HOUSE, AEEA, AND WINDOW GAEDENING. 



5 



greater bulk of earth and the diminished exposure 

 would both tend to keep the soil in a more even 

 condition of moistiu-e, and would render watering- 

 less frequently necessary. There need be no diffi- 

 culty in procuring' pots of square or any other shape, 

 if a model be made in wood of the full size, and be 

 sent to the potteries as a pattern. 



Pots for Suspension. — The accompanying 

 sketch (Fig. 1) will show what we mean by Hang- 

 ing Pots. If a common pot could be cut in halves 

 vertically, and a flat back could be fitted to each 

 half, it would make two hanging pots. 



Hanging Pots are most useful in many places 

 where ordinary pots could not be used. Where 



Fig. 1.— HaBging Pot. Fig. 2— Hook for Hang- 



ing Pot. 



windows have no shutters, nails can be driven in to 

 the woodwork of the window-frame, and hanging - 

 pots can be suspended on the nails. Where shutters 

 are used, neither nails nor screws can be used to 

 hang the pots upon ; but holes may be made in the 

 shutters, resembling key-holes, and into them hooks 

 can be placed of the form of Fig. 2, The hole must 

 be just long enough to admit of the part marked A 

 going through it, while the width of the hook at b 

 must be regulated by the thickness of the shatter. 

 During the daytime the hook goes through the face 

 of the shutter, and the plant hangs in front of it. 

 Before closing the shutter, the pot and hook must be 

 removed ; when closed, the hook is put through the 

 back of the shutter, and the plant hangs in the room. 

 If these key-holes are made at regular and suitable 

 distances a^Dart, they are not objectionable when not 

 in use for hanging-pots ; but if it is not desirable 

 to make holes in the shutters, then hooks can be 

 attached to a stout wire, one end of which can be 

 bent, and hung over the top of the shutter. If this 

 be hung as nearly over the hinges as is possible, 

 there will be no undue strain on the shutter. 



Saucers. — These are a necessary adjunct to pot- 

 plants in rooms. It is a very difficult thing to give 

 exactly the quantity of water which the ball of 



earth that a plant is growing in may require. 

 Hence, it is usual to give an overdose, knowing that 

 the saucer will take what is not wanted by the earth. 

 As it is unnatural and very detrimental to most 

 plants to have their roots standing in water,, this 

 use of saucers necessitates the employment of more 

 crocks for drainage than would be required for pots^ 

 in a green-house; the drainage must be deep enough 

 to keep the roots above the level of the water even 

 if the saucer were full. This is illustrated by 

 Fig. 3. But no amount of drainage will prevent the- 

 water rising by capillary attraction, to the ruin of the 

 soil, in the pot. A much better plan is to place in the- 

 saucer a block, which will raise the bottom of the 

 pot nearly to the level of the rim of the saucer, as- 

 shown in Fig. 4 ; when this is the practice, it is- 

 evident that much less drainage is necessary, with. 



Fig. 3. — Pot sunk in Fig. 4. — Pot raised on 



Saucer. Block. 



the additional advantage of more room being pro-- 

 vided for earth. This block must bo grooved on its 

 upper surface, or perforated, or otherwise so con- 

 structed that it shall not prevent an overdose of 

 water running freely away from the pot. When 

 water is kept in the saucer, no slug can get at the 

 plant. 



Where it can be arranged to substitute for 

 saucers one large zinc tray, this is a much better 

 plan to adopt. Each plant that has had an excessive- 

 supply of water may want its saucer emptied if it 

 is undesirable that it should stand in water. But if a 

 tray is provided for the pots to stand in, it is an easy 

 matter to draw off the superfluous water from a hole- 

 made at one corner and filled up with a cork or tap. 



Some plants are best grown in double pots, one 

 being much larger than the other, and both ha\'ing 

 the hole at the bottom stopped with a cork. The 

 inner pot, which has more drainage than usual, is- 

 placed inside the larger pot, which is filled nearly 

 full of water. This keeps cool and moist the roots 

 of the plant in the inner pot. If the pot is at all 

 porous, however, the soil is apt to get saturated, and 

 the plan is not a safe one for general adoption. 



Hanging Baskets. — Nothing is prettier than 

 a well-furnished basket, hanging in the middle . f a 



