1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



109 



AND GREENHOUSE. 



SCREENS FOR FIRE-PLACES. 



Our illustration represents a fire-place jar- 

 diniere, consisting of an ornamental cast-iron 

 box, provided with hooks suitable for attach- 

 ing it to slow combustion stoves. As, how- 

 ever, few of our readers probably possess 

 such stoves, we mention an excellent method 

 of forming a screen for any ordinary fire- 

 place in summer, as described in Gardening 

 Illustrated. 



Procure a stout box the length of the fire- 

 place, twelve to fifteen inches wide, or more 

 if desirable, and eight or nine inches deep. 

 The front and ends may be painted or var- 

 nished, according to taste. Perforate the 

 bottom by means of an auger to afford drain- 

 .age. Then procure sufficient 

 turfy loam to fill the box, and 

 mix with it a liberal quantity of 

 well decomposed manure and 

 some road sand. After draining 

 the box by placing a large crock 

 over each hole, and putting 

 on these crocks one fourth inch 

 or so of clean gravel, put some 

 of the rough pieces of soil in, 

 then procure two or three good 

 plants of the English or other 

 kind of Ivy in pots, water them 

 well, and when they have 

 drained a little, turn them out 

 and plant them in the box close 

 to the back. In front and round 

 the ends plant a row of young- 

 plants of Creeping Jennys, and 

 fill the middle up with hardy 

 Perns, those in pots will be 

 best. A few pieces of stone 

 may be placed between the 

 Ferns, if desired, to give it a 

 less formal appearance. In 

 each corner at the back of the 

 box must be fastened a stout 

 lath of the height of the fire- 

 place, and to these should be 

 fastened a piece of wire net- 

 ting to which to train the Ivy, 

 or a wooden lattice would an- 

 swer as well. 



In autumn place the box in 

 a partly shaded position out 

 of doors. Keep the shoots of 

 the Ivy tied in as they grow, 

 and stop them when they reach 

 the top. Give, plenty of water, and in winter 

 the box would be better surrounded with 

 ashes or sand to keep the frost from the roots. 



In spring cut the Creeping Jenny down 

 close to the soil, and by June a beautiful 

 screen will be formed. A few cut flowers 

 placed in among the Ferns will give a good 

 effect. We must add that the box would 

 be better if provided with a handle at each 

 •end, in order that it may be taken out of the 

 tootu once a week, and the leaves of the Ivy 

 and Ferns receive a thorough washing with 

 the syringe, and the soil receive a good soak- 

 ing with water. 



If the plants are not to be wintered in the 

 box, it may be used for Dutch Bulbs during 

 winter, planting and keeping it outdoors 

 during autumn, and, when cold weather sets 

 in, removing it to the house before a sunny 

 window. 



WATERING HOUSE PLANTS. 



Nine-tenths of the failures in window 

 gardening can lie attributed to improper 

 watering, either too much or too little — in 

 most cases, too much. You cannot water a 

 plant by rule of thumb. We frequently hear, 

 " I cannot understand how it is that my win- 

 dow plants do not grow better, for I water 

 them every day." This is probably the very 

 cause of their not doing well. 



Whenever you water a plant, always give 

 sufficient to soak the whole mass of soil 

 thoroughly ; then do not water again before 

 it shows signs of dryness on the surface. It 

 may not be for two or three days, or even 

 longer ; but no matter, do not give water 

 until you are sure of its being in a slightly 

 fir// condition. On the other hand, some 

 plants require water twice a day, especially 

 when the pots are full of roots and the plants 

 are growing vigorously and flowering pro- 



should be stimulated; but not until then, 

 unless the plant has been a long time in the 

 same pot, and it is not practicable to renew 

 the soil or give a larger pot. Particular 

 attention is called to this matter of stimu- 

 lating window plants, from the fact that a 

 theory is just now being extensively circu- 

 lated, to the effect that plants grown in pots 

 do not require any stimulants, or at most 

 very little. Our experience is that you can 

 no more grow a plant successfully in a. x>ot, 

 in poor, worn-out soil, than you can take a 

 crop of Corn or any other crop from the same 

 soil ten years in succession without applying 

 fertilizers. —John Thorpe, before the N. Y. 

 Horticultural Society. 



PROPAGATING GLOXINIAS. 



To grow Gloxinias from leaves, take any 

 shallow refuse pan, puncture for drainage, 

 and fill with sandy soil ; let it 

 settle well, and insert the leaf 

 stems full length around the 

 edges of the pan. Place it in, 

 a warm but shaded situation, 

 and keep moderately moist- 

 By the time the leaf has dried 

 up many young tubers will 

 have formed. At the approach 

 of cold weather this pan should 

 be set away iu a warm place 

 undisturbed, giving occasion- 

 ally a little water to prevent 

 the ground from becoming too 

 hard and dry. In early spring 

 they have to be brought into 

 the light, watered more fre- 

 quently, and potted off as they 

 appear. If vigorously grown, 

 the plants will bloom the same 

 season. 



Amateur. 



RE-PLACE 



fusely. The leaves of plants must be kept 

 clean and free from dust ; those with bright, 

 shining surface and of good size may be 

 wiped clean with a sponge or soft cloth. 

 Varieties with smaller leaves can only be 

 cleaned by being showered overhead either 

 with a sprinkler or syringe, and this should 

 be done once or twice a week. 



Do not allow plants to stand in water ex- 

 cept such as are aquatics. If the water 

 touches the bottom of the pots, a good plan 

 is to have a smaller saucer, turned upside 

 down for the plant to stand on, within the 

 larger one ; or small blocks of hard wood, or 

 any material that will hold the bottom of the 

 pot above the water-line ; otherwise, remem- 

 ber to always empty the water that drains 

 into the saucers. 



Plants delight in good living, and when 

 the pots become crowded with roots they 



MORE MIGNONETTE. 



I take from the garden in 

 the fall, says M. A. G. of Ver- 

 mont, the young plants which 

 have grown from the fallen 

 seeds of the earlier blossoms, 

 when about an inch or two 

 high, plant them in pots of 

 rich garden soil, and treat them 

 ■=g=~r^- _ like other window plants. I 

 ■'. im'Vit f;,j| ,,)• living tliiir frn- 

 . grant flowers by the middle of 

 December. Candytuft and 

 China Pinks I treat in the 

 same way ; and by taking up 

 young plants of Verbena in the fall they 

 will thrive splendidly in the window. 



A large share of my success with these 

 plants is no doubt due to the even, low tem- 

 perature at which I keep my parlor, which 

 faces the south, and serves me as a conserv- 

 atory, and is heated by a stove in the sitting- 

 room adjoining. 



WINDOW BOXES, 



Plant-boxes outside of windows are com- 

 ing into more frequent use in our cities, and 

 help much to give a cheerful appearance to 

 houses and streets ; but even in country, and 

 especially suburban houses, they may be used 

 to advantage. Most plants thrive better in 

 properly arranged boxes than in pots, and 

 when strong growing and free blooming 

 plants are employed a bright and pleasing 

 effect will be produced all summer. 



