GARDENING BY M YSELF. j c 



find ; giving them no water at all, except 

 just enough now and then to keep the earth 

 from turning to absolute dust. 



Except among the bulbs, you cannot ex- 

 pect many flowers at this season. At a tem- 

 perature of less than sixty degrees, few 

 house-plants will bloom ; so florists say ; 

 and the rooms which come up to that in 

 cold weather, are almost certain to be too 

 close and dry for the plants. If buds form, 

 they will probably drop off in a very disap- 

 pointing way. Therefore keep your pets in 

 good health, and yourselves in good pa- 

 tience. When we are able to build a little 

 winter addition to our Fairyland, in the 

 shape of a tiny greenhouse where we can 

 syringe and shower and " make a muss " to 

 our heart's content, then we may hope for 

 roses at midwinter. For you see then we 

 can afford to get the syringe too. And our 

 greenhouse will not be a costly affair, with 

 all the modern improvements ; but a lovely 

 little bow window opening out of our sitting 

 room or breakfast room. Glass on all sides ; 



