INDOOR PLANTS 175 



all house plants require well-drained soils. Watering can then 

 be more liberal and with less danger. Showering the plants 

 with a brush or whisk broom dipped in water, is very useful 

 in washing the surfaces of the leaves. It improves both the 

 health and the appearance of the plants. The showers are 

 easily given if the pots are kept in shallow window boxes. 

 The use of saucers under the flower pots is a great protection 

 to the window sills if the shallow boxes are not used. Tubs 

 are used for large ferns, palms, oleanders, India rubber plants, 

 century plants and others that are too heavy for earthen pots. 

 Such large plants are often kept on the floor. In such cases 

 the drainage holes should be in the sides just abov^ the bottom 

 instead of in the very bottom. Metal trays may serve as 

 saucers under the tubs. 



Water-loving plants, such as the umbrella plant, wandering 

 Jew, narcissus, jonquils, water hyacinth and others, may be 

 grown in pots of soil which are then set into jardinieres of 

 water in metal-lined boxes containing a few inches of water. 

 Glass dishes, for some of the water-grown bulbs, are often 

 provided with coarse sand and gravel immersed in the soil to 

 hold the bulbs and roots in place. 



The Self-supporting Aquarium. — In schools and houses 

 where there are small children, an aquarium containing several 

 kinds of water plants and water insects and small fish may 

 well be a permanent part of the window garden. Such an 

 aquarium is shown in figure 41. The animals in it are pro- 

 vided with their necessary oxygen by the growth of the water 

 plants in the presence of bright sunlight. The plants use up 

 the carbon-dioxide given off by the little animals and obtain 

 much of their food from this source. 



Window Vegetable Garden. — In many homes and 

 schools the window spaces could be used much more J;han they 

 are for the growing of plants for the vegetable garden. Early 

 vegetables that can be transplanted may be started in shallow 

 boxes of soil. They will be ready to be transplanted to the 



