1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



359 



Greenhouse and House Gardening. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Some time since a good lady, fond of plants, 

 and a good gardener besides, called the writer in- 

 to her very successful little greenhouse, and some- 

 what in this wise did she lecture him : " I don't 

 know that you have so written it, but all the books 

 I get hold of tell me never to keep saucers of 

 water standing under the pots — now what do you 

 think of these plants?" They certainly were 

 charming specimens of robust health, rivaling the 

 lady herself in this respect — and the writer re- 

 ceived a smiling acknowledgment of the compW 

 ment offered. " Now, you see, I keep a saucer 

 under each pot, and I always have water in the 

 saucer. In the winter when I want the plants to 

 look fresh and green, I put a little guano, or some 

 other rich food in the saucers, and sometimes I 

 put water quite hot. And yet you — pardon me — 

 your writing class positively condemn the prac- 

 tice." And when we come to think of it, why 

 should we condemn saucers under pot plants, and 

 water in the saucers? As the lady says, authors 

 do condemn the practice, but, after all, why ? A 

 plant with all its roots in water will not thrive un- 

 less it is an aquatic plant. Hence water must run 

 rapidly away from the upper portion of the roots. 

 What is called the drainage is to accomphsh this, 

 and so long as the water runs rapidly through the 

 earth into the saucer, it is all good culture re- 

 quires. 



Plant growers have much trouble from insects, 

 the little diminutive red spider especially, the work 

 of which is often not known until the injury is 

 done. It can readily be detected by a small 

 pocket lens, which every plant grower ought to 

 have. For a few plants in a window an occasion- 

 al sponging of the leaves with water in which a 

 little tobacco has been decocted is about the best 

 thing. In a plant cabinet, tobacco dust — snuff — 

 scattered over damp leaves is very good, but it 

 does not reach the under surface of leaves. 

 Water heated to 130° is very effectual, and an oc- 

 casional syringing at this temperature will keep 

 down all insects, and is much preferable to the 

 filthy smoke and horrible compounds so often 

 recommended. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



WINDOW GARDENING. 



BY JOHN THORPE, 



The requirements for the successful manage- 

 ment of window plants are neither numerous nor 

 difficult ; yet, as a rule, more disappointments and 

 failures result than in any other branch of ama- 

 teur gardening. One of the first requirements is 

 a genuine love for plants, without which the many 

 necessary little attentions are sure to be omitted, 

 and the plants will suffer accordingly. It may be 

 stated as a guiding rule that the greater the care, 

 the greater the success and satisfaction. 



The majority of plants require all the light it is 

 possible to give them, with as much sunshine as 

 the position and structure of the window will ad- 

 mit. As a rule those plants exposed to the morn- 

 ing sunshine thrive better than those having ex- 

 posure to the afternoon beams only — this apphes 

 particularly to flowering plants. 



Those plants grown for the beauty of their 

 leaves and elegance of foliage, as, for exarnple, 

 palms, ferns and begonias, will thrive in windows 

 which either are not exposed at all to direct sun- 

 shine, or for only a short time each day. But the 

 light should be admitted directly to the windows, 

 and not shaded by overhanging roofs. 



Plants require nutritious soil. The best general 

 soil is turf from a rich pasture, cut about two and 

 a half inches thick, laid closely together until it 

 has somewhat decayed, then broken up and mixed 

 with about one-third very rotten manure or leaf 

 soil. The leaf soil can generally be found in 

 flaky-like forms beneath oak, chestnut, or other 

 large trees, where standing thickly together. 

 Where such soil cannot be obtained, a good sub- 

 stitute is easily found in the rich soil easily ob- 

 tained from hedge banks, and in corners of most 

 fields by the sides of the fence. Those living in 

 cities can always obtain suitable soil from the lo- 

 cal florist. 



The watering of plants is of the greatest impor- 

 tance, and this must be done rightly. Nine-tenths 

 of the failures in window gardening can be at- 

 tributed to improper watering, either too much or 



