L1880. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



297 



shown, furnish this moisture to the warm air of 

 rooms, they might with propriety be classed as 

 therapeutic agents; but to draw lines of distinc- 

 tion between their hygienic and their therapeutic 

 application would be an unnecessary refinement 

 of terms. 



Of course it is chiefly in diseases of a chronic 

 nature, and particularly those affecting the kings 

 and air-passages, that we should expect to derive 

 good results from such a measure as stocking 

 the sick-room with growing plants, for it is in 

 such cases that dry heat does the most harm. 

 Still, they would prove beneficial also, in a less 

 degree, in acute diseases, especially the continued { 

 fevers, and, perhaps, membranous croup, ' 

 where moisture in the air is so desirable. House- 

 plants have, however, a sphere of usefulness j 

 which is independent of atmospheric humidity. 

 In nervous disorders of the functional class, | 

 such as melancholia and chlorosis, in diseases of 

 the mind proper, and in other allied conditions \ 

 (excessive grief, ennui, etc.), where it is neces- : 

 sary to divert the mind or relieve tension, nothing i 

 is more efficient than the pleasing occupation of i 

 studying and caring for plants. i 



But it is in that sweeping disease phthisis that | 

 plants offer tlie best hope of success as therapeu- ! 

 tic agents. The importance of this point de- 1 

 mands that it should receive careful attention, i 



(To be continued.) 



NEAT GREENHOUSES. 



BY RAMBLER, PHILA. 



Some people have associated such a tropical 

 idea with the sight of a greenhouse, that they 

 positively shrink from entering it on a warm 

 day, and this idea is fostered by the custom, 

 and in the explanation of the majority of gar- 

 deners on the summer cultivation of greenhouse 

 plants, in the turning out of all and every mov- 

 able plant (wholesale and retail) out of the 

 greenhouse and huddled together sans cere- 

 monie under trees, hedges, back walls and out- 

 of-the-way corners; the affair is finished by put- 

 ting an embargo on the greenhouse door. The 

 place is forthwith proscribed, and like a sleigh, 

 it is laid away until winter, when it is again 

 stuffed full of its former occupants, and all under 

 the absurd notion that nothing will thrive in it 

 during the summer months. 



If gardeners would for a moment study the ef- 

 fects of this method they would soon abandon it 

 for a better. Nothing can be more injurious to 

 them or to their profession. 



If we would create in the minds of our em- 

 ployers a lively interest for the subject of our 

 labors, we ought to render those subjects as inter- 

 esting as possible. We must give a visible polish 

 to the productions of our art. The flower gar- 

 den may be parched with drouth, but the green- 

 house ought always to be in a blaze of beauty. 

 But, can this be done ? Certainly. Nothing is 

 more easy. To effect it successfully, however, 

 the gardener must not only have a "weather 

 eye," but also a philosophical one, so as to dis- 

 cern the times and the seasons, the transitions of 

 nature and the nature of the plants, and the 

 atmosphere we place them in as well as the soil 

 and water we supply them with. In short, we 

 must do things in the proper manner and at the 

 proper time, in close imitation of the teachings 

 of nature. We ought to have that confidence in 

 our operations which is learned only by close 

 practice and strict observation, and without 

 which, plant-growing is both a profitless and 

 pleasureless business, unsatisftxctory to our em- 

 ployers and discreditable to ourselves. Every 

 summer I visit a considerable number of places 

 Avhere gardeners are kept, and at most, without 

 one single exception, their greenhouses are 

 empty ; perhaps a few old and immovable and 

 unsightly subjects were standing here and there 

 covered with dead and dying foliage, making the 

 wretched appearance of the house more wretched 

 and its confusion more confused. 



I admit there are many who have little encour- 

 agement to try anything of the kind suggested, 

 and that an empty, disfigured greenhouse, for 

 the wantof taste, culture or inclination is as much 

 appreciated as if it was that thing of beauty repre- 

 sented as being to some few "a joy for ever." 

 Nor should we allow small obstacles to be sufficient 

 apology to relinquish or chequer that art that is 

 so worthy our best endeavors. We sacrifice time 

 and convenience to many things not half so 

 worthy our efforts or so satisfactory in their re- 

 sults. 



STEPHANOTIS FLORIBUNDA. 



BY CHA8. nARRAIl, PHILA. 



Mrs. R p. wishes to know of a white climber 

 for her conservatory, I think S. floribunda will 

 answer her purpose. Equal parts of turfy loam 

 and peat with sand to insure porosity will form 

 a good compost for this beautiful climber, as it 

 makes rapid growth. Attention must be given 

 to shifting before the roots get overcrowded. 

 Finally it may occupy a 15-inch pot. As growth 



