MANAGEMENT OF 1IOUSE PLANTS. 265 



shades so as to prevent as much as possible the loss of 

 heat. The plants themselves should be covered with 

 papers, or, if possible, should be removed from close 

 proximity to the windows. If placed in the center of 

 the room, preferably upon tables, or at least raised well 

 above the floor, they will often escape injury, while sim- 

 ilar plants remaining in the window would be frosted 

 and perhaps killed by cold. 



As a rule, plants do best at a temperature ten or 

 fifteen degrees colder than they need during the day, and 

 most of the species commonly used as house plants do 

 not need over 50 or 55 degrees at night and will not 

 suffer if the temperature falls as low as 40 degrees, 

 although if such a low temperature be continued for sev- 

 eral days it will check the growth of most plants. In 

 case plants have been frozen they should be slowly 

 thawed out. While it will perhaps be impossible to save 

 the foliage of tender tropical plants, the plants them- 

 selves, as well as the foliage of the hardier ones, can often 

 be saved. They should be removed from the direct rays 

 of the sun and kept at a temperature of 35 to 40 degrees 

 until they have thawed, when it may be gradually raised. 

 Cold water can also be used to advantage in thawing 

 them out, but the temperature should be kept as low as 

 35 degrees so long as frost remains in the plant. Water 

 used at 50 to 60 degrees will generally do more harm 

 than to allow the plants to thaw out of themselves. 



THE SELECTION OF PLANTS. 



When plants are purchased from a florist, pains 

 should be taken that they are in a suitable condition to 

 give good results in the house. As a rule, it will be by 

 far best to take young and vigorous plants, that have 

 been in no way stunted in their growth, but by all means 

 we should avoid using those grown at a high tempera- 

 ture and in a close atmosphere, as they will almost inva- 



