248 
WINDOW GARDENING' 
"The graceful custom of growing plants in living rooms is very much more 
prevalent on the Continent than vt^ith us. It is true that we often see a display 
of flowering plants in rooms, though we rarely rise to the use of subjects distin- 
guished by beauty of form, or select those that are peculiarly adapted for in- 
doors. But the day is approaching when the value of graceful plants as home 
ornaments will be very fully appreciated. Apart altogether from their effect as 
ornaments, what can more agreeably introduce us to the study of natural his- 
tory ? The influence of the graceful form of a young Palm in the hall, the 
fascinating verdure of Ferns, and fine leaved plants from many countries, in the 
drawing room, and flowers from the orchards of the uplands of Mexico, to the 
tiny bulbs of Europe, in 
your Lilliputian room-con- 
servatory, is surely more 
eloquent in that direction 
than any book teaching. 
You cannot deny, as Kings- 
ley says, that "your daugh- 
ters find an enjoyment in 
it, and are more active, 
more cheerful, more self 
forgetful over it, than they 
would have been over novels 
and gossip, crochet and 
Berlin wool. At least you 
will confess that theabomi 
nation of " fancy work "— 
that standing cloak for 
dreamy idleness — has all 
but vanished from your 
drawing rooms since the 
" Lady Ferns " and Venus 
Hair Ferns appeared.* 
Ferns, to be sure, have 
been a great help and a 
great attraction, but they are not altogether superior as to verdure and elegance ; 
there are other plants much more readily grown in rooms. 
"By a combination of all the plants suitable for this purpose, we may not 
only find very agreeable indoor imployment, but create the highest kind of orna- 
ment and interest in the house at all seasons. 
"Merely displaying a few popular or showy subjects is not plant decoration 
in any high sense ! Rooms are often over-crowded with artificial ornaments, 
many of them exact representations of natural objects; but in the case of plants 
we may, without inconvenience, enjoy and preserve the living objects themselves. 
Marauta fasciata. 
