408 ^BB HOUSEHOLD. 



ing. Tho annual flowers classed as " hardy " should as a general thing, fi 

 practicable, be sown in autumn, Larkspurs and paiisies are incomparably 

 liner when thus sown. Clarkia, whitlavia, gilia. and nearly all the rest of the 

 California annual, to give the best results, should be sown in autumn. 



To Repot Plants — Shake the old earth from the plants after they com^ 

 mence to grow in spring, then pot them into smaller pots than those just oc- 

 cupied; as the plants make fresh growth and fill these pots with roots, repot 

 into those ot a size larger, and so on until the plants are in their flowering 

 pots, By adopting this plan the plants are supplied with fresh soil from 

 time to time, and not kept growing on from year to year in the same soil, 

 which soon becomes exhausted. The above remarks apply more particularly 

 to such plants as fuchsias, pelargoniums, etc. 



Treatment ot Engltsttt Ivy — The use of the English ivy cannot be to« 

 strongly recommended as a decoration in our rooms during the winter sea- 

 sou. A lady noted for the beauty and freshness of her ivies was asked the 

 secret of her success, which was simply putting a small piece of beefsteak at 

 the roots of tho plants every spring and fall. It is also said that to lightly 

 rub each leaf on both sides with sweet oil will preserve a fresh, vigorous 

 appearance of ivies, in spite ot furnace heat and gas, usually so injurious to 

 all house plants. These simple measures are well worth trying. 



Iloiv to Make Moss Baskets— Very beautiful baskets for holding flow- 

 ers can be made of the longer and more feathery kind of mosses. A light 

 frame, of any shape you like, should be made with wire and covered with 

 common pasteboard or calico, and tho moss, which should first be well 

 picked over and cleansed from any bits ot dirt or dead leaves which may be 

 hanging about it, gathered into little tufts, aud sowed with a coarse needle 

 and thread to the covering so as to clothe it thickly mth a close and com- 

 pact coating, taking care that the points of the moss are all outward. A 

 long handle, made in the same manner, should be attached to the basket, 

 and a tin or other vessel, filled with either wet sand or water, placed within 

 to hold the flowers. By dipping the whole structure into water once in three 

 or four days, its verdure and elasticity will be fully preserved, and a block 

 of wood about an inch thick, and stained black or green, if placed under the 

 basket, will prevent all risk ot damage to the table from moisture. 



Carnations from Cuttings. — Carnations are easily rooted from slips. 

 Take ofl the small side shoots when about two inches long. If your plants 

 are in pots, plant them around the edge, pressing the soil very firmly about 

 the portion inserted. Do not water them only when the parent plant re- 

 quires it. If they are cultivated in the ground, plant them in the same bed, 

 taking tho same precaution to make the earth compact about the slips, so 

 they will not dry up instead of rooting. If the ground is slightly moist, it is 

 enough for them, but if very diry sprinkle occasionally. 



Gypsy Fern Case. — TWs fern case consists of three bars crossed at tho 

 top aud fastened into a triangular base. A basket is suspended from tho 

 center of the case, and the base is decorated with shells, acorns or corals. 

 The best method of making this case is to have the base first made of wood, 

 then lined with zinc. The sides should hold glass neatly filled into the bars, 

 thus inclosing tho plants from tho outer air. Tho height should bo about 

 three feet, and width of base two feet on each side. Any florist can supply 

 ferns for such a Btructure, Choose only the smaUer growing aorta, and avoid 



