150 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



ner, in the water contained in the outer dish. 

 Occasionally supply water, it will need it very 

 seldom, however, — by its evaporation it feeds 

 the plants in the form of dew and the first sup- 

 ply will last a long time. Mosses can be grown 

 very nicely without this cover and outer dish, 

 if you water them as other plants are watered 

 and keep them in the shade. In collecting 

 your mosses, try to find other little things to 

 grow among them. A tiny seedling pine, or 

 juniper ; a bit of houstonia ; an anemone ; a 

 root of the partridge berry, will add greatly to 

 the beauty of your mound ; especially if you 

 set the littte trees in the centre, and arrange 

 the mosses and flower-roots tastefully. 



So much for native plants. Let us now turn 

 our attention to their naturalized brethren, 

 upon whom we mainly depend for winter llow- 

 ers. 



In deciding what varieties we can best attend 

 to, regard must be paid to the space we can 

 allow for their accommodation. They must be 

 kept in the family sitting-room where the air 

 will be of the proper and most equable tem- 

 perature. You can probably spare one Avin- 

 dow for their use. The best stand for a few 

 plants is very simple — only a narrow taljle as 

 long as the window is wide. On this place a 

 shallow wooden tray (what might be called 

 a flat drawer, being only about an inch and a 

 half deep) lined with zinc, or galvauiiced iron ; 

 in tliis most of your pots should be placed. 

 Five of the smallest size that you have, hold- 

 ing jilants of low growth, for the front row ; 

 behind them four, possibly, five, taller and 

 larger ; and, if the tray be wide enough, 

 get another row of larger plants. The pots 

 ought not to touch, there should be a free pas- 

 sage for air around and between them. Cover 

 the floor of the tray with moss, after )ou 

 have arranged your pots ; this will absorb 

 whatever water is spilled in watering, and, also, 

 give the stand a neat and pretty appearance. 



At each side of this, if you have an oleander 

 and abutilon tall enough to reach the sunshine 

 when set upon the floor, lay a small piece of 

 painted canvass, and upon that either zinc or 

 galvanized iron for the accommodation of those 

 two pots. Ilauging plants are so graceful you 

 will want tlicrn lor the upper part of the win- 

 dow, — one for the centre, and, if it be pretty 

 wide, one on each side of that depending a 

 little lower. An ivy will look well placed on a 



bracket in the corner of the room, if its branches 

 are trained over the wall, and around pictures. 

 A large-flowered geranium, or a rosebush is 

 also an elegant ornament placed in such a sit- 

 uation ; and will flourish well if the sunshine 

 reaches it, or if you let it exchange 2)laces part 

 of the day with some plant on the stand. For 

 a bay window a longer and wider stand may 

 be used ; or three smaller ones, or one with 

 graduated shelves, according to your fancy. 

 Some arrange shelves on small supporters or 

 brackets, near the panes. These have a fine 

 eflfect for out-of-door admirers, but if you wish 

 to enjoy the beaut}- of your flowers yourself, 

 and to have your family enjoy that beauty also, 

 the movable stand is preferable, as its position 

 can be quickly and easily changed to suit your 

 vision, and in case of sudden change in the 

 weather the plants will be much safer. If, 

 however, any plant gets frozen, place it in cold 

 water, and keep it away from the sun till the 

 leaves resume their natural appearance. 



To ensure early blossoming, potting should 

 be done in June, and the plants be suffered to 

 rest in a shady, cool place, with very little wa- 

 tering, till September. Mostof them can then 

 be brought gradually to the fall sunshine, and 

 by the middle of October they should be fully 

 established for winter. 



The proper kind of pot has been mentioned, 

 but the soil varies with different plants. This 

 is an important point. Each j^lant should be 

 so studied that no mistake can be made in this 

 respect. For most plants the turf of peat 

 meadows thoroughly dried and broken up, 

 mixed with leaf-mould, or other decayed vege- 

 table matter, is considered the best. To this 

 is added rich loam and sand, according to the 

 native soil of the plant. With this, to deepen 

 the color of the flowers and to Increase their 

 beauty, bits of old Iron, rusty nails, and char- 

 coal dust are frequently mixed. For draining, 

 upon wliich the health of the roots depends, 

 small pebbles, broken brick, or crockery, or 

 flower pots, coal clinkers, or cinders must al- 

 ways be placed in the bottom of the pot. 



Fertilizers are best applied in a licjuiil form, 

 and thev should be used sj)aringly. They are 

 good to force the growth of the plant and to 

 hasten the blossoms ; If it is wished to delay 

 the time of flowering all fertilizers should be 

 avoided and the sunshine denied. It is a 

 good plan to px'epare for winter use a fertlUz- 



