106 GARDENING INDOORS AND UNDER GLASS 
can be given plenty of water. At this time, if they 
are not repotted, bone meal should be worked into 
the surface of the soil and a liquid manure of bone 
meal given once a month or so during the growing 
season. 
Both during winter and summer, shower the 
leaves frequently, with as forceful a stream as pos- 
sible, to prevent scale and mealy-bug getting a start. 
(For treatment see page 135.) Keep the leaves and 
stems clean by wiping off every once in a while with 
a soft cloth and soapy warm water, syringing with 
clean water afterwards. 
THE BEST HOUSE PALMS 
Although the number of palms cultivated is very 
large, very few indeed — only about a dozen — will 
give satisfactory results in the house. ‘The fact that 
a palm will live — or rather, takes a very long time 
to die — under abuse, has misled people into think- 
ing that they do not need as much care as other 
house plants. This is a mistake. 
Palms may be considered in two classes, the fan- 
leaved and the feather-leaved, or deeply cut, sorts. 
Of the former there are but three sorts good for 
house culture. 
Latania Borbonica, the Chinese Fan-leaved palm, 
is the best known. It is one of the hardiest, stand- 
ing a temperature as low as forty-five degrees at 
night. It is broad in habit, and the large leaves are 
