231 
THE COTTAGE GABDENEJt. 
sip his steaming coffee for looking at them. “ There,” 
said ho, “ are romantio landscapes, shelving rocks, 
embosomed recesses, towering trees, cascades, and 
waterfalls; portions of cities, temples, columns—all 
the more gorgeous, because seemingly in confusion 
and ruins.” He knew not where lie would have got 
to in liis careering enthusiasm, had ne not, in rising 
from the table—the better to view their charms— 
come in contact with frosted leaves of geraniums 
and fuchsias, with their soil as hard as small burnt 
brick, which, fortunately, brought him from romance 
to reality, as the exclamation, “ well to be sure” burst 
from his lips—for great favourites were they, as the 
mementos of one far, far away—only to be followed 
in the next breath, with something like blaming the 
writers in The Cottage Gardener, for not telling 
him the night before to guard against such a visita¬ 
tion. Ah! how much easier it is to throw blame 
from our own, upon other peoples’ shoulders, than to 
act out according even to our own knowledge of what 
is right and wrong. Near the friend alluded to, in a 
snug, roomy cottage, resides Mrs. Think on Time. 
In a cosy parlour, with a large window having a good 
aspect, stands a neat painted table, furnished with 
strong rollers at its feet, for moving it, easily, close 
to the window during the day, and into the middle 
of the room, or even nearer to the fire-place, on a 
frosty evening. That table is filled with beautiful 
plants—several now in bloom—and the lady has 
only been a gardener somewhat less than a twelve- 
month. At each of the four corners of the table, is 
a hole sheathed with thin metal, and these holes are 
for holding the four ends of two flat-arched iron- 
hoops, over which a calico covering is thrown in 
frosty nights, and also during the time the room is 
getting a redding up in the morning. This cloth and 
these hoops also answer admirably for fumigating 
jfiants out of doors; which keeps the stinking stuff 
at a distance from the dwelling-house. On that table 
are to be seen hyacinths and narcissuses, brought 
from a one light hot-bed; cinerarias in bloom, from 
seeds sown in May; Chinese primroses, a yellow- 
flowered cytisus, and nice stocky geraniums, stopped 
in the end of October, and soon to be transferred 
from four-inch to six-inch pots, in which they will 
be bloomed; while, in a turf-pit, are a reserve of 
many things, to succeed them during the summer; 
not one of which are injured, though covered up the 
best part of a fortnight. Mrs. Think on Time ma¬ 
nages all this, not without care and anxiety it is true, 
and asking for advice at every suitable person she 
meets—but chiefly because she is neither above nor 
below to acting out the principle, propounded to me 
by the late Mr. Stewart, of Valley-field—a principle 
which too often I have neglected, but never forgot¬ 
ten. “ Attention to little things constitutes the gar¬ 
dener." 
There are several aspects connected with window 
gardening and its results, that at once present them¬ 
selves for consideration, but waving these for the 
present, we shall draw attention by doing little more 
than naming a few little plants, which are not ren¬ 
dered so generally available for this purpose, as they 
ought to be; and the first shall be the 
Oxalis tricolor. —The flowers are white and red, 
rather twisted closely together, but still showing the 
colour in dull weather, but beautiful when, like most 
of the family, they expand their beauties to the sun¬ 
shine. It is generally propagated by offsets from its 
little bulbs—four or six of the largest of which may 
be planted in a five, or six, inch pot, placed two 
inches below the surface—and grown in sandy peat 
[January 31. i 
and loam. When flowering, give plenty of water; j 
continue it as long as the loaves are green, and then 
let them remain dry in the pots, or taken out and 1 
kept in saucers, out of the way of frost, until they ] 
begin to short again, when they must be planted. 
There are many other beautiful species that must be i 
treated in a similar manner; but few of them would j 
do so well for the window, especially in winter; be- j 
cause some of the best, like Boweii, would have no j 
appearance at all, unless when the sun shone brightly. ; 
The Oxalis sensitina, or, as it is generally called now, 1 
the Biophytum sensitivum, is an interesting Chinese 
annual, when growing; as its seed-pods, when ripe, j 
spring with the slightest heat, and the pinnated ’ 
leaves are rather sensitive to the touch. 
Lachenalta. —These are all low-growing bulbous : 
plants. The whole family consists of interesting ) 
plants, most of which will, under proper treatment, 
and a little forcing, flower freely, during the winter; 
but may be got into bloom at almost any time, by 
varying the periods of their resting. Some species, 
such as pendula, and pendula latifolia, and tricolor, 
and tricolor mayor, may thus afford a succession of 
their pretty tubular flowers all the winter. There are 
many other kinds, of all colours, scarcely exceeding 
one foot in height. They prefer sandy loam and peat, 
with rather most of the latter ; should receive a suf¬ 
ficiency of water when growing, and be kept dry when 
in a state of rest. Eour bulbs will, in the case of most 
of them, be sufficient for a six-inch pot; and their 
racemes of tubular-looking flowers are very interest¬ 
ing, especially at the present dull season. For growth 
in the window, they should be cultivated in cold pits; 
and, if the leaves are withered early, and the pots 
turned over on their sides, they should be the first that 
are potted, and assisted into growth in the autumn. 
Let the top of the bulb be covered about one inch. 
Cyclamen. —The whole of the species of this genus 
are just cut out for winter flowering in windows, 
and cool greenhouses. Several of them are quite 
hardy; but the best for cultivation is the Persian, 
and its varieties, especially the sweet scented one. 
We intended giving a description of the plant, and 
its mode of seeding; but in glancing at vol. i., we 
find that has been much abler done by Mr. Beaton. 
The plant may be considered a bulbous-looking 
tuber, from the eye or bud of which the dwarf head 
of flowers and leaves proceed in the growing season. 
They may be kept anywhere, so that frost does not 
reach them in winter, and should only be re-watered, 
and either shifted, or top-dressed, when regulation 
commences. The laeter mode is often the most suc¬ 
cessful; and when thus kept in the same spot for 
several years, the top dressing should consist chiefly 
of equal proportions of peat-leaf mould, and rotten 
cow-dung. As the bows and flowers, which are on 
sho.it peduncles, come from the centre of the tuber, 
it should not be buried, but stand a little elevated 
above the soil. In a state of rest, though not kept 
wet, neither should it bo allowed to become too dry, 
or the tuber will become shrivelled, and the produce 
of flowers and leaves will be weak. In potting 
them, give plenty of drainage ; use equal portions of 
sandy peat and loam, and a little rough leaf-mould, 
or dried old cow-dung. In watering, give sparingly 
around the sides, or rather, at a little distance from 
the tuber, when fresh potted, not soaking all the soil 
until the roots have penetrated it. When done 
flowering, dry off’ the tubers gradually, to the degree 
alluded to, when the leaves have faded. There is no 
mode of propagating but by seeds, and these should 
be sown, as soon as ripe, into small boxes or pans, 
