In the Glass House Month to Month 
By W. R. Fowkes, New York. 
MANY persons who love all that Nature give 
us in the floral world are sometimes saddened 
and disgusted with their own small green- 
house after a visit to one or more of our great floral 
exhibitions. They imagine that to produce such won- 
derful flowers, fruits and foliage plants as are ex- 
hibited, it is necessary to have expensive houses built. 
While this is true in a general way, where the owner 
pays a large staff of experts to do the work necessary 
that he may gain first honors at exhibitions, there is 
no need to despair, however, because many amateurs 
with a house fifty feet long and twenty feet wide de- 
rive more pleasure out of them than their more for- 
tunate wealthy brethren, for doing the work one's 
self is a healthful occupation. 
On numerous establishments there are houses 
erected with two or three compartments, very suit- 
able for growing a variety of plants. The one near- 
est the boiler is usually a combination of palm, fern 
and propagating house. Palms and decorative plants 
can be grown and used for house decorations all sum- 
mer and during the winter can accommodate the same 
together with being a good forcing house for the 
many varieties of bulbous flowers and roots, so valu- 
able in winter time. The medium temperature house 
may be used for roses in the center benches and the 
sides may contain gardenias or any favorite flower 
the owner cares to grow and enjoy. The cool depart- 
ment may be filled with carnations, snapdragons and 
mignonette. If sweet peas are wanted, they can also 
be accommodated. A few chrysanthemums (the 
Queen of the Autumn) have a valuable place and are 
so useful when Jack Frost has got in his work out 
doors, and before the carnations and roses are in full 
crop. The chrysanthemum space can be utilized after 
the blooms are cut for the growing of primulas and 
cyclamen as well as numerous bulbs. 
A FEW CULTURAL SUGGESTIONS. 
The carnations will now all be planted and should 
be kept cool and airy — never close doors or ventilators 
unless the temperature falls below fifty degrees. 
Water when necessary and keep weeds picked out and 
gently stir the surface of the beds. Do not feed at 
this date. A weekly spraying is essential to keep 
down the red spider. I always use Aphine for any 
kind of insect and this is the best remedy I know of 
to counteract the red spider. Spray every ten days 
with Fungine as a preventative for fungus diseases. 
Fresias should be potted now in a light soil, one- 
third leaf soil and two-thirds loam and a four-inch 
pot of bone dust to a wheel barrow load of the soil. 
Place about eight bulbs in a five-inch pot, then place 
under the carnation bench. Fresias do not want start- 
ing in the dark like hyacinths. 
Paper white narcissus are a very useful flower of 
easy culture. Bulbs should be procured and can be 
planted in equal parts of loam and rotted manure in 
flats three inches deep. They should be well watered, 
placed out of doors, and covered with soil or ashes or 
even sawdust— anything to keep the light from them 
for three weeks.' Then they will start and can be 
brought inside on the walks of the carnation house. 
Never try heat. They succeed better in a night tem- 
peratureof fifty-five degrees. 
Roman Hyacinths can be grown in the same man- 
ner. When they have been out of doors for three or 
four weeks and the pots or boxes show on examina- 
tion the white roots around the sides, they are ready 
for work. 
Lily of the Valley can be had in bloom every dav if 
wanted. Big cold storage crowns, in bundles of 
twenty-five each, can be soaked in water five or six 
hours and then potted in sand, leaves or any plain soil. 
Place near the pipes, cover each pot with one of equal 
size and this will exclude light, the dark being neces- 
sary for the development of long stems. 
Ferns for decorating purposes are required by the 
ladies of the household, and there is nothing better 
than Asparagus of several varieties. Sprengeri can 
be grown in baskets hung from the roof. Hatcheri 
and plumosus can be grown, a few in pots. Their 
culture is of the simplest. Maidenhair fern is useful. 
The variety Adiantum (roweanum grows freely, if a 
few nice young plants from three-inch pots are planted 
in one corner of a bench. All they require is sweet 
soil, careful watering, and a moist atmosphere. A. 
cuneatum can be grown in a ten-inch pot or on a small 
hill of sod and a little manure and trained on wires 
eighteen inches from the glass. Sow the seed in moist 
soil in three-inch pots and, when about nine inches 
high, plant and allow to reach the top of the wire trel- 
lis — about four feet six inches. Then pinch the point 
out. The laterals will grow freely and, wdien the small 
shoots have made two eyes, pinch the end out and 
the fruit will grow freely. When the fruits have at- 
tained a fair size, give a slight feed with Clay's fer- 
tilizer once every ten days. 
For table decoration in winter, nothing is more ele- 
gant or useful than Adiantum Farleyense. It is an 
aristocrat in its class and very beautiful. But the 
new variety is not only as beautiful but grows freer 
and with less coddling. It is more suitable for the 
small green house. It does not require great heat. 
In fact, it is much better gri >wn in an intermediate 
temperature. Its name is Glory of Moordrecht, com- 
monly known as the Glory Fern, a name it richly de- 
serves but, unlike the ordinary maidenhairs, it will 
thrive better in heavy soil. 
Now is the time to attend to the cool subjects. Aza- 
leas must he brought indoors by the end of the month. 
A slight freeze will not hurt, but better without any 
check. They need to be kept quiet and, if a cold frame 
is at hand and every place sin mid have a cold frame, 
they can be stood in it, and the sash placed on at night. 
taking off during the day. If wanted in bloom for 
anv special time, they can easily be had by keeping 
a few at intervals in the warm house, but they are 
better if kept cool and quiet until they are meant to 
flower. If placed in heat too soon, new growths will 
push forth at the expense of the flower, hut they are 
ever one of the most beautiful plants and can be kept 
in corners when pushed for room, as the small house 
often is during 'mum time. 
Chrysanthemums will now be getting interesting. 
Those" with forward buds will be greatly benefited 
by feeding once a week with weak soot water and oc- 
casionally a slight dressing of bone meal. 
Now is the time to procure a few pot grown peaches, 
also nectarines, the smooth fleshed peach. They can 
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