THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 239 



a needful supply of moisture. If never visited with a breath of air, 

 it is none the worse ; and, on the other hand, expoj^ure to wind is 

 decidedly injurious to it. Some years ago, when pLmting an arti- 

 ficial cave, under glass, with ferns, we inserted a plaut of Lastrea 

 ajmula in a rather dark and ob;<cure chink, where it could onlv be 

 seen by looking for it. Now it protrudes beyond the opening, and 

 throws out a graceful tuft of its elegant fronds in a most pleasing 

 manner, and proving tliat the selection of a damp, shady, sheltered 

 place is a matter of the first necessity in its cultivation. As to soil, 

 light loam, with plenty of silver sand and pounded stone, will suit it 

 exactly. The plant just referred to had not more than a handful of 

 soil to begin life upon, and probably has insinuated its roots amongst 

 the stone and brick of which the cave is constructed, and so has 

 soil enough in what one may call the heart of the rock. The dried 

 fronds emit an agreeable hay-scent for years after the date of gather- 

 ing them. S. H. 



MANAGEMENT OF WINDOW FLO WEES. 



BY JAMES COLDWELLS. 



|HAT even the successful cultivation of plants and flowers 

 may be carried on in densely-populated neighbourhoods 

 has been many times satisfactorily proved. Don, in the 

 Gardener s Dictionary, tells us that the Paisley weavers 

 had increased the varieties of the garden pink to such 

 an extent, that they enumerated 300 varieties of the Pheasant's-eyes 

 alone. Carnations, dahlias, auriculas, tulips, and many others of 

 the florists' flowers, have owed much of their popularity to the 

 successful cultivation of town growers. If any one will take the 

 trouble to walk through Spitalfields during the season balsams are 

 in bloom, he may see specimens in some of the windows which 

 would not disgrace a gardener. Last year some of the best chry- 

 santhemum flowers of the season were produced in the Hackney 

 Eoad, amid the dust, dirt, and smoke which abound in that neigh- 

 bourhood. So that those who live in the most out-of-the-way places 

 need not despair, for it is only necessary for them to take the 

 trouble, and to set about it in the riglit way, in order to have their 

 living rooms enlivened by the presence of green leaves and even 

 flowers. 



Of course plants grown in windows require a great deal more 

 attention than those grown in the garden, the reason of which is 

 obvious; but the chief conditions necessary to their remaining in 

 a state of health are a good compost to grow in, a good supply of 

 air, plenty of light in the day, darkness and coolness at night, 

 cleanliness, and a proper amount of moisture at the roots. We 

 have not space to enlarge upon all these heads, but refer those who 

 want all the minutiae to the "Town Garden." It would be useless to 



