CARNATIONS AS 



The rock-loving species are best grown in a mixture 

 of broken bricks, old mortar and sandy loam. They 

 should receive a plentiful supply of moisture during 

 summer. 



Many species are impatient of moisture about their 

 crowns, so that it is a good plan to keep the crowns 

 elevated to the level, or a little above the level of the 

 pot. We have found that all the plants which require 

 transferring to larger pots, an operation which becomes 

 essential every year or two, will thrive best if trans- 

 ferred in early spring. 



The form of a fern case may be accommodated to in- 

 dividual taste. As an outline for the general structure 

 of such a case, we take a strong wooden box, 30 

 inches in length, 17 inches wide, and 5 inches deep. 

 Cover it well, inside with pitch or coal tar, and out- 

 side with paint. At one end and on a level with the 

 bottom insert a small wooden plug. This will allow 

 any superfluous water to be drawn off, should such ac- 

 cumulation occur. Lay on the bottom one inch of any 

 drainace material, then fill nearly level with light fi- 



WINDOIV PLANTS. 775 



brous soil. In this the ferns may be arranged. The 

 glass covering should never fit down tightly on or 

 around the box so as entirely to exclude the air, which 

 when not allowed to circulate freely gives the glass a 

 steamy, clouded appearance. 



It is by no means essential that an elaborate case 

 should be constructed at great expense to cultivate a 

 few ferns. For a few cents a very respectable cottage 

 fernery may be established. 



Nor is it at all necessary to keep living rooms at a 

 high temperature in order to have a cheerful window 

 of these plants in winter. Many of them are hardy 

 evergreens, and flourish most luxuriantly when the 

 ground is frozen around their stems. 



Window ferneries should not be exposed to the di- 

 rect rays of the sun even in winter. A north window 

 is a good position for a case ; yet we have found almost 

 invariably, by observing ferns in their native haunts, 

 that they were more luxuriant where exposed chiefly 

 to light from the northwest. — Mrs. |. T. Powfi--, R'ai- 

 tuckv. 



CARNATIONS AS WINDOW PLANTS. 



HE carnation is often thought to be 

 a difficult plant to grow in the 

 window garden. I think that the 

 following suggestions will aid those 

 who wish to grow this most hand- 

 some flower. 



The variety chosen is of great im- 

 portance. Plants of compact growth, 

 and generally of dwarf habit, are 

 much the best. We would mention 

 the following varieties as being emi- 

 nently suitable for pot culture ; Sunrise, variegated yel- 

 low and red ; Portia, scarlet ; Buttercup, yellow, striped 

 with scarlet ; The Century, carmine ; Tidal Wave, light 

 carmine ; Seawan, crimson ; Orient, crimson ; L. L. 

 Lamborn, white. There are many others, but these all 

 make handsome plants and embrace the important 

 co!ors_. Of course the more rampant growers like Grace 

 Wilder, Edwardsii, Phila. Red, Crimson King, Chester 

 Pride, etc , may be grown in pots, but they never make 

 such fine looking specimens. The largest and finest 

 clumps alone should be selected for potting. 



The requirements of the plants are simple enough — 

 not too wet feet, a moist atmosphere, cool temperature, 

 and plenty of light. But to combine these essentials in 



a living room is another matter, and calls tur the utmost 

 skill on the part of the cultivator. Give them, then, the 

 sunniest window, and set them close to the glass. Water 

 carefully and only when dry : do not over-water. Let 

 them occupy the coolest window in the room, not for- 

 getting the admonition as to light. A moist green-house 

 atmosphere in a living apartment is an impossibility, and 

 this no doubt is generally the cause of failure. Many 

 plants will thrive fairly well in dry air — the carnation, 

 we may say, never. Disease, insects, fungoid growths, 

 death, follow in their natural sequence. It is an essen- 

 tial matter then to have large, robust, healthy plants, 

 well along in bud. Such plants are more likely to with- 

 stand the unusual conditions to which they are about to 

 be subjected. Frequent sprinklings of the foliage will 

 counteract the dryness of the air in a great measure : 

 and brushing the leaves, keeping them as free from dusj 

 as possible, conduces to the health of the plant. 



The green-fly, or aphis, and the red spider are the 

 great enemies of the carnation, but these are nearly 

 always brought on by improper conditions and an un- 

 healthy growth. A strong tea made from tobacco stems 

 will destroy the aphis. The red spider is not so easily 

 disposed of, but a weak solution of sulphide of potassium 

 will kill it if persistently applied. 



Penna. W. K. Shelmire. 



