Growing Flowers 201 



Always cultivate two or three low-growing house 

 plants for use as a table decoration. The primrose, 

 a fern, a pot of pansies, or violets, will be very 

 beautiful. Orange or grapefruit seed sown thickly 

 in a pot will make a very exquisite decoration when 

 the plants have reached a height of a couple of 

 inches and the first leaves are well formed. 



A bushy limb placed in a pot of earth and seed of 

 small-leaved vines planted therein will result in a 

 beautiful plant. The vine will twine itself around 

 the bush and soon completely hide the bare 

 limbs. The cypress vine will be most satisfactory, 

 as well as climbing nasturtiums. 



A good liquid fertilizer for house plants is made 

 by dissolving two ounces of ammonium chloride 

 in two quarts of water, and adding four ounces 

 of sodium nitrate and four ounces of sodium phos- 

 phate. The mixture should be carefully strained 

 through three thicknesses of cheesecloth and 

 should be used in the proportion of a teaspoonful 

 to a quart of water. It should not be put on 

 stronger than this or injury to the plants will be 

 the result. 



Before putting earth in window boxes or flower 

 pots, whitewash the inside of the box or pot. This 



