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PLANTS IN RESmENCE WINDOWS 



I 



and freesias are perhaps the best to grow. The 

 first two, if potted in October or November and set 

 away in a cool, dark place to form roots, will be fit 

 to put into the windows in six to eight weeks, or 

 may be allowed to remain cool until wanted later. 

 The freesias may be placed in the window as soon 



Fie. 188. Interior of one of Uie great modem glasshouses. 

 There are no eaves. (F. R. Pierson Company.) 



as potted, but will give better satisfaction if grown 

 cool for a month before being set in the window. 

 The freesia bulbs may be saved after blooming for 

 the next winter. The hyacinth and narcissus bulbs 

 do not furnish satisfactory bloom the second year, 

 but, if planted out, will grow and bloom for several 

 years. 



Window-boxes. 



A very satisfactory type of window-gardening 

 is the window-box made to set into the window 

 ledge or supported in front of the window. By 

 means of such a box, which should be at least six 

 inches deep and ten inches wide, a more even con- 

 dition of moisture and a more abundant supply of 

 plant-food may be had and consequently a larger 

 range of plants may be grown. Climbing as well 

 as drooping vines, such as parlor or German ivy. 

 Asparagus plumosus, Lygodium scandens or climb- 

 ing fern, or maurandia, all rapid growers, may be 

 trained along the windows. The last mentioned 

 vine, maurandia, has, added to its attractive leaves, 

 a profusion of light blue flowers produced through 

 the entire season. Of drooping vines, perhaps the 

 best is the Asparagus Sprengeri, followed by 

 wandering jew, saxifrage, and Kenilworth ivy. 

 Geraniums, begonias, in fact all plants recom- 

 mended for house-culture may be grown to advan- 

 tage in such a box, and as spring advances the 

 seeds of such annuals as sweet alyssum, candytuft, 

 lobelia and mignonette may be sown along the 

 edge, thus renewing the plants and changing the 

 character of the box from a winter to a spring 

 collection of plants. It often happens that one or 

 more plants in such a window-box fail to make 

 a satisfactory growth, in which case their places 



may be filled by pots of bulbs that are ready to be 

 brought into flower, or the whole box may be 

 changed into a bulb bed with very little trouble.. 

 One more point in favor of these boxes is the fact 

 that, if they contain no climbing vines, or if such 

 vines are not attached to the walls, the boxes may 

 easily be moved from an exposed window 

 and protected through severe weather. 



Pests and diseases. 



Red-spider and green fly are the two 

 pests that are most commonly found on 

 house plants. The former is a very minute 

 mite, hardly visible to the naked eye, but 

 whose presence is easily known by the gray 

 appearance of the under side of the leaves, 

 and when the spider is abundant by a fine 

 cobweb covering both sides of the leaf. 

 This insect lives only in a dry atmosphere 

 and if attention is given to spraying and 

 washing the foliage, there is very little 

 danger of its obtaining a foothold. The 

 green fly may be destroyed by fumigation 

 with tobacco or by dusting fine tobacco over 

 the plants. 



Insects of minor importance are, mealy 

 bugs, whose presence is known by a cot- 

 tony appearance in the axils of the beans, 

 and several species of scale which infest 

 palms, ferns, and other plants. For the mealy bug, 

 lay the plant on its side and spray forcefully with 

 clear water ; or dip the plant in strong soapsuds 

 and after a few moments clean it with clear water. 

 The scale may be destroyed by spraying the leaves 

 with soapsuds, or, in severe cases, with a solution 

 of whale-oil soap (one pound to five gallons of 

 water). Soon after this treatment the plant must 

 be cleansed with clear water. 



House-plants often show a sickly appearance, and 

 from some cause or other fail to thrive. If the 

 leaves turn yellow and fall, one of two things is 

 the cause, — imperfect drainage and consequent 

 sour soil, or neglect in watering and consequent 

 drying up of the sap in the plant : very rarely can 

 the wilted, yellowing leaves be saved. The trouble 

 may be rectified and the plant recover. 



Another disease, due to sudden changes in tem- 

 perature, is mildew. It is revealed by a whitish or 

 grayish appearance of both sides of the leaves, 

 causing them to fall. The treatment is to dust 

 the plants with flowers of sulphur or spray with 

 sulfate of potassium (one-half ounce dissolved in 

 two gallons of water). 



Literature. 



Some American books are: Anders, House Plants 

 as Sanitary Agents ; Julius J. Heinrich, The Win- 

 dow Flower Garden; Eben B. Rexford, Home Flori- 

 culture ; E. S. Rand, Jr., Window Gardener ; Daisy 

 Eyebright (Mrs. S. 0. Johnson), Every Woman Her 

 Own Flower Gardener ; Edwin A. Johnson, Winter 

 Greeneries at Home; N. Jonsson Rose, Window and 

 Parlor Gardening ; Henry T. Williams, Window 

 Gardening ; Lizzie Page Hillhouse, House Plants 

 and How to Succeed with Them, 



