1884.] PLANTS SUITABLE FOR ROOM CULTURE. 41 



bright and charming specimens of the vegetable world should not 

 exist and flourish in any ordinary room. You may depend upon 

 this, that tlie jjlace where no kind of plant will thrive, jnust also be 

 a very unhealthy situation for a human being to live in. The 

 animal and vegetable kineidoms are tlius far linked at least, that the 

 majority of the conditions necessary for the proper health of the one 

 are also necessary for the other ; and I am convinced that if our 

 officers of health had a proper knowledge of plant physiology, or 

 even plant culture, they would derive great benefit thereby. They 

 might with safety condemn any locality where plants refused to grow 

 if properly treated. Many object to having plants in rooms or 

 apartments on physiological grounds. But scientists are not 

 altogether agreed as to what takes place in plant life during the 

 night ; some holding that less oxygen is given oft", while others 

 maintain tliat a small proportion of carbonic acid is tlien given off 

 by plants. But be this as it may, we do not wish you to fill your 

 rooms entirely with plants, but simply so many as give them a 

 bright and cheerfal appearance, and from these there will be 

 absolutely no danger. Plants and flowei-s are beautiful everywhere, 

 but surely more so in towns, where every one cannot possess the 

 luxury of a garden. 



FAILUKES. 



The great cause of failure in plant-growing, consists in either 

 attempting too much or making an unsuitable selection of plants. 

 The beginner should start with common robust plants, and if 

 successful with these, may gradually take up the more valuable and 

 tender kinds. If we have no proper conveniences for exotics need- 

 ing a warm stove, we must boldly reject them in favour of hardy or 

 half-hardy subjects. And exotics may easily be rejected, as we have 

 the plants of the various temperate countries to select from, which 

 include hundreds that will not only exist, but grow vigorously and 

 flower freely in the comparatively temperate atmosphere of an 

 ordinary apartment. Indeed, the numbers of excellent plants whicli 

 might be meirtioned as suitable for room culture are so great, that I 

 will limit attention chiefly to those plants that I have personally 

 seen, at one time or another, successfully used for this purpose. A 

 very common error in plant-growing is over-watering. I have 

 frequently been assured by people who really desired to grow a few 

 nice plants in their room.s, that it was no use their trying. Do as 

 they liked, things would not grow with them ; either tlie smoke or 

 the gas, or one thing or another, was the cause of failure. But on 

 examining the case, you might find, under the same conditions, 

 perhaps in the next stair, the same kind of plants in a fair state of 



