1865 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
349 
The Care of House Plants. 
The change from the open air to quarters 
■within the house is often fatal to the health of 
plants, and although the owner gives them, as 
lie tliinks, every care, their foliage takes on a 
sickly look or drops. This especially is the case 
when plants are removed late in the season to 
save them from an apprehended frost, and taken 
to a close, and it may be 'heated room. The 
change *from free air to the house should be 
gradual, and plants will do much better if they 
are at first removed to a room without a fire, 
to which air can be freely admitted on every 
mild day, and thus gradually accustomed to the 
new condition of things. Those plants which 
are merely brought in-doors for protection, and 
are not expected to groiv and bloom will do 
wmll in a room without a fire, except in very se¬ 
vere weather. The best place for such plants, 
however, is a light and dry cellar that is protect¬ 
ed from frost. In cither place, the plants need 
but little water. Plants in sitting rooms need 
to have plenty of light; ventilation whenever 
the external temperature renders it practicable; 
■vwater according to the needs of the particular 
kind of plants; and particular!}’’, w'hat is so often 
neglected, they should have a frequent wash¬ 
ing of the foliage to free it of dust and insects. 
As we were writing this article, there came to 
hand a letter from Mr. C. II. Spooner, of Phila¬ 
delphia, who removed from the country where 
he had a green-house, and brought his plants to 
the city where he had no proper structure for 
them. The experience of Mr. S. in keeping 
plants in an unfavorable locality, will doubtless 
be useful to many, and his directions for gener¬ 
al treatment are such as may be safely followed. 
“ My home in the City is on the north side of 
the street, and the back room in which I keep 
my plants never receives a ray of sunshhie 
from November until March; it is also heated 
■with hot air from kitchen range, }’et even under 
these, the worst of circumstances, some of the 
plants did much better than' could have been 
expected. Azaleas flowered finely toward spring, 
when a little sunshine crept in for an hour or 
two. Epiphyllum Jenkinsonii, Grahamii, and 
speciosa, also flowered superbly. The ■whole 
Cactus family are well adapted for room culture, 
making no litter, standing much bad treatment, 
except an excess of w'ater while at rest (during 
winter), and profuse in flowering. Habrotham- 
nus elegans was a miracle of beauly during the 
Avinter, the plant Avas about three feet high, and 
had been pinched in so as to form a bushy, yet 
umbrella shaped head, before being allowed to 
floAver. It had as many as fifty trusses in bloom 
at one time. Ardisia crenulata, looked pretty, 
until severe cold Aveather, AA’hen the thermome¬ 
ter fell sometimes one or two degrees beloAV 
freezing point, causing it to cast its fruit. Ca¬ 
mellias lost their buds, and looked badly. Lily 
of the Nile, bloomed flnel}’’. Geraniums want¬ 
ed sunshine to make them bloom. Hare’s-foot- 
Silver striped, and other green-house Ferns did 
pretty Avell, as did the common Lycopodium. 
To sum up with a few brief hints to those not 
acquainted Avith the culture of plants in rooms ; 
Never Avater your plant until the earth looks 
rather light and dry, then give a good soaking 
Avith AA'ater, not too cold. If any plant gets in¬ 
fested Avith insects, take it to the bath tub or 
hydrant, lay it on its side, and if you have no 
garden syringe, put a finger under the mouth 
of the faucet, and' spray the Avater Avith gentle 
force over and under the leaA'^es. If you can 
gpriiikle your plaiUs every c]ay (wUeu the air jq 
the room is not too cold), it Avill be of much 
benefit. Discard hot-house plants as a general 
thing, as to keep them in a temperature suffi¬ 
ciently Avarm, would induce a corresponding 
dryness in the atmosphere, which that kind of 
plants can not endure. Azaleas, Cactus, Gera¬ 
niums, Habrothamnus, Cestrum, Dwarf Orange, 
Daphne (flowered finely Avith me), YcIIoav Jas- 
samine (excellent), Beloperone oblongata, Rhyn- 
cospernraum jasminoides. Bramble rose, and if 
you have sunshine, tlie different varieties of 
Oxalis are very pretty. Never open the windoAV 
in cold or Avindy weather, as all sudden changes 
are detrimental.” 
TME e®USEM(D)]Ll. 
About Cinnamon and Cassia. 
Under the name of Cinnamon Ave have in gen¬ 
eral use a spice Avliich is universally popular, but 
Avhicli is not Cinnamon at all. The true spice of 
this name is the produet of Cinnaniomum Zeylani- 
cum, a tree Avhich is a native of Ceylon, but is uoav 
cultivated in several 
neighboring countries. 
The tree is about 30 
feet high, has thick, 
pale green, shining and 
strongly Ihrce-veined 
leaves, and clusters of 
small flowers. The 
shape of the leaves, but 
reduced iu size, is 
shoAvn in the illustra¬ 
tion, fig. 1. All parts 
of the ijlant are aro¬ 
matic, but the bark of 
the young branches is 
the portion used for its 
1 flaA’or. Branches three 
years old are removed 
from the tree and peel¬ 
ed, and the outer layer 
of the bark, or skin, is 
scraped off. The bark 
in drying, curls up 
lengthAvise so as to 
form an imperfect cy- 
Fig 2 Fig 3 Tinder, and Avhile yet 
flexible, eight or ten 
of those pieces or “ quills ” are placed one Avithin 
another so as to form rolls about a yard long, 
Avhich when thoroughly dry are put up in bales. 
The true oinnaraon is quite costly, and is seldom 
found in any shops except those of the druggists. 
It is readily distinguished by being very thin, 
scarcely thicker than ordinary brown paper, and 
by its light yelloAvish brown color, and peculiar 
taste. Being an expensive article it is not in gen¬ 
eral use, but those Avho are particular about flavors 
Avill biY it, notwithstanding its high price, in pref¬ 
erence to the article commonly sold as cinna¬ 
mon, Avhich is Cassia. Cassia is the product of 
another, and perhaps more than one other si)ccic 3 
of Cmnamomum, and comes from China and sever¬ 
al of the East Indian ports. The bark is much 
thicker than the true cinnamon, is of a redder 
broAvn color, and the pieces, instead of being rolled 
one within another, are single, or only two or three 
together. It is imposed in small bales made of 
matting Avhich contain two or more pound rolls of 
the bark. The figures 2 and 3, show the difference 
in the appearance of the tAvo barks, the Cassia 
bark, flg. 2, being much thicker than that of the 
Cinnamon, fig. 3. Besides these differences, there 
is a marked one in the taste Avhich can not be Avcll 
described, but Avhich is readily recognized by any 
one Avho has compared the tAvo. The flavors are 
simiiar but very distinct, and although the Cassia 
is the stronger of the tAVO, the Ciifhamon is far 
more agreeable .and delicate. The C.assia then, is 
the b.ark Avhich we nse under the name of Cinna¬ 
mon, and this Avhen purchased in the powdered 
form is very likely to be adulterated, by various 
cheap substances Avhich are ground up AA’ith it. 
With this, as Avith other spices, the only way to be 
sure of a pure article is to procure it in the un- 
mauuflActured state and poAvder or grind it at home. 
--->•«•>>-- 
A Neat and Inexpensive Oraament. 
Recently a nerv style of ornamental Avork has ap¬ 
peared for sale, which at first looks like beautifully 
carved rustle Avork. A close examination, however, 
shows that the fine effect is produced Avith a very 
common material, only butternut shells, cut in thin 
slices across the gr.ain, and fastened together at the 
edges Avith glue. The illustration represents a 
small fancy bracket m.ade in this manner, to bo 
hung upon the Avail to support an ornamental 
vase, image, or other article. The same material is 
worked into picture frames, c.ard baskets, work 
boxes and other similar things. The butternut is 
easily sawed into slices by holding it in the end of 
a stick hollow'ed out to receive it, and h.aving cuts 
made partially through the stick at proper distances 
apart, to guide the saAV, as in a milrc box. Strong, 
thick glue is needed to hold the slices together, and 
BUTTERNUT BRACKET. 
the work looks nicer if the pieces be smoothed 
with a file and sand-paper, before putting them to¬ 
gether. We h.ave seen a very pretty shaAvl pin 
m’ade of a single .slice of butternut shell, mount¬ 
ed Avith silver, and, very beautiful bracelets, mads 
