WINDOW PLANTS 157 



foliage making them bright subjects at any 

 time of the year. The cultivation of these 

 plants in baskets or pots is simple, but a 

 point that must never be neglected is to en- 

 sure that the soil is kept in a uniformly damp 

 condition, neglect of which will soon cause 

 the healthiest and strongest specimens to be- 

 come sparse of foliage and meagre in appear- 

 ance. 



ROOM PLANTS FOR DARK CORNERS. It is 

 surprising how well certain plants succeed 

 and how green they appear when grown in 

 quite dark corners of the dwelling house. 

 We have notable examples of this in Aspidis- 

 tra lurida, the India-rubber Plant (Ficus}, some 

 of the Kentias and Phoenix and one or two kinds 

 of Ferns, notably Asplenium balbiferum and 

 Polysticham angulare proliferum. Given 

 good treatment in the matter of soil and 

 watering and not exposed to undue draughts, 

 it is truly surprising the dark green appear- 

 ance that these plants will wear, certainly 

 out of all proportion to that which they as- 

 sume when grown in full light and under 



