further, that a seed has the advantage or
disadvantage of being a new product. It is often, not
always, derived from two somewhat different plants, as
in "cross fertilization." In such case, it produces an
entirely new plant, which partakes of the characteristics
of both the parent plants, resembling each, differing from
each, and constituting sometimes an improved variety.
Suffice it to say, there are many differences between the
seedling and the parent plant, or plants, resulting from
the process of fertilization, whether controlled or left to
itself. It is this fact which gives to "seed-growing" the
dignity of an art ; at the same time, it explains such ex-
pressions as "not coming true from seed," "the running
out of varieties," etc. Now, on the other hand, a rooted
cutting is, in the strictest sense, only a part of the plant
from which it is taken. It is as really identical as if it
had been obtained by a division of the roots. It therefore

PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 99

admits of no change of essential characteristics, and must
infallibly preserve the variety. For this reason florists
generally depend upon cuttings, layers, or root divisions,
when they would be absolutely sure of results. In view
of these facts, you will not depend entirely, or even
chiefly, upon seedlings to supply your needs.

Nevertheless, your question may be answered in the
affirmative. Besides the large number of annuals and
biennials commonly cultivated in summer gardens, there
are a few greenhouse perennials which may be easily-
grown from seeds, such as Ageratum, Cyclamen Persi-
cum, Centaureas, Cinerarias, Mcsembryanthemums (Ice
and Dew plants), Primulas, etc. With all such plants
seedlings may be preferred, on the score of cheapness in
first cost at least. Even with the more difficult kinds,
like CobcBCi scandens, Mimulus, " Smilax," or any others,
it may be worth while for you to make the experiment, if
only for the sake of experimenting. The cost in money
will be small, whatever it may be in time and labor.
With sufficient leisure for the purpose, there is certainly
no small pleasure in watching the daily growth of a
plant, and even in caring for its tenderest infancy ; and
who is better fitted than yourselves to undertake such
care, or could better hope for skill with experience ?

In all cases, however, you will need at the 'beginning a
few helpful hints. The florists generally give something
like the following :

1. Use only light, finely-pulverized soil, and for the
house let it be in shallow boxes, or in pots, choosing such
as are desired for the plants, if they are not to be trans-
planted.

2. If the seeds are somewhat coarse, sprinkle the soil
over them to the depth of two or three times their diam-
eter ; if very fine, give no covering at all, but lightly
press the soil with anything having a flat surface like the
bottom of a pot. Lay on temporarily a piece of cotton

100 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

cloth or flannel to prevent disturbance in watering ; and
in order to retard evaporation, and thus diminish the
need of watering, keep panes of glass over the boxes or
pots until their removal becomes necessary.

3. When the seedlings begin to appear, remove the
cloth covering, and give them full light, but not sun-
shine ; thin them out if crowded, and apply water with
the utmost care.

4. Transplant as soon as they are able to bear it by
gently lifting them from the soil with a bit of wood
shaped like a paper-folder. Plants which are impatient
of change, like Mignonette, should be transferred with
the ball, or allowed to remain in the pot undisturbed.

5. Many common plants, like the Candytuft, Lark-
spurs, etc. , do not require such anticipation of the season,
and thrive best if sown like garden vegetables in the beds
where they are to grow.

PLANTS BY MAIL.

As to the plants which you mention, they are among
the most difficult to grow from seed, and yet very desira-
ble for your greeneries. If you can not obtain cuttings
from Judge Kent's gardener, perhaps you can purchase
the plants in pots from some florist near at hand. Of
course you will patronize your neighbors, for the sake of
encouraging home industry, as well as for your own im-
mediate advantage. But such plants are rarely kept for
sale in small establishments, and, failing to find them
there, you may safely have them, or any other small
plants, sent to you from a distance through the mail.

The best time for you to order them is early in spring,
while the weather is cool, but not cold. The plants are
then in the best condition for such transportation, and
may be obtained at the lowest prices on account of their
accumulation in stock during the winter. Besides, they

PKOPAGATIOtf OF 2LAN1S: " lOi

will then have the advantage of the season in recovering
from any possible ill effects of the journey, and in becom-
ing fully established for future use in your greeneries.

Perhaps you wonder how delicate plants can endure
such confinement in the mail for days together ; but on
opening the package you will discover the secret. The
small ball of earth, the soft damp moss, the enfolding
oil-paper, and the stiff outside wrapping furnish all the
conditions of safety for the time required in a journey of
hundreds of miles. In all respectable establishments,
the art of packing is now carried to a high degree of per-
fection, and many thousands of plants are every year dis-
tributed from them through the mail all over the country
with no loss whatever to their patrons. The gentlemen
having them in charge may be relied upon, so far as my
experience goes, to give entire satisfaction. I have re-
ceived many such packages from a distance, some of them
even in moderate midwinter, and in no instance with the
least disappointment. The interest awakened by their
anticipation and reception was almost boyish, but none
the less pleasurable.

The reception which you give to these travellers by
post should be a warm one ; that is to say, if they are at
all wilted, put them, root and branch, into tepid water
for about fifteen minutes. Then give them the best soil
in small clean pots, and let them rest for a few days in
comparative shade. Soon they will be ready to take the
regular fare of their new home, and may thenceforward
be expected to behave quite as well as if they had been
"to the manner born."

CHAPTER X.
ET CETERA.

USB OF THE CELLAR. — SUBSTITUTES FOR POTS. — AN OUTSIDE QUESTION.
— THE CHILDREN'S SHARE.

note, bristling with interroga-
tion points, remains to be answered. Its
postscript informing me of your success is
gratifying indeed, but that is no more than I
have confidently expected, in view of your
interest and energy. The cultivation of house
plants in winter time has its difficulties, of course, like
everything else worth accomplishing ; but with well di-
rected and persistent effort, it is very far from being im-
practicable, and must sooner or later achieve the merited
success. So I do not wonder that your friends come to
you with questions—" a thousand and one "—or that you
find yourselves beset with questions of your own arising
in the progress of your experiments and the anticipation
of your needs. Such as you have referred to me do not
all belong strictly, or necessarily, to the management of
your "winter greeneries," but they are closely enough
related to be worthy of the asking and the answering.
The answers which I have to give will not comprise "all
the rest " you need to know, but may serve to help you
on to better sources of information.
102

ET CETERA. 103

USE OF THE CELLAR.

So many references to the "the cellar" have heen
made heretofore, that I have half expected your request
for all "the whats and hows" of its use in connection
with the greenery. But you will doubtless be able in
most cases to decide these questions for yourselves on the
"general principles" already considered, such as the
necessity of regulating the light by the temperature, and
the watering by the condition of the plant, etc. A few
suggestions, however, may be of service to you at the
beginning.

The cellar will be best suited to your purpose if it has
an even temperature of about 40 degrees, with a moder-
ate amount of light from the outside, something like a
strong twilight. To secure both together, it may be
necessary to glaze the windows on the inside of the sash,
thus giving them double walls of glass and confined air
between. Having such a cellar, you will probably find
no better place in which to keep a supply of soil and
pots, and do the work of the "potting bench ;" but you
will use it chiefly for the safe storage of your plants
while they are waiting as candidates for the honors of
the greenery, as mentioned under Eoses and Bulbs, or
whenever they need to be sent into retirement. Here
several precautions are in order :

1. Let the transition of the plants from one extreme
to the other be as gradual as possible, that is to say,
directly from the brightest and warmest part of the cellar
to the darkest and coolest place in the greenery, and vice
versa.

2. When room must be made by removing some of the
plants to the cellar, take only such as are in a state of
rest, and are therefore somewhat prepared for the change.

3. Plants that are entirely dormant need less light
than those which retain their leaves, and so may be kept

104 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

in the darker corners until near the time of their pro-
motion.

4. Watering in the cellar requires the utmost possible
care — much more, indeed, than elsewhere. It should be
done by " beginners/' not on mere conjecture, but only
after turning out and examining the ball, bearing in
mind the rules [see Chap. VI.] concerning wholly and
partly dormant plants. If you can hit upon the right
treatment as to watering, you will be most likely to suc-
ceed in joining safety with storage.

5. Large plants used in summer for the decoration of
the veranda, or the lawn, which are quite too cumbersome
to be taken into and form a part of the greenery, may be
safely stored in the cellar ; for example, Agave, or Cen-
tury Plant, the nearly hardy Palms, Oleanders, and
many others.

Perhaps I ought to add that the cellar may be used in
connection with the summer garden for the safe keeping
of many plants which can not be sufficiently protected
outside to endure the winter, such as Lemon Verbenas,
Hydrangeas, Geraniums, etc. Also the roots of Dahlias,
Cannas, and others, as well as Gladiolus, and other bulbs,
to be planted in spring. Indeed, so useful is the cellar
that florists and nurserymen frequently construct what
are practically cellars — i. e., large covered pits for the
purpose of storing plants during winter.

SUBSTITUTES FOR POTS.

Your friend, "who lives in such an out-of-the-way
place," must labor under some disadvantages in manag-
ing her winter greenery. The plants she can obtain with-
out difficulty, some of them from the woods, and others
by mail ; but the common earthen pots are so fragile as
not to bear rough transportation unless very carefully
packed. If she cannot in this way obtain what she
needs, "are there any good substitutes ?"

ET CETERA. 105

Not very good, I fear, and yet something can be done.

Perhaps she has a young brother who has not yet
passed the " mud-pie " stage of boyhood. If so, how
would it do to send him to a bank of good stiff clay, with
two or three blocks of proper size and shape, and let him
try his art in the line of useful pottery ? If well-worked
clay were plastered about one-fourth of an inch thick over
such blocks, and then dried in the sun or baked in an
oven, perhaps the pots would render her good service.
At any rate such rude pottery has the odor of antiquity
and the sanction of long and varied usage.

Another possible substitute, equally rude and ancient,
as a use of osier, is suggested by Spenser's lines :

"Each a little wicker-basket had,
Made of fine twigs, entrailed curiously."

Little or large, and of any form desired, cradles for her
plants your friend can easily make of these fine twigs
alone, "entrailed curiously." Or, taking strips of com-
pact moss or well-matted sod and cutting them to the
proper shape, she can bind them firmly together with
wicker-work of the simplest kind, and thus have pots
porous enough for the plants and green enough for any
greenery. When such vegetable pots have decayed, they
will doubtless be filled with roots, like the balls of earth
in common pots, and need only a new wrapping of osier
and green.

As a last resort, she may use the tin cans in which fruit
has been preserved. They are without doubt more con-
venient for her than suitable for her plants. But if pro-
vided with an inch of gravel and charcoal at the bottom
for drainage, besides one or two apertures a fourth of an
inch in diameter, they will serve well for the Ivy, Ficus
repens, and the like, and may be tolerable for her more
delicate plants. But let us hope that some enterprising
tradesman of her neighborhood may soon become inter-

106 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

ested in winter greeneries at home, and add to liis stock
the coveted pots.

AN OUTSIDE QUESTION.

Yes, I fully agree with you concerning your venerable
neighbor. Any old lady who has kept a solitary " Jeru-
salem Cherry " safely through the winter by carrying it
down cellar every cold night, deserves all the help you can
give in making the most of her little summer garden of
"only three or four small beds." It is no wonder that
you propose for her something "finer than Hollyhocks,
Bouncing Bets, and Bachelor's Buttons." And who
could help sharing your interest in the question, " What
plants can she have which will give the most bloom with
the least labor ? " This question might safely be left to
the combined wisdom of the young florists, who, if I re-
member correctly, *' have no trouble with their plants in
summer-time," and are already surmounting the diffi-
culties of winter. But as you have generously taken me
into your counsels, I must contribute my share by sug-
gesting one of the many possible answers.

Geraniums are of course the first to be mentioned.
They are cultivated so easily, and their flowers are so
brilliant, abundant, and enduring, that no garden, large
or small, can well dispense with them. They are now
used almost everywhere for summer decoration, either in
windows, or in groups outside. Here they seem to take
the lead of all the flowering plants cultivated in our City
Parks, where it is important to produce the most strik-
ing effect " with the least labor." You can probably have
' nothing better for the " small circular bed " than a well
arranged group — the tall scarlet variety in the center, and
the smaller Zonales at the outside.

For one of the "borders near the gate," I presume
you will select four or five healthy Verbenas of different
colors — one of them to be white for the sake of its f ra-

ET CETERA. 107

grance at eventide. With, abundant sunshine, and a
deeply spaded soil made rich with old manure and rotted
sod, they grow as luxuriantly as cucumber vines, a single
plant sometimes covering several square yards, if a joint
is now and then pegged down to furnish additional roots.
Avoid the common mistake of- setting them up straight
and stiff as grenadiers with nodding plumes. If you take
plants which have been grown in small pots until the
latter part of May, set the balls nearly three feet apart,
and about two inches below the surface of the soil in a
slanting direction, spread out the stems as widely as pos-
sible, and pinch off the flowers in order to help forward
the new growth. If insects appear, drench them with
tobacco water. No further labor will be required other
than cutting the flowers as they fade, -and guiding the
vines so as to cover all the ground. As to the profusion
of bloom, I can only say, that in the course of a few
weeks I once cut from a small bed several hundred flow-
ers, and then stopped counting. Indeed, the more they
were cut, the more abundant they seemed to be ; and
they gladdened us with their brightness even when the
leaves of autumn were thickly falling.

And now for the other border, what shall the selection
be ? Phlox Drummondii, Balsams, Petunias, Heliotropes ?
It is hard to choose from so many favorites, but let us
suppose the first. They are easily grown from seed sown
early in the hot-bed, or in boxes in the house ; and the
flowers are wonderfully varied, beautiful, profuse, and
persistent. They are more serviceable for bouquets and
vases than Verbenas, and continue blooming quite as late
in the season.

Perhaps you can make a place along the center of these
borders for a few double Balsams. They afford a strik-
ing example of the achievements of floriculture, many of
the flowers rivaling, both in form and color, the Rose and
the Camellia. With nearly all of the side branches pinched

108 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

off, and with a liberal supply of the "liquid fertilizer/'
they will grow in dense masses along the tall stems; and
scarcely interfere with their neighbors below. When cut,
they can be used with fine effect in a saucer or shallow
vase nearly filled with wet sand or moss.

In the "half -shaded corner/' that Jerusalem Cherry
should certainly have the reward of its winter service,
sharing the place with Pansies, Lobelias, Fuchsias,, etc.
So the little garden may be literally filled with flowers all
the season through, for there is no lack of profusely
blooming plants.

But, after all, have I mistaken your question in think-
ing only of the labor required during the growth of the
plants ? The " most bloom " after " the least labor " is
quite another matter. If the soil is not already good
ground, deeply and thoroughly worked, let me hope that
there will be no difficulty in securing this most necessary
condition to the success of your generous enterprise.

THE CHILDREN'S SHAKE.

Do you wonder that the younger brothers and sisters in
your homes are following suit, and asking for "little
greeneries all their own ? " Such enthusiasm as yours
could hardly stop with yourselves. And now it remains
for you to cherish the interest which you have awakened,
and give some direction and help to their small undertak-
ings. Mere blocks of the floricultural alphabet will serve
the purpose at first — seeds and tubers with moisture and
warmth in the simplest combinations. They will have,
for the children, all the charm of novelty and recreation
blended with education, and will constitute at least the
beginning of a genuine "Kindergarten."

A few common examples may suggest to you many
others equally simple and effective.

For Fred — and to be his own work — we will say, a

ET CETEKA. 109

hanging-basket made of a turnip, by scooping out the in-
side so as to leave walls an inch thick, filling the cavity
with soil, and sowing any quickly germinating seeds — the
sprouts from both turnip and seeds combining to make
the greenery.

For Lizzie, a glass goblet nearly filled with water con-
taining a bit of charcoal to keep it sweet — coarse lace
fastened across the top and covered with peas touching
the water — or a disk of cotton-batting or thick flannel of
the diameter of the glass laid on the surface of the water
and sown with any fine seed, grass, mustard, flax-seed,
or water-cress — to be kept in a warm dark place until
the roots enter the water, and then brought to light for
the growth of the green.

For the "little five-year-old/' an acorn or a chestnut
suspended by a thread over a cup of water, or loosely set
in the neck of a well-filled vial, barely in contact with
the water — making in its growth a greenery which is very
small, but very full of interest, even to older heads. It
affords constant opportunity to watch the process of ger-
mination, without the trouble of uncovering beans in the
garden-beds.

The common pine-cone experiment will be more satis-
factory if you fill the spaces behind the scales with
fine soil before sowing the seed, and then keep the cones
in wet sand or moss. Half a dozen such cones having
each a distinct variety of grass, and grouped together in
a vase filled with sand, will make an ornament not un-
worthy of either nursery or parlor.

The Madeira Vine, Sweet Potato, and other tubers
may be grown in "glasses" like the Hyacinth, and
should have precisely the same treatment. [See Chap.
VI., Winter Bloom.] It is altogether a mistake to set
the tubers "half in the water at the bottom of a vase,"
according to some printed directions. My first experi-
ment "followed the book," and issued in an odor quite

110 WINTER GREENERIES AT HOME.

unlike the perfume of flowers. Afterwards, with better
counsel, success was complete — the long white roots filling
every part of the glass, or large-neck bottle, and the beau-
tiful vines retaining their foliage well through the season.
It was a greenery which could not fail to interest the little
folks, and might well delight even "children of a larger
growth."

After these primary lessons in plant life — the visible
germination and growth of seeds and tubers — have lost
their novelty for the restless, growing youngsters in your
homes, what then ? Why, of course, let them advance to
something higher — a rooted cutting, a little box of tiny
plants in pots, a hanging-basket made of a cocoanut-shell
and filled with soil and plants "just like yours." Thus
you give them in their earliest years just what they especi-
ally need as a part of their home education, something to
do — something "all their own," to be interested in, to
care for, to learn about, to grow with their growth and
live in their life.

Could your experiments in floriculture have a better
accompaniment than their efforts at imitation ? Or a
grander final result than their best culture and yours ?
What splendid opportunities you have ! May you fully
succeed in joining with the bloom of plants the flowering
of beautiful character, and thus find in a simple "Kin-
dergarten " the happiest use and highest worth of winter
greeneries at home.

FINIS.

INDEX.

Abutilon, " Boule de Niege ". . . 74

Achyranthes 40

Agaves 40

Air 55

Ammonia 72-76

Angle Worms 58

Ardisia cremilata 23-40

Artillery Plant 41

AstUbe Japonica 67

Aucuba Japonica 40

Azaleas 40-66-73

Ball, to Turn Out 46

Balsams 107

Baskets, Hanging 81

Baskets, to Hang 82

Bay Window '. . . 19

Begonia manicata 24-40-66

Begonia Rex 41

Begonia Weltoniensis 66

Bloomers 63

Borders, Plants for 106

Bouvardias 67

Brackets 84

Bulbs, Hardy 40-67-70

Cactuses 40

Caladiums . 41

Callas 23^0-66-69

Camellias 67

Carnations 40-64

" Care of the Flowers 77

" Selection of 65

" Treatment ....... 69

Catalonian Jessamine 67

Cellar for Plants 103

Centaureas 40

Centradenias 41-67

Century Plant 40

Children's Share 108

Chinese Primroses 74

Cigar-Plant 67

Coleus 40

Composts ,. 43

Convattaria majalis 73

111

Count Charuey 9

Crassulas 40

Crocuses 72

Crotons 41

Cuphea 67

Cutting Back 90

Cuttings in Sand 95

k> in Water 95

" Plants from 94

Cyclamen Persicum 67

Cytisus racemosus 67

Daphnes 40-67

Daphne odora 74

Deciduous Plants . . 36

Decline in Plants 59

Dicentra spectabilis 67

Dicksonia antarctica 24-40

Disease in Plants 59

Dracaenas 40

Drainage 49

Dust 58

Eden, the New 15

Embowered Study 20

Euonymm '. 26^0

Evergreens in the House 80

Exposure 19

Ferns . . . 39

Fern, Climbing 26

Fertilizers, Liquid 76

Ficus elasftca 26-40

" repem 24-30

Flowers, Care of. 77

Forced Plants 35

Frozen Plants 61

Fruit-cans for Plants 105

Fuchsias 40

Fuchsia speciosa 66-74

Furnishing 78

Garden Box 78

General Hints 35

Geraniums 40-67-106

Gold-dust Plant 40

Guano... .. 76

112

INDEX.

Gymnostachyums 41

Hanging Baskets 81

Hartshorn for Plants 72-76

Heating Apparatus 17

Heat, Regulating the 53

Hederas 22-24-39

Heliotropes 67-107

Holland Bulbs 70

Soya carnosa 24-40

Hyacinths 70

Inanimate Dust 58

India-Rubber Tree 26-40

Insects 56

" Aphides 57

" Brown Scale 57

" Mealy Bug 57

" PlantLice 57

" Red Spider 56

Isolepis gracilis 22

Ivies 22-24-26-39

Ivy, Kenilworth 40

Ivy, Shapes for 89

Ivy, Training of... 88

Jerusalem Cherry 106-108

Jessamine, Catalonian 67

Kenilworth Ivy 40

Kindergarten 108

Kitchen for Plants 15

Latania Borbonica 26-40

Laurustinus 67

Layering Plants 96

Lemon Tree 40

Libonia floribunda — 67

Lighting '. 18-54

Lily of the Valley 40-66

Forcing 73

Lime Water 59

Linaria Cymbalarla 24-40-66

Liquid Fertilizers 76

Living Room for Plants 15

Lobelias 67

Lycopodiums 22-41

Lyqodium scandens 26

Madeira Vine 39-108

• Mahernia odorata 22-67

vertidllata 22-67

Mailing Plants 100

Manure, Hen 77

Liquid 76

" Pigeon 77

Marantas

Mignonette 76

Mulching 49

Myrtle 40

Myrtus communis 26-40

Orange Tree 40

Outside Borders 106

Palms 40

Passiflora cceridea 26-40-66

Passion-Flower 40

Peperomias 41

Petunias 107

Picciola 9

Pilea 41

Pinching 99

PMoxDrummoti dii 107

Plants Blooming in Winter 63

'• by Mail 100

'• Diseased 59

" Exposure for 19

" Failure with 31

" for Children 108

" forOutside 106

" for Places 32

" for Partial Shade 40

" for Shaded Places 39

" from Cuttings 94

" from Layers 96

" from Seeds 97

" Frozen 61

" Hints on Selecting 35-39

" in Cellars 103

" in Decline 59

u in the Kitchen 15

" in Living-Rooms 15

" Propagation of 94

lt Protecting from Insects 56

" Reject Forced 35

" Supports for 86

" to Remove from Pot 46

Polyanthus Narcissus 72

Pots, Kind and Shape 45

" Size of 46

" Substitutes for 104

Potting 47

Primroses, Chinese 74

Propagation of Plants 94

Protection at Night 17

" from Insects 56

Pruning 90

Pteris Cretica var 39

u serrulata 24-40

Rain, Regulating the 50

Repotting 48

Rex Begonia 41

Roots, to Examine. . .: 46

INDEX.

113

Roses 40-64

" Selection of 64

" Treatment 68

Saucer Propagation 96

Seeds and Seedlings 97

" Plants from 99

" Sowing of 99

Selaginellas 41

Selection of Plants 32-39

Side-Brackets 84

Snowball Abutilon 74

Soil, Adding Fresh 48

" for Plants 43

Soot 77

Special Treatment 67

Stevias 40

Stevia compacfa 66

Study, The Author's 20

Substitutes for Pots 104

Supports for Plants 86-87

Sweet Alyssum. 76

Sweet Potato Vine ... ... 108

Tobacco Smoke 57

" Water 57

Tradescantias 39

Tradescantia vittata 22

Training Plants 88

Transplanting 100

Tuberoses 67

Tulips 72

Uses of the Cellar 103

Vases 80

Verbenas 106

Vines, Supports for 87

Wardian Cases 90

" Plants for 40

" " Pots in 92

" " toMake 91

Watering 50

Wax Plant 24-40

Winter Bloom 63

Wire Bracket 84

Wire Supports 87

Worms 58

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TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Aspect and Soil.

Laying out Lawn and Flower Garden

Designs for Flower Gardens.

Planting of Flower Beds.

Soils for Potting.

Temperature and Moisture.

The Potting of Plants.

Cold Frames— Winter Protection.

Construction of Hot-Beds.

Greennouse Structures.

Modes of Heating.

Propagation by Seeds.*

Propagation by Cuttings.

Propagation of Lilies.

Culture of the Rose.

Culture of the Verbena.

Culture of the Tuberose.

Diary of Operations for

Orchid Culture.
Holland Bulbs.
Cape Bulbs.

Winter-Flowering Plants
Construction of Bouquets
Hanging Baskets.
Window Gardening.
Rock-Work.
Insects.

Nature's Law of Colors.
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Profits of Floriculture.
Soft-Wooded Plants.
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Annuals.

Hardy Herbaceous Plants
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THE Rose is the oniy flower that can he said to have a history. It is pop-
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41 In offering a new edition of this work, tho preparation of whicn gave
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" In directions for culture, we give the results of our own experience, and
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CONTENTS'

CHAPTER I.— Botanical Classification.

CHAPTER II. — Garden Classification.

CHAPTER III. — General Culture of the Rose.

CHAPTER IV.— Soil, Situa^n, and Planting.

CHAPTER V. — Pruning, Training, and Bedding.

CHAPTER VI.— Potting and Forcing.

CHAPTER VII.— Propagation.

CHAPTER VIII.— Multiplication by Seed and Hybridizing.

CHAPTER IX.— Diseases and Insects Attacking the Rose.

CHAPTER X.— Early History of the Rose, and Fables Respecting its Origin.

CHAPTER XI. — Luxurious Use of the Rose.

CHAPTER XII.— The Rose in Ceremonies and Festivals, and in the Adorn

ment of Burial-placos.

CHAPTER 2T III.— The Rose in the Middle Ages.
CHAPTER XIV.— Perfumes of the Rose.
CHAPTER XV.~Medical Properties of the Rose.
~>IAFTKR XVI.— General Remarks.

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