HOUSE PLANTS. 77 



That there is no want of love for such plants is evident from 

 the places in which they appear ; but the kind and state of the 

 plants very generally show that there is a great want of know- 

 ledge, both in their selection and their management. In order 

 to contribute a little to the supplying of this defect, we propose 

 to offer a very brief compendium of what the French and Ger- 

 mans call " Window Gardening ;" and in order to render what 

 we state as clear as possible, we shall divide it into several heads, 

 or points. 



PLANTS PROPER FOR WINDOW CULTURE. 



As the situation of these plants is different from what they 

 occupy in their natural state, it becomes necessary to select such 

 as are capable of accommodating themselves to circumstances ; 

 and as the unfavorable circumstances of house plants are chiefly 

 want of free and pure air, and of light, and in those species which 

 are accustomed to long seasons of repose in the winter, to uniform 

 temperature, these circumstances must be kept in mind in the 

 selection. Rooms, especially in crowded cities, are the most 

 unnatural, and, on that account, the very worst situations in 

 which plants can be placed ; and therefore, if healthy plants and 

 an abundance of bloom are sought for, variety must be sacrificed. 



Plants which will continue healthy for a long time in the con- 

 fined air of rooms, are generally those which have a peculiar 

 surface, or texture in the foliage : such are many of the Aloes, 

 Cactuses, Mesembryanthemums, among what are called succulent 

 plants ; and, in a higher temperature, some of the curious Epi~ 

 phytce, or the natural order Orchidece. We recollect once seeing 

 a very interesting collection of more than two hundred species, 

 growing in a high state of perfection,, in the house of an amateur 

 of succulent plants, living in the Grand Sablon at Brussels. The 



