22 TOWN AND WINDOW GARDENING 



ever lived in any of the West Indian Islands, where there 

 is no soil, and everything has to be grown in pots and 

 tubs. Tubs are charming, so cheap, so easy to manage, 

 and so decorative when tastefully painted. Plants always 

 take kindly to tubs, and both tubs and pots can be 

 arranged and moved about with ease — a great convenience 

 when ladies undertake the work. 



But tubs and pots are not the only receptacles that are 

 useful for balconies, verandahs, leads, and window-door- 

 ways. Italian oil-jars answer very well, either whole or 

 sawn in half to make two. Seakale pots serve the same 

 purpose. For painting them in colour, nothing is better 

 than a low-toned green, which harmonizes with all else. 

 There is a certain dull red that pleases some tastes ; but 

 red is a colour that tires. 



The quality of the material of which the receptacles 

 are made must be considered, as it has a great deal to do 

 with the amount of water the plants will require. 

 Ordinary flower-pot ware is very porous, and plants 

 grown in large flower-pots require more frequent water- 

 ing than when grown in anything else. The evapora- 

 tion through plain wood is not nearly so great as through 

 unglazed earthenware, and when the wood is painted it 

 is still less. Glazing an ordinary flower-pot makes it 

 more protective. Old petroleum barrels (when the oil 

 has been turned out) and butter-tubs are excellent plant- 

 holders, but of course must have ample provision made 

 for drainage, and several good-sized holes must be pierced 

 at the bottom. If the tub or pot has not much depth of 

 room underneath, it should be set on bricks, or raised in 

 some other way. This assists drainage, and keeps the 

 holes from being blocked by worms or otherwise. Re- 

 potting is very seldom required if in the first instance 

 good compost is freely given. The best way of feeding 

 our tub plants and shrubs is very clearly explained in a 

 paper on " Tub Gardening," by Mr. Alger Petts in The 



