MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOOIETY. 45 
open old fashioned fire place makes a warm, bright picture for those, 
who having, perhaps, been overburdened through the day, are hurrying 
home tired and worn; they cannot look in upon such brightness ‘and 
beauty, breaking suddenly upon them, out.of the cold and darkness, 
without being cheered and softened. Who can tell but some hoy 
who, far from home influence, has been tempted to leave the right 
way, may be hurrying to some low haunt of vice, and seeing the’ 
bright ‘bay window with its beautiful occupants, may be reminded 
of the geranium that grows in ‘mother’s window at home,” and 
thinking of that dear mother who he knows calls down blessings on 
his head, may turn from his evil purpose, and resolve to do nothing 
which could grieve that loving, trusting heart. 
By all means let every one who can, cultivate ‘bay window plants,” 
and let their light shine on and through them, in such a way that 
others seeing their good works, may be led to glorify our Father who 
has created so much beauty for wayfarers through this world of trial, 
temptation and suffering. 
As the result of several years’ experience in this special depart- 
ment of floriculture, I would say that many plants which thrive well 
out of doors through the summer, will not prove satisfactory in a 
bay window. 
Those that have best repaid me for the care necessary to bestow 
upon them are the Zonale or horse shoe geranium; the Pelargoni- 
ums; the various kinds of Abutilon; the Ivy geranium with its rich, 
dark green, wax-like leaves, made perfect by their zone of brown. 
The Fuchsias, with their brilliant pendants so exquisite, that one 
must be cold indeed to see them without expressing delight; the 
different varieties of Bouvardia, a comparatively new and very satis- 
factory plant, with trumpet-shaped flowers in clusters, reminding one 
somewhat of the Honeysuckle; the brilliant crimson Coleus; the 
Maurandya, a beautiful, graceful vine, and very easily cultivated ; 
all the varieties of Ivy; the time-honored, graceful and free-growing 
Madeira vine and Smilax, so justly admired and so useful for all 
sorts of floral decoration, Last and best loved by me of all my fio- 
ral family, because it was my first and has been a most enduring 
treasure, I name the elegant Calla Ethiopica, exceedingly valuable 
for its bright glossy foliage, and bearing a magnificent fragrant mono- 
petalous blossom, which standing out fair, pure and saint like, makes 
one feel that ‘* Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like this” 
queen among the lilies, clothed and made glorious by the Almighty 
hand. 
Hanging baskets are beautiful adornments to a bay window, and 
for these I find very suitable any of the vines above mentioned ; also 
the silver-edged Vinca, the glossy-leaved Myrtle, (the Periwinkle of 
Old England,) a plant I dearly love, from having seen it in great 
profusion covering, protecting the nameless graves in the neighbor- 
hood of Southern battle-fields. Then there are the different varie- 
ties of Saxifrage that grow so thrifty and with their pretty pink blos- 
soms are very satisfactory, and the Moneywort which seems to have 
been made for this very purpose. 
There are many other plants suitable for window culture. I have 
confined myself to those which have proved most satisfactory to me, 
