56 Milady's House Plants 



Dracaenas 



The large family of Dracaenas furnishes only one 

 variety, Massangeana, that may be truly called use- 

 ful as a house plant. Again, in their case, when once 

 the secret of providing a moist atmosphere is dis- 

 covered, the whole gorgeous species will doubtless be 

 found in our homes. To see them revelling with all 

 their gorgeous stripes and highly colored foliage in the 

 oppressive humidity and heat of Central America 

 and the West Indies, is an experience not easily for- 

 gotten. 



Aspidistra 



A well-known and useful house plant. It is not 

 particularly elegant in form, although filling some 

 positions to advantage. Extreme hardiness is. its 

 chief value and it certainly will endure adverse con- 

 ditions better than any other house plant. On this 

 account it has attained a rather important place in 

 the plant market and is exported annually by the 

 thousand from Holland and other European countries 

 to the United States at so much per leaf. Any one 

 familiar with New York can make a guess as to what 

 proportion of these find their way into the hotel 

 window boxes of that city. 



Hedera Helix 



The common Ivy, or English Ivy, as it is often 

 called, is a very decorative house plant and is rapidly 

 coming to its own in popular fancy. There has 

 always been a good deal of kindly sentiment attached 



