PARLOR-FLOWERS L\ WINTER. 



tliem till spring; and the consequence is, that they have very little enjoyment in their fa- 

 vorites. 



Treatment of House-planls designed simply to Stand Over, — Tender roses, Azaleas, 

 Cape Jessamines, Crape Myrtles, Oranges, Lemons, Figs, Oleanders, may be kept in a 

 light cellar if frost never penetrates it. 



If kept in parlors, the following are the most essential points to be observed. The ther- 

 mometer should never be permitted to rise above 60" or 65°; nor at night to sink below 

 40°. Although plants will not be frost-bitten until the mercury falls to 32°, yet the chill 

 of a temperature below 40° will often be as mischievous to tender plants, as frost itself. 

 Excessive heat, particularly a dry stove heat, will destroy the leaves almost as certainly as 

 frost. We have seen plants languishing in a temperature of 70°, [it often rising ten de- 

 grees higher,] while the owners wondered what could ail the plants, for they were sure 

 that they kept the room warm enough! 



Next, great care should be taken not to o^■er-water. Plants which are not growing, re- 

 quire very little water. If given, the roots become sogged, or rotten, and the whole plant 

 is enfeebled. Water should never be suffered to stand in the saucers; nor be given, always, 

 when the top soil is dry. Let the earth be stirred, and when the interior of the ball is 

 becoming dry, give it a copious supply, let it drain through thoroughly, and then turn oiF 

 what falls into the saucer. 



Plants designed for Winter-Flowering. — It is to be remembered that winter is natu- 

 rally the season of rest for plants. All plants require to lie dormant during some portion 

 of the year. You cannot cheat them out of it. If they are pushed the whole year, they 

 become exhausted and worthless. Here lies the most common error of plant-keepers. If 

 you mean to have roses, blooming geraniums, &c., in winter, you must, artificially, change 

 their season of rest. Plants which flower in summer must rest in winter; those which 

 are to flower in winter, must rest either in summer or autumn. It is not, usually, worth 

 while to take into the house for flowering purposes, any shrub which has been in full bloom 

 during the summer or autumn. Select and pot the wished for flowers during summer; 

 place them in a shaded position facing the north, give them very little water, and then 

 keep them quiet. Their energies will thus be saved for winter. When taken into the 

 house, the four essential points of attention are light, moisture, temperature, and cleanli- 

 ness. 



1. Light. The functions of the leaves cannot be healthfully carried on without liglit. 

 If there be too little, the sap is imperfectly elaborated, and returns from the leaves to the 

 body in a crude, undigested state. The growth will be coarse, water}^, and brittle; and 

 that ripeness which must precede flowers and fruit cannot be attained. The sprawling, 

 spindling, white-colored, long-jointed, plants, of which some persons are unwisel}'^ proud, 

 are, often, the result of too little light and too much water. The pots should be turned 

 around every day, unless when the light strikes down from above, or from windows on 

 each side; otherwise, they will grow out of shape by bending toward the light. 



2. Moisture. Different species of plants require different quantities of water. What 

 are termed aquatics, of which the Calla ^thiopica,is a specimen, require great abundance 

 of it. Yet it should be often changed even in the case of aquatics. But roses, geraniums, 

 &c., and the common house plants require the soil to be moist, rather than wet. As a 

 general rule it may be said that every pot should have one-sixth part of its depth filled 

 with coarse pebbles, as a drainage, before the plants are potted. This gives all superflu 

 ous moisture a free passage out. Plants should be watered by examination and not 

 time. They require various quantities of moisture, according to their activity, an 



