114 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



soils, when dry, become lighter in color and crumble freely 

 between the fingers, and are free from the putty-like 

 consistency they have when wet. The bowls of " rustic " 

 and "terra cotta" forms of hanging baskets are usually 

 without any means of drainage. When such is the case, 

 the purchaser should have a few holes, say one-fourth of 

 an inch in diameter, made in the bottom of the bowl, else 

 there is danger that the earth around the roots may be- 

 come saturated with water, unless unusual care is taken 

 in watering. There is great diversity of taste displayed 

 in the material with which these baskets are filled, and 

 no special list of plants can be given that will not require 

 to be annually changed and amended as new plants are 

 introduced. When hanging baskets are wanted for use 

 in shady rooms, or on shaded verandas, mosses (Selagi- 

 nellas) are used, and sometimes exclusively. Then for 

 the same conditions, Ivies of all sorts, Cissus, Tradescan- 

 tias, Sedums or Stone Crops, Fittonias, Lysimachia or 

 Moneywort, Vincas, Ivy-leaved Geraniums, Smilax, 

 Impatiens Mariana, Lygodium scandens (Climbing Fern), 

 etc., as plants to droop over the sides, or to be trained to 

 climb on the trellis work or supports of the basket, while 

 in the center there are used upright plants, such as 

 Dracaenas of sorts, Caladiums (if for summer), Marantas, 

 Centaureas, Echeverias, Ferns, Sanchezia nobilis, and 

 other plants of striking form or foliage. For baskets to 

 be placed in the sun, or in good light, an entirely differ- 

 ent class of plants is needed, for with the light we get 

 flowers and greater brilliancy of leaves. As drooping 

 plants for the edges of these may be named Alter- 

 nantheras, Peristrophe angustifolia var., Lobelias, Tro- 

 paeolums, Mesembryanthemums, Petunias, single and 

 double, Passifloras, Rondeletias, Torenias, etc., while 

 for upright or center plants, Ac'hyranthes, Coleus, Be- 

 gonias, Geraniums (Zonal), double, single, and varie- 

 gated leaved, or any plant of not too large a growth, 



