THE LADIES’ MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
131 
is very often seen, plants with bare stems and withered leaves. Having 
mentioned what should be done, every one will readily invent something 
to answer the purpose, an awning for example, or merely to move the 
plants to the inside of the window. Of course these remarks apply only 
to the summer season, when the sun’s rays are very hot in the middle of 
the day, and to windows with a south aspect. 
High winds are very injurious to window plants and should be guarded 
against, and for this reason windows on the ground or second floor are 
best adapted for their cultivation. 
Having explained how these plants should be treated with regard to 
light and situation, I will now do the same thing with respect to water. 
As I said before, plants planted by the hand of nature, send their roots in 
all directions in search of food and moisture. They differ materially in 
this respect from those grown in greenhouses, or rooms ; confined to the 
pots in which they grow, and supplied with water by artificial means. 
The latter are more liable to suffer than the former from dryness in 
summer, having fewer mouths to absorb the moisture which is rapidly 
evaporating from the leaves ; and they are also more likely to be injured 
by excess of wet in winter, owing to the drainage of the pots getting 
choked. It is impossible to say how often, and how much, water should 
be given, because this depends upon the kind of plant, the state of health 
in which it is, and the season of the year. As a general rule, however, 
they should never be watered until the soil at the surface of the pot wfill 
readily crumble between the finger and thumb when taken up, and when 
in this state, as much water should be given as the soil will receive; in 
other words, never w 7 ater until the plants are dry, and when you do water 
give plenty of it. Rain water is by far the best kind, and should always 
be used in preference to that obtained from springs. In winter very little 
water is required, and it should always be cautiously given, because the 
air is more moist, and the light is not so intense, therefore there is less 
demand made upon the roots by the leaves. 
It is always necessary when the plants are in the inside of the room, to 
have some contrivance to prevent the water from running through the soil 
and wetting the floor, and this is most simply done by placing a flat pan 
below the flower-pot, which collects any superfluous water, and this water 
is afterwards absorbed by the roots when the soil gets dry. The method 
very often practised, of always keeping these pans full of water in pre¬ 
ference to watering from the top, is not to be recommended, except An- 
very robust plants which are not easily injured, and not even for these in 
the winter months. Watering over the leaves is of the utmost importance 
to the health of window plants, exposed as they are to so many small 
