72 ? AynuaL Report. epic 
: ae 
Then come heliotrope, mignonette and sweet alyssum, always blooming abund- 
antly and sweetly. We wish we could include the violet among our sweetthings, =» _ 
but they will not grow in the house for us. Can anyone tell us why, and if by ee 
perseverance we may in time succeed ? 
Roses and carnations are also very satisfactory, if we ean give them plenty. of . 
fresh air, sunshine, and many baths. But, lke ourselves, they cannot exist in- 
health without these three things. 
Here we will leave garden plants, and, as yon must have discovered ere this, 
that we are not florists, but only lovers of flowers, we will offer no apology for 
the manner in which we shall mix green-honse, hot-house, and garden plants, 
for we cannot confine ourselves even to cultivating the plants we are successful 
with, but are continually longing for and experimenting with all the lovely 
things that we can in any way obtain. 
First comes the ivy, which will grow and look well, regardless of neglect, but 
if we desire it in perfection, let us remember, 
“Of right choice food are his meals, I ween, 
In his cell so lone and cold ; 
The walls must be crumbled, the stones decayed, 
To pleasure his dainty whim, 
And the mouldering dust that years have made, 
Is a Merry meal for him.”’ 
Dickens fully understood its culture when he wrote that, for no better instruc- 
tion can or ever will be found for producing a luxuriant growth. 
The calla we cannot say comes second, for we think 1t ranks first, too. If we 
give 1t a warm place, with plenty of warm water and sunshine, it will grow and 
bloom in a manner perfectly wonderful, never seeming to need a rest. 
Then comes Daphine odorata, blooming almost constantly from December till 
spring in clusters of pearly whiteness, distilling a most delicious fragrance. 
Laurestinus, yellow jassamine achania, abutilons, bouvardias, fuchsias, prim- 
roses, always in bloom. Several kinds of cactus which bloom towards spring, 
hoya carnosa and bella which bloom only in summer. Dracena terminalis and 
Farfugium grande, with such beautiful leaves that they do not need to bloom. 
Ferns, lycopodiums, linaria and tradescantia, with afew vines, smilax, maurandia, 
cobeas, campsidium, the clinging fern Lycodium scandens, and one beautiful 
vine for which we have no name, only Australian vine. 
We also attemptforange tree, camellias and azalias; but after them we write 
‘failure.’’ They still live, but look as though they did not wish to and did not 
intend to much longer. 
Begonias, in endless variety, some growing tall and blooming in tall, graceful 
drooping clusters, others as vines, and still others noted for their beautiful trop- 
ical leaves. : 
We read their name was given them by the great botanist Willdenow in honor 
of Michael Begon, a Frenchman, and patron of botany, who was governor of 
St. Domingo two hundred years ago, and that in this tropical country they grow 
in wondrous beauty. 
There are now several hundred species named in botanical lists, and very 
many of these are suitable for the window-garden. There are but few of the 
Rex varieties that we succeed in growing with any degree of satisfaction. 
While some few fully repay our care, others grow smaller day by day, andina 
little while are no more. 
