316 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



months. Direct sun through a south window is sometimes 

 too extreme, but this may be modified by drawing a thin 

 white curtain across the upper part of the window. A 

 sunny window is decidedly desirable for the geranium 

 and some other flowering plants, but others, such as the 

 begonia, will do well in indirect light or in partial shade, 

 and still others, such as the fuchsia, should be kept out 

 of the direct sunlight. 



So far as temperature requirements are concerned, plants 

 suitable for indoor culture may be divided into two classes : 

 First, those that will thrive with a night temperature of 

 forty-five to fifty degrees; second, those requiring fifty to 

 sixty degrees. If it is not possible to have two rooms or 

 two windows where a difference in temperature may be 

 maintained, more satisfactory results will be had by select- 

 ing all the plants for your window garden from either one 

 class or the other. A drop of five or ten degrees for a few 

 hours, on an exceptionally cold night, will not prove fatal, 

 but many repetitions will severely check the plants and keep 

 them in a practically dormant condition. The day tem- 

 perature may range from five to fifteen degrees higher 

 than the figures given. 



Plants Must Have Fresh Air 



Two facts that the grower of plants in the house is likely 

 to overlook are that fresh air and normally moist air are 

 as essential to the plants' continued good health as are 

 warmth, light and watering. 



Neglect of these two things undoubtedly causes the 

 great majority of house-plant troubles, either directly or in- 

 directly, through the fostering of insects and disease. For 

 best results the plants should be given fresh air every day, 

 with the very occasional exception of very cold, windy 

 or stormy days. The more indirect the ventilation can 

 be, the better, so long as it is thorough. Direct drafts 

 should be avoided. Fresh air from an adjacent hall, or 

 from a window in the next room, with a window in the 



