The Canadian Horticulturist. 319 



well to start with strong ivy plants, as they are somewhat slow of growth at times. 

 Two plants of partly creeping habit are Panicum variegatum a plant of angular 

 growth but of exceedingly pretty variegated foliage and the wandering jew, 

 Saxifraga sarmentosa ; the latter sends out runners as strawberries do, which 

 hang over the pot, rooting when they touch soil. 



Good soil is an important matter in the growing of plants. Florists prepare 

 a heap of it a year beforehand, by taking the top spit of a meadow, cutting it in 

 squares as is done for sodding purposes, and making a heap by placing' a layer 

 of sod and a layer of stable manure alternately. When rotted up this is excellent. 

 In an emergency such sods may be cut from a meadow and be chopped up into 

 quite small pieces, be mixed with one-fourth decayed manure and used at once. 



To have success with flowers, it is most important that the plants enter the 

 house entirely free from insects. Green fiy, thrip, red spider, and mealy bug 

 are their chief enemies. Examine them well from now on, syringing them well 

 at times with force enough to dislodge any insects that may be on them, which 

 can be done except in the case of the mealy bug. These get in the axils of the 

 leaves and are destroyed by gardeners by using a tooth brush to dislodge them. 



Provision should be made now for suitable stands for the plants. The 

 window-sill is not the place for them. With saucers under the pots tables can 

 be used. Zinc lined boxes are now much used. They are made long and 

 narrow, to suit the ledge of the window, whatever the length may be. They 

 can be made of a size to be set on a table and of any size desired. These boxes 

 are not intended for plants to be planted in them, but only to hold the pots, 

 so as to catch what water runs from the plants. 



It seems out of season to refer to plants for winter now, but it is not. This 

 is the time to begin to get the collection together, if we would have the pleasure 

 beautiful plants bring us in the winter season. — Joseph Meehan in Country 

 Gentlemen. 



DRIED FLOWERS AS ORNAMENTS. 



OR winter use as bouquets, immortelles, grasses, sedges, berries, etc., 

 preserve a fresh appearance and enhance the beauty of the farmer's 

 home. Now is the time for the farmer's wife to make the selections 

 for drying and preservation. There is a class of plants called ever- 

 lastings, immortelles, and the like, which from their strawy nature 

 are particularly adapted to winter use, retaining their colors fully as 

 well after drying as when growing.* An old favorite of this class in 

 times gone by was the Globe amaranth, with several colors. It was useful as a 

 garden flower and excellent in the winter bouquet. Now it is almost a rarity. 



