360 WINDOW-GARDENrNG. 



bulbs should be planted in pots in November, in a rich loam, 

 intermingled -with a little pulverized charcoal, with the crown of 

 the bulb just peeping through the surface of the soil. They 

 should be kept in a cool atmosphere and close to the glass, until 

 the leaves are well grown and the flower buds begin to appear ; 

 then they shoidd be removed to a somewhat warmer atmosphere 

 and a sunny window. The variety known as C. Persicum has 

 white flowers tipped with rosy piu'ple, and will bloom from 

 January to March. When the bloom is over, water should be 

 gradually withheld, and when the foliage dies off they may 

 be stored away in the cellar, in some place where the mice will 

 not get them, until next ^November. 



The Ivy may be grown in any part of the room. The pots 

 may be placed on the floor, and the plants so trained as to fes- 

 toon a window or arch a door- way, or to wreath a picture-frame 

 or mirror. They require to be watered often, yet the water must 

 not be allowed to stand about the roots. There are varieties with 

 golden and silver variegated leaves; others with lobed, or palmate, 

 or heart-shaped leaves. All are pretty, grow rapidly, and endure 

 the heat of our sitting-rooms, with their dust and extremes of 

 temperature, and want of light, in a most astonishing manner. 



Verbenas. — K cuttings are taken off and struck in the last 

 days of July, potting them first in " thiimbs," and shifting into 

 larger as soon as the roots have reached the sides, so as to keep 

 the plants in vigorous growth, they may be made to bloom finely 

 in the window all winter. After the cuttings are rooted, and 

 during the summer and fall, until the flowers are wanted, every 

 flower head should be nipped off as soon as it makes its appear- 

 ance, and the leading shoots should be pinched in so as to give 

 the plants a bushy form. They may be kept in the open air 

 until severe frosts make it necessary to take them in. There is 

 danger from over watering, and the Aphis, or Green-fly, is apt to 

 become troublesome. A little attention in watering, and an 

 occasional smoking with tobacco, will overcome these difficulties. 

 The Verbena requires plenty of light and air. 



