HOUSE PLANTS 139 



should be bored in the bottom to allow the excess of water to 

 escape, which may be collected in a zinc tray placed be- 

 neath the box. Before the soil is put into the receptacles, 

 pebbles or clinkers or other coarse material should be placed 

 in the bottom to provide for good drainage. 



There is a " self -watering flower box," which is made en- 

 tirely of metal and has a double 1 bottom. The upper bottom 

 is perforated by two holes, in which are fitted sponges, and 

 it is pierced by a tube that leads to the top of the box. 

 Through this tube water is poured into the bottom of the 

 receptacle and is drawn up by the sponges and passed to the 

 soil. In this way one watering insures that the soil will be 

 kept moist for a week. The various receptacles may stand 

 on a table or plant stand in front of the window, or they 

 may be placed on the sill or on shelves or brackets in the 

 window. 



Plants to select. In deciding on which plants to select, 

 one should first note the light conditions of the room in 

 which the plants are to be kept, whether it is sunny or shaded 

 during most of the day. If sunny, a great variety of plants 

 may be grown ; but if shaded, care must be taken to select 

 plants that do well in such situations. Ferns are among 

 the best plants for shaded rooms; other plants that will 

 thrive fairly well in the shade are asparagus sprengeri, 

 aspidistra, begonia, English ivy, oxalis, and primroses. 

 These will also do well in the sun. Others that are well 

 adapted for a sunny location are geraniums, heliotropes, 

 wandering Jew, fuchsia, and bulbous plants. In general 

 it may be said that the plants that thrive best in the shade 

 are those that are raised for their foliage rather than for their 

 flowers. Illuminating gas interferes with the growth of 

 plants, so that if this is used in the house the kinds of plants 

 that can be successfully raised will be limited. 



Care of the plants. The chief consideration in the care 

 of the plants is to supply them with the right amount of 



