GARDENING FOR LITTLE GIRLS 
ily on account of the room it requires. It has al- 
ways stood near either an east or a west window 
during the winter, in a furnace-heated, gas-lighted 
house, and been moved to a north porch during the 
summer. This type needs considerable moisture, 
and does best when watered every day. I have 
even seen it growing in a large basket placed in a 
pan of water. The leaves of this group must be 
kept clean, and I wash mine occasionally with a 
small cloth and warm water, using a little soap 
and then rinsing, if I discover any trace of seale,— 
that little hard-shelled, brown pest often found 
on both stems and leaves. 
Both of the asparagus ferns,—the plumosus and 
the Sprengeri, I have grown from tiny pots until 
they became positively unwieldy, by giving about 
the same kind of treatment. None of these should 
be allowed to dry out, as they then turn brown 
and wither. The asparagus plumosus can be either 
pinched back to keep as a pot plant, or encouraged 
to grow as a vine. The asparagus Sprengeri is 
especially valuable for boxes and baskets, on ac- 
count of its long, drooping sprays, and if allowed to 
develop naturally during the summer, should be 
well covered with its lovely berries at Christmas 
time. 
The holly fern is especially beautiful, while also 
119 
