446 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



saw the value of it, though I did not push its sale. The stock was sold to a 

 good judge, and is meeting with great favor both here and in England. 



THE WINDOW AND CONSERVATORY. 



How to Make Plants Grow. — In Our Country Home we find these hints: 

 Success in house-plant culture consists in keeping the soil moist, not wet, 

 except in the case of the calla; in seeing that the leaves are kept clean, which 

 can be easily done by a weekly showering with a syringe or water-pot with a 

 fine rose nozzle; in keeping down spiders and the aphis — water, above and 

 below the leaves, in liberal quantities, applied with a syringe being the remedy 

 for the former, and tobacco smoke or infusion for the latter; and in so regu- 

 lating the temperature that it does not exceed 85° or fall below 45 Q . Keep 

 between these extremes as evenly as possible, if you would have it suited to 

 your plants. It is a good plan to cover them before sweeping, after that 

 remove the covering, and sprinkle them daily. Keep a vessel of water on the 

 stove to evaporate and put moss between the pots, if you can, to absorb water 

 which it will give off in sufficient quantities to keep the air perceptibly moist 

 about the plants. Give them all the light you can. Don't have curtains at 

 the windows where you keep plants, unless you can put them aside during the 

 day time. Attention to these details, and a careful study of your plants will 

 soon enable you to grow them well. The more study you give the matter, the 

 more intelligently you can do your work. — 0. C. H. 



Plants for Shady Windows. — E. E. Kexford, a skillful writer upon floral 

 topics, says that having a north window from which the outlook was not very 

 pleasant, he determined to fill it with plants. For this purpose he selected 

 such kinds as he thought most likely to do well in almost complete shade. 

 These were Aspidistra variegata, Ourculigo ecurvata, Dracaena indivisa and 

 Seaforthia relegans, of the palm family, with an English ivy to clamber up 

 and about the window frame. He purposely omitted all flowering plants. His 

 selection was very satisfactory during the winter. The plants grew well, and 

 though there was no bright color to relieve the green of the foliage, the effect 

 was cheerful and suggestive of summer. 



The Aspidistra has leaves like the Lily of the Valley in shape, only a great 

 deal larger. They are striped with light and dark green, and occasionally 

 with clear white. Each leaf is thrown up from the roots. The leaves are 

 very thick and firm in texture, and seem to be everlasting. They are very 

 easily kept clean by the use of a cloth or sponge. There is little danger of 

 doing any damage to them by handling them. This is my second experience 

 with this plant in shade, and I am convinced that it is one of the best ones 

 we have for north windows, or any other location deprived of sunshine. On 

 account of the thick texture of the leaves it is able to withstand the dry air 

 and dust of our living rooms better than almost any other plant. The Cur- 

 culigo Eecurvata has long leaves, deeply ribbed or plaited their whole length, 

 with a pure white stripe in the center. These leaves have a graceful curve, 

 and as they are quite freely produced a well-grown plant is very ornamental. 

 Like the Aspidistra it is very firm in texture and little affected by heat or 

 dust. 



