A PRACTICAL JOURNAL FOR AMATEURS. 
Copyright secured, 1878. 
Vol. II. NEW YORK, JANUARY, 1879. No. i. 
classes of school or college, wants to have the 
plants all turned out of doors or pitched downs 
cellar, and he so overwhelms his less scientifrc- 
sisters with talk of carbonic acid, carbonic an- 
hydride, oxygen, ozone, etc., etc., that however 
the tears may come, the plants have to go. 
Now before putting the edict of banishment 
into effect let us see whether all this argument 
and these 
" Words of learned length and thundering sound " 
really furnish good sound reasons for depriving 
the girls of their pets. 
It is well known that plants are the great 
agents in keeping the air pure and wholesome 
for animals. Whenever an animal breathes, it 
gives off carbonic acid, and this carbonic acid 
(called also carbonic anhydride and carbonic 
di-oxide,) quickly extinguishes life when it is 
present in too great proportions. Hence, when 
animals are confined in close boxes or apart- 
ments they speedily fall asleep and very soon 
die. Under the influence of sun-light, how- 
ever, the plants absorb this carbonic acid ; they 
decompose it into its component parts, oxygen 
and carbon, and while the latter is used for 
making starch, sugar, woody fibre and other 
parts of the plant, the oxygen is given out and 
serves to make our fires burn and to enable ani- 
mals to breathe. It is only by the help of .light, 
and strong light at that — such as the light of the 
sun or burning magnesium, th^t plants a,fe en- 
Growing Plants in Sleeping Rooms. 
ANY persons who 
have no opportu- 
nity to cultivate a 
garden, are so fond 
of living plants 
that they cannot 
get along without 
them ; they there- 
fore grow them in 
pots in the rooms 
ilL -^M^ '•^-Y--> ir^ which they live 
-^^"^ jl^ sleep, and we 
confess that dur- 
ing the dull days 
of winter, when 
everything out- 
side is reduced to 
dusty brown or clothed in white, a little bit of 
green is wonderfully pleasant and refreshing. 
This window gardening or house-plant culture, 
is generally confided to the girls (and by the 
■way, we like that hearty old word which indi- 
cates so much that is pleasant and lovable, as 
contrasted with the modern expression " young 
lady."). Their refined taste and patient atten- 
tion enable them to succeed and make things 
pleasant where boys too often fail. It fre- 
quently happens, however, that some big bro- 
ther, fresh from the chemical or botanical 
