August, 1890. 
145 
/ ORGH Pi R Dl#' an d” a | GARDE N \ 
fresh, rich soil. Old plants treated in this 
way should be watered occasionally with 
weak manure water. Small, young plants 
need not be pruned but should be repotted. 
Place the plants in a partially shaded place 
where they will get a little sun daily and 
care must be taken that they do not lack 
water at this time. 
Cuttings may be put in this month for 
winter blooming. Fill a pan or shallow 
box with clean sand and press the sand firm- 
ly against them when putting them in; keep 
the sand continually moist. When the cut- 
tings are rooted, pot them off in small pots, 
removing to larger pots as fast as the pots 
become filled with roots. 
Plants in the ground intended for winter 
bloom such as roses, carnations, fuchsias, 
etc., should be carefully lifted and potted 
the latter part of the month. They should 
be placed in a shady place for a few days 
and watered gently. The blossoms should 
now be kept off them. 
There are a number of very pretty annuals 
that will give bloom in the house during 
winter, and these should be sow n in the 
open ground now. Among these are Sweet 
Alyssum, Lobelia, Candy fuft. Pot Marygold, 
Mignonette, etc. The latter does not trans- 
plant readily and should be sown in pols. 
There are others that may be grown just as 
easily and transplanted into pots for house 
bloom. 
Vinca major and vinca minor, or what are 
called by many the common Periwinkles, 
make very useful vines for vases and pots, 
and rank among our most desirable hardy 
plants. The Madagascar Periwinkle, al- 
though usually grown as a greenhouse 
plant, may be easily grown by amateurs Us 
a pot plant for the window or as a bedding 
plant during the summer. It is of upright 
growth with handsome foliage and very at- 
tractive flowers. There are several varie- 
ties. Vinca alba has white flowers with a 
deep red eye; Vinca alba pura is pure white; 
Vinca rosa is rose color, with a dark eye. 
These plants may be raised from seed, and 
the treatment should be exactly like that 
gjven to the Balsam. 
The Ampelopsis Veitchii is a very popular 
vine for covering walls, and it is certainly 
one of the most beautiful and useful of all 
vim s. It may be grown from seed much 
more easily than from cuttings, the seed- 
lings making a much more rapid growth. 
Sow the seeds in the autumn in well pre- 
pared sod, by the wall which you wish 
covered with Ampelopsis. The seeds will 
grow very readily and you will be greatly 
pleased with the result. 
If one has a beautiful large bowl or jardin- 
iere and wishes a fine palm to grow in it, 
he should get the Kentia Australis, for it is 
one that may be relied on for grace, beauty 
and growth. Let the Palm be placed in a com- 
mon flower pot and then set that in the 
fancy one. Do not let it become too dry, 
neither does it like to be kept so wet as to 
get the soil soddened. Always sponge the 
leaves once a week. With these few pre- 
cautions the Kentia will prove a thing of 
beauty and a joy forever. 
No plant has shown greater improvement 
during the last few years than the Ivy Ger- 
anium. No plant is more worthy of gener- 
al cultivation. The Ivy Geraniums are es- 
pecially valuable for w indow culture and 
will do well if grown in a drooping form, 
or trained upright to a trellis. The finest 
varieties may be briefly mentioned thus: 
Joan of Arc, large double white, profuse 
bloomer. Abel Carrier, lovely double flow- 
ers of currant red shade, tinged with violet. 
M. de Lessups, magenta rose, very large, of 
fine form. Horace Choisel, salmon pink, 
very double. La Rosiere, another salmon 
pink, very free blooming. 
Mi.niatcrk Cactus Rockkry. 
I 
The Hoya Carnosa or Wax-Plant should 
be kept cool during the winter, with only 
enough moisture to keep its thick fleshy 
leaves in a fresh state; it may have a tem- 
perature of from fifty to sixty degrees 
during the day, and from forty-five to fifty 
at night; it will n< t stand frost. During 
the summer this plant enjoys strong heat 
and sunshine, and plenty of moisture, when 
it will bloom well, when two years old. It 
is usually trained to a trellis. There are 
a number of varieties, but the best one is 
the one with deep green leaves. The Hoya 
is subject to plant lice and the mealy bug, 
and if so troubled, it should be washed all 
over with warm soapsuds, using a brush, 
thoroughly rinsing afterwards w T ith clear 
water. 
Prepare a pile of suitable and well rotted 
soil for [lotting the winter supply of plants. 
How to Keep Cut Flowers. 
To keep cut flowers in vases, etc., fresh 
for as long a time as possible, the water in 
which they are placed must be kept perfect- 
ly fresh, by frequent renewal, and by the 
addition of some antiseptic like salicilic acid, 
ammonia, nitrate of soda, etc. Also the 
ends of the flower stalks should be cut fre- 
quently. When cut flowers are be kept for 
some especial use, do not stand them in 
water, but wet them thoroughly, then wrap 
closely in paper, lay them in a pasteboard 
box and set in a very cold place, the colder 
the better, so that they will not freeze, the 
ice box is a good place or in lieu of that a 
very cool cellar. 
Do not crowd too many stems into one 
receptacle, have the vase or glass of good 
size and well filled with water, and keep 
the vase continually full by the addition of 
small quantities of water to make up for 
what is lost by evaporation. Do not have 
the stems so long that they wall rest upon 
the bottom of the vase as in that case they 
cannot absorb the water so well. Flowers 
will be greatly freshened, after having been 
in a warm room all day, if at night they 
are taken from the vase, every part of them, 
stems, leaves, flowers, well sprinkled; then 
wrapped closely in a wet cloth and laid in a 
cool place until morning. Before they are 
set away, and then again when putting 
them in the vases, cut off a little bit of the 
stem, as the end quickly hardens, and the 
moisture is not readily absorbed; this may 
be done once or twice during the day with 
benefit if the stems are long enough to ad- 
mit of it, and only a very little is needed 
each time. A little charcoal or ammonia 
added to the watfr in which flowers are 
placed will be of benefit. By removing at 
first all the leaves from the p irts of the 
stems which are in the water the disagree- 
able odor occasioned by the decaying of 
those leaves, will be prevented. 
Roses that have been carried, or worn 
at an evening entertainment and have 
drooped will revive greatly if the stems are 
cut off a little, then placed in water which 
is almost boiling, letting them stand in it 
about ten minutes and then removed to cold 
water. — Greta Beverly. 
A Pretty Arrangement of Caeti. 
Cacti have much to recommend them to 
lovers of the curious and beautiful, the ma- 
jority possess very valuable character in 
that they are easily grown, so easily in 
fact that any one who can only devote a 
small space to them in his window may 
grow them successfully, and when planted 
out they require no attention whatever. 
Heretofore only the ordinary kinds of Cacti 
have been met with, and few people have 
had an opportunity to see a collection con- 
taining most of the best varieties. It is by 
, contrast with each other that they can best 
be displayed to advantage. Our illustra- 
tion shows a very pretty arrangement of 
a few Cacti in the style of a miniature 
rockery, making a unique ornament. 
