THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 35.5 



minutes to send thermal telegrams all over the place, and forthwith 

 the temperature of every house so fed rises, and the heat increases 

 as the darkness increases, and that is plant mubdee. Do not 

 suppose, good reader, that it is only in remote and very darkened 

 districts this takes place. iSTothiug of the sort. The mischievous 

 system is in action in some good gardens ; tlie fires are lighted late 

 in the afternoon, and the houses are comfortably warm after dark 

 and the plants are already becoming long-jointed, pale, and atte- 

 nuated ; the Dsemon oi fire-heat tvithout light has got possession, 

 andwillfora time have his way. But that need not prevent us 

 raising the warning voice. Keep down the night temperature, and 

 if you want growtlx let the glass rise by daylight, and whatever 

 growth is then made will be green and worth having. 



POT PLANTS POR DECORATIVE PURPOSES. 



BT MISS A. HASSAED. 



|T is quite unnecessary for me to demonstrate the value of 

 pot plants for decorative purposes, particularly at this 

 season, when cut flowers are scarce. A few plants 

 placed on the buflet and dinner table take their place 

 effectively as a substitute, and have the advantage of 

 lasting longer ; that is, if the plants have been properly cooled down 

 preparatory. So much depends on this, that when failure happens, 

 the atmosphere of the room is usually blamed as the cause. VV^hen 

 ferns, and such like plants, shrivel up their delicate fronds a few 

 hours after they have been introduced from the greenhouse, the 

 blame is cast upon the fire and the gas, whereas, the real cause is, 

 they had not been properly cooled off first ; and if this had been 

 attended to, they would have remained fresh for weeks, whereas, 

 being unprepared, a few hours was sufficient to spoil their appearance. 

 In the way of foliage plants for room decoration, palms and 

 ferns come first, for, although there are many foliage plants more 

 attractive in colour, there are none so graceful and elegant, 

 or more useful for table decoration. Amongst ferns adapted 

 for placing on the dinner table, there is none more elegant or 

 lighter looking, than a well-shaped plant of Adiantiim cuneatum. 

 There have been many new varieties introduced since this plant was 

 first used for this purpose ; but none have been able to supersede 

 it, with its dark green fronds spreading round the base of the pot, 

 and shaded up until it is finished off with three or four pale 

 tinted ones at the top. For a small-sized plant it has no equal. 

 There are many other varieties of ferns also well suited for table 

 decoration, such as AcUanticm capillus veneris, A. iiedatuni, A. for- 

 mostc^m, A, tinctum, Lomciria gihha, Gi/mno/jramma calo?neIanos; 

 Gheilanthes elegans, Davallia elegaas, Pteris serrulata, JP. serrulafa 

 cristata, P. tricolor, and many others too numerous to mention. 



December. 



