92 



THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, ]897. 



flower-growing. The first is avoided 

 by covering the plants with a light 

 cloth while the room is being swept, 

 and when it has accumulated it is re- 

 moved by placing the pots in a sink or 

 washtub, and showering the foliage 

 with water from a pot provided with a 

 fine rose. The second is overcome to 

 a certain extent by keeping water on 

 the furnace or stove which heats the 

 room, if it be warmed by artificial heat. 

 Open fires give but little trouble, while 

 hot air heaters are as unhealthy for 

 plants as for man. Another plan 

 recommended is to place the pots on 

 clean sand kept constantly moist. The 

 sand may be spread to the dej^th of about 

 two inches in a shallow wooden box, of 

 the size of the window sill upon which 

 the plants usually stand. 



A common fault of amateur garden- 

 ers is to water the plants too often with 

 too little liquid each time ; it is prefer- 

 able to let the earth become somewhat 

 dry, and then to give it a thorough 

 drenching. Plants coming to bloom 

 need more moisture, and should be 

 brought nearer to the light ; to pro 

 long the bloom, it is advantageous to 

 shade the flowers from the hot sun in 

 the middle of the day. Of course, 

 manure is necessary for the cultivation 

 of house plants, but it should not be 

 used in excess, and the above enumer- 

 ated precautions will be found of equal 

 importance to insure success. 



ENGLISH IVY. 



The use of English ivies for the pur- 

 pose of decorating living rooms is more 

 extensive every year, and cannot be too 

 highly commended. Being very strong, 

 they will live through any treatment ; 

 study their peculiarities, and manifest 

 willingness to gratify them, and they 



will grow without stint. Most houses 

 are too hot for them, as indeed they are 

 for their owners. Neither plants nor 

 people should have the temperature 

 over sixty- five degrees of Fahrenheit. 

 Take care not to enfeeble your ivies by 

 excessive watering or undue heat, and 

 you will see they will not seem to mind 

 whether the sun shines on them or not, 

 or in what position or direction you 

 train them. Indeed, so much will they 

 do themselves to make a room charm- 

 ing, that we would rather have an un- 

 limited number of them to draw upon, 

 than anything else in nature or art. 



The English ivy, growing over the 

 walls of a building, instead of promot- 

 ing dampness, as many persons would 

 suppose, is said to be a remedy for it ; 

 and it is mentioned as a fact, that in a 

 room where damp had prevailed for a 

 length of time, the affected parts inside 

 had become dry when ivy had grown 

 up to cover the opposite exterior side. 

 The close, overhanging pendant leaves 

 prevent the rain or moisture from pen- 

 etrating the wall. Beauty and utility 

 in this case go hand in hand. — The 

 Sajiitarian. 



PRESSED LEAVES. 

 A good way to arrange autumn leaves 

 and ferns is to stitch or pin or iron 

 them on with thin mucilage to a strip 

 of lace of suitable width, and with it 

 border lace or muslin window curtains 

 and lambrequins. This confines them 

 so they will not easily be broken, and 

 the light falling through brings out 

 the colors finely, and the whole pro- 

 duces a charming effect. An invalid of 

 our acquaintance decorates her room by 

 twisting the stems of autumn leaves on 

 fine wire as milliners do artificial flow- 

 ers, twining the sprays about walls, 

 windows, and pictures, like vines. 



