ON ROOM PLANTS. 763 



Ventilation. — Air is as necessary to the well-being of a plant 

 as it is to ourselves, and rooms should therefore be carefully 

 ventilated on suitable occasions. In winter time the top sash 

 may be allowed down in living rooms, say a couple of inches, 

 this space being filled by a piece of close wire gauze-like 

 material ; this may be so arranged that at any time the window 

 may be at once closed. The door should not be left open at 

 the same time as the window, or the result will be disastrous 

 to plant life, especially in winter and spring, when cold and 

 drying winds are prevalent. Plants, too, which are used for hall 

 decoration must also be guarded against frost and draught. 



Dust on the foliage clogs the breathing pores. Where, there- 

 fore Palms, Euryas, Aspidistras, Indiarubber plants, and similar 

 stout-textured foliage subjects are employed in rooms, they should 

 be carefully kept clean of dust and dirt, and the best means ot 

 doing this is with a piece of sponge and some soft lukewarm 

 water. This should be done twice a week, or oftener in the case 

 of very dusty apartments. 



Drainage. — The importance of good drainage in the case of 

 pot- or box-plants can hardly be over-estimated. An imperfectly- 

 drained pot soon causes the best and freest of soils to sour, 

 and quickly destroys the most promising of plants. Especial 

 care must be given to the pieces covering the hole or holes of 

 the pot or box. The other drainage material must be so 

 arranged that the water passes freely through. The amount of 

 drainage, and even the kind employed, will vary a little with the 

 class of plant. As a rule, pieces of old pots and broken or 

 whole oyster shells are amongst the best for plants in general. 

 Cactuses require special treatment in the matter of potting, and 

 this will be dealt with when they are being considered, and 

 more fully in the chapter devoted to those and their allies. 



Potting, though a very necessary operation when plants have 

 amply filled the root-space at command, is nevertheless one which 

 is often overdone to the certain detriment of the plant. A 

 check is certain to result if it is not carefully performed ; 

 while not infrequently the plant succumbs. Before a plant can 

 be properly potted, its requirements must be known to a nicety, 

 for whereas in the majority of cases crowded root-space might 

 be taken as an almost certain indication of the need of a 

 shift, there are plants which succeed better the less they are 

 interfered with, so long as they receive some assistance by 

 means of top-dressings or stimulants. All classes of room plants 

 are not equally affected, and therefore no hard-and-fast rule 

 can be laid down. Palms yield the best results when they 

 are not given too much room ; and a frequent cause of failure 

 is shifting them too frequently. The roots must be the absolute 

 guide to repotting. So long as these are not too crowded, 



