THE WINTER GARDEN. 



To make home cheerful during the long winter of the North, there is nothing that can 



compare with flowering plants. They are a constant, ever-developing delight. Each day brings 



new leaves and buds and blossoms, and new forms of loveliness, and we look and wonder and 



admire. With house plants, 

 a> with all other things, suc- 

 cess is essential to enjoyment. 

 There is pleasure, too, in 

 having plants as much as 

 )ossible the work of our own 

 skill grown from seeds or 

 cuttings or trained by our 

 own hands. We shall en- 

 deavor to give a few sugges- 

 tions that we hope will be 

 useful, and n)ake the road to 

 success somewhat easy. We 

 do not propose to instruct 

 those who have greenhouses 

 and gardeners, as we have 

 felt that our mission was a 

 more humble, and yet, we 

 think, a more glorious one 

 to create a love of flowers 

 among the millions. 

 Thousands of persons purchase vigorous, beautiful plants from the green-houses every year, 



and are pained to see them gradually and surely lose all trace of beauty, and finally droop and die. 



How can we prevent this? Plants, like ourselves, need air, li<jht, warmth, food and drink, and 



these in proper 



quantities, or 



they will suffer 



and finally die. 

 The great 



desideratum in 



window plants 



is, that they give 



us either flowers 



or foliage during 



the long winter 



months. This 



we can secure 



only by careful 



attention to a 



few necessary 



details. First of 



all, plants in 



proper condition 



must be ob- 

 tained. We 



must not expect 



those that have 



given us of their bounty all summer to continue flowering through the winter. A season of rest 



is absolutely necessary to almost all plants. Preparation for winter should begin as early as June. 

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