THE CARXATIOX MANUAL. 81 



exceeded my expectations, for they have a finer, 

 healthier, and sounder appearance, and I have only 

 lost two plants from the before-mentioned cause. 

 One thing, however, must be borne in mind in 

 giving them the benefit of the sun, viz., that the 

 lights must be taken off when it is shining brightly. 

 I should here say that my frames are raised some 

 eighteen inches from the ground, so that a free 

 circulation of air goes through them, even when 

 they are covered with mats to keep out the frost. 



Having got the plants well established in their 

 winter quarters, not much has to be done for a few 

 months. The two main items are cleanliness — 

 scrupulous cleanliness — and watering. I make it a 

 rule to go through my collection once a month 

 with a camel's-hair brush for the dust and green-fly, 

 and a pair of scissors for the dead and decaying 

 " grass." By thus frequently going over the plants, 

 I am enabled to detect and arrest the ravages of 

 the maggot, and see at once when a plant looks un- 

 healthy. Watering is the important point, and it is 

 here where the beginner is apt to be too en- 

 thusiastic. A proper knowledge of how to water is 

 only gained by experience. I believe it as much a 

 mistake to leave the plants too dry as too wet, and 

 have found that they suffer equally in frosty weather. 

 If the plants are allowed to get too dry, they 

 become of a yellow hue, as if they had lost their 

 sap ; and if they are kept too Avet, sooner or later 



