THE SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 389 



ment the parlor or sitting-room, unci they may be glad to learn that there' are 

 some things that preserve their freshness and heantv for along time, and cost 

 but little to procure. One of the very best and prettiest of these is the leaf of 

 Cissus discolor, the rich and varied coloring of whicii surpasses many kinds of 

 flowers. Take an ordinary soup plate (or any similar thing that will hold 

 water) and fill it with water, or, better still, sand kept saturated with water. 

 Now go to some florist's and get leaves enough of Cissus discolor to go round 

 the edge of the plate. Pick out the prettiest colored leaves, and get the leaf 

 stalks as long as possible. Insert the stalks in the sand around the edge of the 

 plate, and you will bo delighted with the charming effect. It will not be very 

 long before the leaf stalks emit roots freely, and the leaves will retain their 

 freshness and beauty for a long time in the sitting-room, no matter how hot 

 and dry the air may be, provided only the sand be kept wet. I have kept them 

 fully three months in this way. Having usually plenty of flowers, I keep the 

 center of the dish filled with them, renewing them as they fade. If you have 

 no flowers for this purpose, get same variegated Wandering Jew, (Tradescantia 

 zebrina is good,) and dot it over the dish. It will soon root and grow. Selag- 

 inella may be used in the same way for the center, and makes a good green 

 ground in which to insert a rose, a carnation, or other choice flower that may 

 happen along. All this can be done with very little trouble, and will make the 

 center table or even the dinner table, look very cheerful. The rich, velvety 

 leaves of Maranta zebrina, when well grown, will also last a long time in the 

 sitting-room, treated in the same way, but look best in a small vase, or some- 

 thing of that kind. 



LOOK AHEAD TO WINTER. 



The wiiy to have flowers in winter is to prepare for it in summer. Vick's 

 floral guide has some good points which we condense. 



The balsam is a very desirable plant for winter blooming, particularly the 

 "white, and towards autumn we often select cuttings from a few of the Buesfc 

 plants in the garden, and root them in pots for winter flowers. The stocks are 

 equally good. The Coboea scandens, and nearly all the climbers make excel- 

 lent winter bloomers. We mention these things because they are so easily 

 grown, yet every way desirable. To grow plants for winter flowering, seed can 

 be sown about July or August, in a shady, cool place in the garden, or in boxes, 

 the soil being kept well watered, and by autumn plants will be just right to 

 transfer to the house. Of course, as the plants get large enough to transi)lant, 

 they must be put in pots in which they are to flower. Mignonette and sweet 

 alyssum may be sown as late as September. Put from three to six plants in a 

 pot. The Maderia vine tubers may be kept out of the ground until the latter 

 part of June; and if then planted in pots will be in just proper condition to 

 transfer to the house, and will prove no mean ornament to the window garden. 



The tuberose should be treated in just the same manner, and will flower in 

 the early winter. 



Any plants in the open ground that have not bloomed, may be taken up 

 carefully and potted, shading a few days after potting, and given a full supply 

 of water. 



Look around the garden before frost, and see if you have some young and 

 strong plants that proved a little late for outdoor flowering, that you would 



