2o6 



The Canadian Hrticulturist. 



The kinds preceded by (3) should be grown in pots sunken to the rim in 

 earth, in a spot shaded for about three hours at mid-day. If no other shade is 

 convenient, let the plants stand together in some spot and place a canopy, made 

 of lath nailed an inch apart on a frame and raised about four feet from the 

 ground directly over them. A small empty pot should be set under the middle 

 of each pot containing a plant, to prevent the roots from sticking through the 

 drainage-hole into the soil beneath. 



The figure 4 preceding names in the list 

 indicates that such plants, while being 

 grown in the open air in pots that are 

 plunged, may be fully exposed to the sun. 

 To set them in an angle where the sun^ 

 heat is excessive would not be good treat- 

 ment ; they should be in the line of 

 Fig. 962.— Teade.scantia. morning breezes, but sheltered somewhat 



from fierce winds. 



The plants preceded by 5 are comparatively rapid 

 growers, and will summer well if knocked out of their pots 

 and planted in the open soil, where they will grow until 

 September. Such plants as are kept through the sum- 

 mer in pots should be carefully tended. They must never 

 suffer for want of liberal watering. When water is given, 



saturate the soil thoroughly to the very center of the Fig. 963.— Calla Lily. 

 plants' ball of roots. In cases where root-growth is active, the plants should be 

 repotted into pots a size larger, whenever an examination of the ball of earth 

 shows a lacework of white roots surrounding it. To remove a ball of roots from 

 its pot, invert the plant with the surface of the soil resting on the palm and out- 

 spread fingers of the left hand, and with the bottom of the pot grasped firmly 

 in the right hand. Strike the rim of the pot sharply upon the edge of a table 

 or bench, and the ball of earth and roots will be dislodged. Rapid-growing 

 plants like chrysanthemums should be pinched back at intervals until August to 

 make them branch freely. Such plants in particular must not be allowed to 

 suffer even once for lack of water, as this will cause the lower leaves to turn 

 yellow and drop. 



To provide good soil for the window plants is an essential point in their 

 successful cultivation. None is better for the average of plants in the list given 

 than what florists call " fibrous loam." This is made by cutting sod about three 

 inches thick from an upland pasture lot. or from a country roadside, and stack- 

 ing it up for some months before it is used. Broken up in rough pieces the 

 size of marbles, such soil contains, with the addition of a sprinkling of fine old 

 manure or bone-dust, all the elements really necessary for a plant's existence. 

 It is a mistake common among window-gardeners to suppose that finely-sifted 

 soil is most congenial to plant-growth ; one that is somewhat rough and fibrous 

 is much better. 



The beauty of the winter garden is well insured by such a selection of 

 plants, cared for in the manner indicated until autumn, when further directions 

 will be in order. — American Gardening. 



