WINDOW BOXES. 



291 



A great mistake is often made by amateurs 

 in potting- up plants that are not doing- well. 

 Many fancy that when a plant looks sickly 

 it should be repotted. Perhaps it is in an 

 eig-ht-inch pot ; they procure a pail, some 

 nicely sifted soil, and carefully transfer their 

 plant, putting the soil in as lightly as pos- 

 sible and never pressing- it down for fear of 

 hurting the roots. The plant soon dies, 



while the owner thinks he has given it the 

 best of care. A plant never needs a larger 

 pot unless the pot it is in is full of healthy 

 roots. A sick plant with few roots may 

 want repotting, but it is into new, sweet 

 soil, and a smaller pot, the soil without 

 much manure and the plant firmly set. 



By Mb. Thos. Manton, of Manton Bros., Florists, Eglinton. 

 Bead before the Toronto Horticultural Society. 



Lawns and Walks. — These, if kept trim 

 and neat, as they should be, add to the 

 appearance of and contribute greatly to the 

 enjoyment of a place by its proprietor and 

 friends. The lawns should be mown and 

 the edges cut at least once a week, and if 

 there are any " bents " or flower stalks of 

 weeds or grasses which the machine will 

 not cut, these should be cut with a scythe. 

 Where the grass is thin the collecting box 

 may with advantage be left off" the mowing 

 machine. Gravel walks should not be hoed, 

 but all coarse weeds are best pulled up, and 

 if there are many small weeds appearing. 



one of the simplest methods of getting rid 

 of them is to dress the walks with rough 

 salt obtained from manure dealers. This 

 should be applied during hot, sunny weather, 

 and in sufficient quantities to just whiten 

 the surface. Crude carbolic acid used at 

 the rate of one ounce to a gallon of water 

 and liberally applied with a rose watering- 

 pot, is both a cheap and eff'ective remedy. 

 Whatever destructive agent be employed, 

 care must be taken not to let it touch either 

 the roots and tops of box or other edgings, 

 nor the lawn grass. — Garden Work. 



Window Boxes. — A charming arrange- 

 ment was noticed recently. The plants em- 

 ployed were nasturtiums only, and the entire 

 cost could not have exceeded fifty cents. The 

 box was of rough boards evidently, strongly 

 joined, and set upon a pair of iron brackets. 

 The box was covered with floor oilcloth, 

 tacked on, and the design was such that it 

 looked like tile work. The colors were 

 cream and brown. A pine frame the width 

 of the window, and six inches across, was 

 nailed to the top of the window for attach- 

 ing the strings on which the vines were 

 supported. The nasturtiums were of both 

 the dwarf and climbing sorts. A drapery 



of trailing nasturtiums fell over the edge of 

 the box, and dwarf nasturtiums filled the 

 centre, and all were of the deepest, richest 

 colors known to this flower. The nastur- 

 tiums that were trained up the supports 

 were of lighter colors, lemon and orange, 

 and cream. The middle strings had been 

 loosened and the vines had been drawn back 

 from the centre to each side by strong 

 strings ; the whole appearance being a 

 diamond-shaped aperture surrounded by a 

 drapery of living green. The eff"ect was 

 equally charming from within and without. 

 — Vick's Magazine. 



