284 



WINDOW GARDENING. 



glossy green leaves. A young oak tree growing in this way is an elegant object. 

 The water should be kept clean with bits of charcoal, and if the leaves turn yel- 

 low add a little ammonia to it. Chestnut trees can be grown in this way, but 

 their leaves are not as beautiful and delicate as those of the oak. 



Baslets of Green Cress, or Pepper Grass. 

 The common garden cress grows very rapidly, and can be used in various ways 



in making grassy ornaments for 

 parlor or table decoration. A com- 

 mon basket of oziers can be trans- 

 formed into a lovel}^ greenery by 

 planting it thus : Select a pretty 

 shape of either ozier or wire, and 

 line the basket with folds of cotton 

 batting sewed on both outside and 

 inside, covering the handle with 

 the same, or thick white flannel 

 can be substituted for the cotton 

 wool and strips of it rolled around 

 the handle. 



Procure four or five ounces of 

 cress seeds and steep them in 

 warmish water for four or five 

 hours , set into the basket a china 

 saucer, (or the saucer of a flower 

 pot will answei,)fill it with water, 

 and when the soaked seed has be- 

 come a little sticky spread them 

 all over the flannel, to which they 

 will adhere. Leave no spot un- 

 covered, for it must be thickly 

 strewn with plants. Set the bas- 

 ket in a warm, dark place for two 

 or three days — longei- if the leaves 

 do not commence to sprout — then 

 bring it out to air and light, and 

 soon it will become a mass of 

 KiK, -.a. Fioiii va«e. feathery green foliage. You must 



sprinkle it every day with warmi.sh water, holding it over a wash bowl ; and the 



water must always fill the saucer 



A small fern can be grown in the saucer, or a Primula, or a cluster of Cro- 



cu-ses. 



Another pretty device is that of the Turnip basket, which is made by simply 



taking a large Turnip, scraping out the inside so as to leave a thick wall of an 



