PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 43 



and nutmeg geraniums are commonly grown for their fra- 

 grant leaves, and for their hardiness, as they can endure 

 more hard usage than most plants. 



The general fault in geranium culture is, crowding. The 

 plants need light and air on all sides, and unless this is 

 afforded they soon become one-sided, long-drawn, and strag- 

 gling, with but few leaves, and these in a tuft at the end. 

 The blossoms are small and few, and the whole plant pre- 

 sents a picture of vegetation under difficulties. 



The fine varieties of pelargonium, called " Fancies " by 

 florists, it is useless to attempt to grow to any perfection in 

 the house. They need constant care ; and the rules for 

 growing them as specimens, laid down by English florists, 

 are sufficiently confusing and contradictory to involve the 

 amateur in a maze of difficulty. 



Light, air, and cleanliness are the three primary rules for 

 growing geraniums. The horse-shoe and high-scented vari- 

 eties are not troubled by insects. The pelargoniums (large- 

 flowered geraniums), require constant attention to keep 

 them free from the green fly, which increases upon them 

 with wonderful rapidity. If the weather is warm, and the 

 plants at all affect?d by the fly, they should be smoked once 

 in ten days, and frequently syringed. Surely the beauty of 



