THE FLORAL WOKLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



35 



inches deep, inside measurement, to allow two inches at the bottom 

 for drainage and one inch on the surface for watering. This pre- 

 vents the soil from being washed over the sides of the box and dirtying 

 the paint or tile, which looks bad. There will be seven inches left for 

 soil for the roots to spread about in ; quite a sufficient depth, if good 

 rich soil is used, such as will be recommended in another chapter 

 for pot plants. A pinch or two of guano or dissolved bones may be 

 added and incorporated well with the soil. The length of your box 

 should be according to the breadth of your window, leaving it easy, 



so as to be handily taken inside at any time. The sides should be of 

 three-quarter inch deal, and as it is best to nail the ends between the 

 sides, the ends should be of one inch deal, and the bottom of the 

 same thickness. Wood of those thicknesses makes an excellent box. 

 Larch is the best kind of pine for the purpose, but a box made of 

 oak lasts very much longer than one made from any other kind of 

 wood. 



I will not limit the size of the box, as circumstances must decide 

 that point, but for any ordinary window the one I have described 

 will answer best. 



The outside of the box should now have three coats of paint. 

 Green is the best colour, being Nature's own choosing, and it accords 

 best with the flowers when growing in it. You can have it nicely 

 done in imitation stone-work by painting it of a stone colour, and 

 while the paint is wet dusting it over with silver-sand. Taste must 

 guide you in the decoration afterwards ; all lines, however, must be 

 drawn quite straight, and the parts of designs well balanced, so that 

 there be nothing ill drawn to mar the beauty of the flowers, for a 

 neat, clean, well-painted box adds greatly to the effect, and is always 

 a credit to the person interested. Never paint the inside of a box, 

 for plants do not like paint. 



I have seen people make nice little wooden boxes much in the 

 shape of a pot but square, which looked very neat and answered the 

 purpose well. A little taste can be displayed in ornamenting them. 



I must particularly tell you that the window-box should be raised 

 up a little from the window-sill for the sake of drainage, and to 

 keep the woodwork from spoiling in any way. The best plan is to 

 have iron rests fastened firmly to the window-sill to stand the box 

 on, with a catch at the ends to prevent the box from being toppled 

 over at any time by accident. You must also see that the box has 

 proper means for drainage ; five or six holes should be bored through 

 the bottom. 



If you have not an auger to bore holes with, the kitehpn poker 

 heated red-hot will answer admirably. The holes should be about 

 an inch in diameter. If the bottom of the box were made in two 



February. 



