WINDOW GARDJiNING. 
283 
will begin to penetrate the cotton or flannel, slowl}'^ sending down their delicate 
white fibres to the bottom of the vessel, while the top will be covered with a 
little thicket of green ; after the second day the vessel must be 
kept in a warm tight place, and two or three times a week care- 
fully replenished with water by means of a teaspoon, or syrinse 
inserted beneath the edge of the flannel. 
A great advantage of such a miniature garden as this is that the 
roots moy be plainly seen growing through the cloth. Water cress 
has been grown this way, and a little story is related of a little 
girl who kept her invalid mother supplied all winter long with 
water cresses grown in this way upon wet flannel. 
Vcas. — Common garden peas will make a lovely vine, although 
sweet peas are much prettier, but either can be grown in water ; 
till a common tumbler with water; tie over it a bit of coarse 
lace, such asmilliners use, and cover it with peas, pressing it down 
into the water. Keep in a dark place for two or three days, 
then give light and warmth. In a few days the roots will beFi 
plainly seen piercing through the lace, and the vines can twine der gus jets, 
around the casements, or a bit of a hoop skirt spring can be fastened about 
the tumbler, with springs attached to it in form of a globe, and the vines twined 
about them. Keep the tumbler full of water, and 
add bits of charcoal to keep it fresh ; every week turn 
in two or three drops of aqua ammonia, less if the 
tumbler is very small, but the deeper it is the bet- 
ter for your vines. 
A Saucer Garden can be made with fresh moss, 
well wetted ; in the centre place a pine cone filled 
with earth and common grass or canary bird seeds, 
and in a few days the tiny grass spears will aj)- 
pcar, and soon you will have a verdurous cone of i 
great beauty. Keep it secure from the frost, and 
give water enough, and you will have a lovely orna- 
ment. 
The devices for growing grasses can be extended 
ad libitum, and none are so poor that they cannot 
secure a tumbler or a saucer garden, which will 
prove a delight and a joy to all beholders, while its 
care will be of the slightest. 
If an acorn be suspended by a tit of thread tied 
around it within half an inch of the surface of water Fig.32. cimudeiier Decorations, 
contained in a small vase or tumbler, and allowed to remain undisturbed 
for one or two weeks in a warm place, it will burst its shell and throw a root 
into the water and shoot upwards, its straight and tapering stem covered with 
