$2 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
crock placed curved side up. This precaution is essential to 
prevent the soil from sifting through the holes and occa- 
sionally clogging them. As the plants in the box are of 
necessity crowded, the soil should be rich enough to produce 
a stocky, healthy growth, one part of well-rotted manure and 
four parts of fibrous loam being a good mixture. The box 
should be filled with soil to within one inch of the top to 
allow for watering. During the season it may be desirable 
to sprinkle the plants with liquid manure to replenish the 
food in the soil, but if this is not available, concentrated 
sheep manure or complete commercial fertilizers may be 
applied. Upon the watering, or the lack of it, very often 
depends the success or failure of the box. The frequency 
of watering can only be determined by actual practice, being 
dependent upon atmospheric conditions, soil, sunlight, wind, 
etc. However, it is always best to water as late in the day 
as convenient, after sunset preferably, during the summer 
months. Washing of the ioliaws is also essential to keep the 
leaves clear of dust, which clogs the air-pores to the detri- 
ment of the plants. 
The chief insect enemies that may attack plants are the 
green aphis and the red spider. The former may be eradi- 
cated by spraying with a tobacco solution obtainable at any 
seed or flower store. Thorough syringing of the foliage on 
both sides with a forcible fine water spray will eliminate the 
red spider. 
_ At the entrances to theaters, hotels, and similar institu- 
tions, appropriate street boxes filled with plants add an air 
of refinement and quality. In such localities hanging baskets 
may also be used to advantage, these being made of rustic 
wood work, terra-cotta, crockery, galvanized wire, etc. The 
plants used are similar to those of the window boxes, and 
the tall kinds are generally placed in the center and flower- 
ing and trailing ones along the sides. Still greater care must 
be given to the pe when baskets are used, as the space for 
soil is small and the exposed location is subject to the action 
of drying winds. 
In this article the window box is the central feature of 
the discussion, but in a later bulletin it will be pointed out 
that in smaller towns where the buildings often stand farther 
apart there are opportunities for a more varied type of deco- 
ration, including a much freer use of vines, shrubbery, and 
other landscape possibilities. In some of the southern cities, 
for instance, a unique feature is utilized of placing specimen 
palms in tubs along the sidewalks and planting vines at their 
bases to cover the trunks. In other cities ornamental lam 
posts are decorated with baskets or boxes of plants suspend 
Pees 
Pease er 
