THE WINDOW GARDEN 331 



AN EARLY BEGINNING ADVISABLE 



It is essential for him to select carefully, for 

 plants differ radically in the treatment they re- 

 quire. A plant that requires sun will not thrive 

 without sun; a plant that requires for its de- 

 velopment a cold-house temperature will not 

 prosper in the close, hot, dry atmosphere- of a 

 living-room. And it is essential for him to 

 make an early beginning because plants ma- 

 tured under the favorable conditions of hot- 

 house cultivation suffer a fatal check as a rule 

 when transferred from their congenial sur- 

 roundings to the less advantageous environment 

 of a residence window. Frequently, they fail 

 utterly to revive, bear no flowers, and assume 

 a ragged, sickly appearance that robs them of 

 all decorative value. 



On the contrary, if the window-gardener 

 makes an early selection of plants, he obtains 

 young stock — which is cheaper — and, if this 

 suffers from the shock of transfer, usually it 

 will recover all of its original strength, accus- 

 tom itself to its new quarters and reward the 

 purchaser for his forethought with luxuriant 

 foliage and well-developed bloom. 



