HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



HAN 



they are less used here than formerly, as 

 the growing of vegetables in the South- 

 ern States for Northern markets renders 

 their use no longer profitable. See Bell 

 Glass. 



Hanging Baskets. These are made in a 

 great variety of styles. Those known as 

 "rustic" baskets are made with a wood- 

 en bowl to hold the soil, covered with 

 roots of grotesque shapes. They are 

 mostly made of Laurel roots, and are 

 well fitted to give the basket the neces- 

 sary rough -looking outer covering. The 

 bowls to hold the soil are from six to fif- 

 teen inches in diameter, and of a propor- 

 tionate depth; the three handles form 

 a triangle, meeting at the top, in 

 which an eye is fixed by which to sus- 

 pend it. Another form is made of wire, 

 and these, when lined with moss to pre- 

 vent the soil from being washed out, are 

 far the best for the well-being of the plants. 

 Many other beautiful forms are made from 

 pottery ware to represent stumps, logs, 

 rocks, and other natural objects. The 

 plants used for filling hanging baskets of 

 course vary in accordance with the purpose 

 for which they are wanted. If for shady 

 rooms, shady verandas, or shady places 

 out doors, where there is not exposure 

 to drying winds, Mosses (Selaginellas) 

 and Ferns are sometimes used exclusive- 

 ly; or, for the same places, Ivies of all 

 sorts, Tradescantias, Moneywort, (Lysi- 

 machia,) Vincas, Ivy-leaved Geraniums, 

 Smilax, Climbing Fern, Fittonias, etc., are 

 plants suited to droop over the sides, while 

 the center plant should be a Dracaena 

 indwisa or D. terminalis, or some well- 

 marked Croton or Caladium, but not to 

 exceed one foot in height. 



For baskets to be placed in the sun- 

 light or partial sunlight, Coleus, Bego- 



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nias, or bright Geraniums should be used 

 as center plants, with Lobelias, Tropae- 

 olums, Petunias, Torenias, Peristrophe, 

 Sedums, etc., to droop. It will be found 

 of great benefit, after setting out the 

 plants in baskets, to cover the soil with 

 an inch or two of (Sphagnum) Moss, to 

 prevent it drying up too quickly; for 

 when the basket is hung in the air, 

 of course it dries up much quicker than 

 when placed on a shelf in the green- 

 house or on the ground; and one of the 

 main reasons for success with hanging 

 baskets is the careful attention to water- 

 ing, which is quickest and most thor- 

 oughly done by taking the basket down 

 and immersing it in a tub of water, so 

 that the soil is thoroughly soaked 

 through. This will be necessary once, 

 twice, or thrice a week, according to the 

 position the basket is placed in, the 

 condition of the atmosphere, or the state 

 of the plants; for, if in a shaded position, 

 it will require less water; if the atmos- 

 phere is damp, less; or if the plants have 

 not attained vigor of growth, less; the 

 opposite of these conditions, more. The 

 soil used in hanging baskets need in no 

 way differ from that used in the general 

 culture of plants. 



Hardy Annuals. This term applies to those 

 plants that perfect their growth and 

 ripen seed the same year they are sown in 

 the open ground. 



Hastate. Shaped like the head of a hal- 

 bert; enlarged at the base into two 

 lobes directed nearly horizontally, as in 

 the leaf of Sheep's SorreL 

 Head. A close terminal collection of flow- 

 ers surrounded by an involucre, as in 

 Composite flowers. 



Heating by Flues. This is now but little 

 done, except by beginners whose means 



