80 



ladies' flowee gaedenee. 



not been ascertained. Some flowers, too, such as the crocus and 

 tulip, are colored though grown in the dark. 



Light seems to be fully as essential to plants as air or heat, and 

 while it acts beneficially on the upper surfaces of the leaves, it 

 appears to be injurious to the under surfaces, at least of some 

 plants ; for in whatever way a plant is placed, it contrives to turn 

 the upper surfaces of its leaves to the light. Professor Lindley 

 is, we believe, making some experiments on this subject. 



Plants in rooms turn not only their leaves, but their branches 

 to the window at which the light enters, and a plant may, by 

 turning it at intervals, be made to bend successively to all sides ; 

 but such bendings weaken the plant, and thus it is an excessive 

 or unnatural action. This turning of the plant to the light is 

 always of course in proportion to the brightness of that light as 

 compared with the other sides of the plant. Flowers, too, open 

 their petals to the light, and close them in the dark, or in some 

 cases, as in that of the crocus, when a cloud passes over the sun. 

 The same flower, and also some others, will open their petals to 

 the light of a lamp or candle, and close them again when that is 

 withdrawn. 



It follows as a necessary consequence, that in rooms, plants 

 should be placed as near the window as possible, that the win- 

 dows should have a south exposure, and that they should be as 

 seldom as possible shaded with blinds or otherwise. If piaced 

 at a distance from the windows, plants should be frequency 

 changed, and to place them permanently on tables or man el- 

 shelves is bad management. 



Air is as necessary to the health of plants as light ; but air :an 

 find its way where light cannot, and therefore it requires less cere 

 from the cultivator. If the air is too close, opening the door and 

 windows produces a change, the warm air escaping at top, and 

 cold air coming in below ; but on opening the windows of a tvarm 



