PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 19 



make our earthly homes, the nearer shall we come to solving the problem, 

 " How to guard the rising generation against the evils of the day." 



House plants form one of the cheapest and most attractive of the long list 

 of home decorations, and as this talk is to be for home adornment and pleasure, 

 not for any money that there may be in it, we take the ground that no house- 

 keeper should try to keep any more plants than her time and strength will 

 allow, and not interfere with the more essential home cares. 



It is wonderful how much pleasure and inspiration can be derived from the 

 cultivation of a few varieties ; how they brighten and enliven the home, and 

 the real company those objects of life are in the season when all nature is in- 

 animate. 



I entered the clean and cheerful kitchen of a friend some time since, where 

 she was doing the week's ironing, and noticing the look of real pleasure and 

 satisfaction on her countenance, and seeing that she was quite alone, I said : 

 "Why, Mrs, B., I thought you had company?" "And so I have," was her 

 reply, introducing me at once to a thrifty calla lily with a blossom of creamy 

 white luxuriance standing on the table in front of her work. 



"I cannot stay in the sitting room all the time to feast my eyes on my lily, 

 and so I have brought it out and placed it where I may eujoy it while I work." 



And so after first assuring ourselves that we are equal to the task of not allow- 

 ing them to be nipped by Jack Frost, we should decide as to the amount of room 

 we can allot to this purpose ; and the next very important step is the selection 

 of plants, and those that will give you the most satisfaction for the care you 

 can give them, are the ones to decide upon. In this taste they may as widely 

 differ as the nature and disposition of individuals. I have found the most enjoy- 

 ment in the geranium, coleus and begonia, because I have so little room to give 

 to plants, and these varieties are always attractive from their bright and varie- 

 gated foliage, which in some instances is as handsome as blossoms can well be. 



I would not exclude from ever so small a collection a few of the trailing 

 vines in hanging baskets, as they add much of grace and beauty to window 

 gardening, and some varieties can be placed where they do not have the direct 

 influence of the window light, and do well. 



I was much pleased recently with a pot of smilax, placed behind the cornice 

 of a friend's secretary with its dark, glossy green, foliage drooping gracefully 

 from the corner. The madeira vine, tradescantia, English ivy and oxalis are 

 among the most common and easiest of cultivation and beautiful for window 

 decoration. The farfugium is very ornamental, and if you have room for its 

 broad leaves, no collection is complete without it. I would not neglect the 

 modest little primrose, whose blossoms will turn a smiling face to you, as an 

 ample reward for the little care that it demands in your north window, while 

 the old-fashioned oleander with its wide spreading boughs, will remind you of 

 the tropical clime in the home, although without may lie deep the Arctic 

 snows. I have sometimes thought that if I could not keep another plant, I 

 would still want the rose geranium and sweet fern for the aromatic fragrance 

 they will bestow. 



I have found that plants give the best satisfaction in the common earthern 

 crocks from five to eight niches in diameter, and from five to seven inches in 

 depth, resting in saucers of the same material to receive the drainage, in case 

 they should be given too much water at any time — the crocks to be filled with 

 sandy soil mixed with leaf mould. 



The greatest ditficulty I have found in keeping plants in the living room is 

 the dust that will arise from sweeping, and this may be obviated, in a measure, 



