292 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 9, 1892. 
POPULAR WINDOW 
PLANTS. 
The list of plants which have been used at one time 
or other for window decoration is very extensive, but 
some of them enjoy a longer run of popularity or 
prove more suitable for the purpose than others. A 
few find their way into the windows of cottagers 
throughout the length and breadth of the land, giving 
evidence of their marked suitability for the purpose. 
A considerable number of them are deciduous, and 
therefore can easily be stored away in some dark, 
out-of-the-way cellar or dark corner of a room. 
Evergreen subjects are not the less welcome, how¬ 
ever, when they are sufficiently hardy to withstand 
the cold of winter in an ordinary dwelling room. 
Saxifrage, Musk, and Green Onion. 
A very old-fashioned subject, now perhaps less 
common than it used to be thirty years ago, is Saxi- 
fraga sarmentosa, which enjoyed a host of popular 
names, including Mother of Thousands, Wandering 
Jew, Old Man’s Beard, and Creeping Sailor. The 
reniform, curiously mottled leaves are evergreen, and 
serve with the numerous branching runners to give 
the plant unusual interest. When suspended from 
the top of a window, as it usually was, the long run¬ 
ners were peculiarly graceful. The common Musk 
(Mimulus moschatus) was and is perhaps equally if 
not more common, with its familiar light green foli¬ 
age and small yellow flowers produced successively 
on elongated stems. The so-called Green Onion, 
botanically known as Ornithogalum longibracteatum, 
has long been a familiar occupant of cottage win¬ 
dows, where, oftener than otherwise, the leaves were 
rolled up in a ring and tied with a string regardless 
of their needs in the way of exposure to light. The 
greenish-white flowers are neither very large nor 
showy, but the large, bright green bulb is no doubt 
the chief feature of interest. This singular plant 
has found its way into windows throughout the 
length and breadth of the land. 
Begonias. 
Amongst Begonias B. Evansiana or B. discolor, 
with pink flowers and the metallic under-surface of 
its leaves, used to be extremely common twenty years 
ago. Being a tuberous-rooted species, deciduous and 
tolerably hardy, there was no difficulty in preserving 
it through the winter. Propagation could always be 
effected in excess of the requirements by means of 
the small tubers or bulbils in the axils of the upper 
leaves, and which were usually extremely plentiful. 
Within recent times its place has been taken to a 
remarkable extent by B. weltoniensis, a hybrid that 
has undoubtedly outrivalled all others in popularity, 
if that is to be judged by the wide distribution which 
it enjoys. The windows on the sunny south coast 
facing the English Channel are as much adorned by 
it as those facing the Moray Firth, or the German 
Ocean. The warm green leaves exhibit a tint seldom 
seen in other window plants, and serve as a beautiful 
background to the pink flowers. It is very hardy, 
with a tuberous rootstock that is not difficult to 
preserve in winter. A bulbous plant of deciduous 
or evergreen habit, according to the temperature in 
which it is wintered, is Valotta purpurea. Its use as 
a window plant is spreading rapidly both north and 
south, and its limits are already, probably, not less 
extended than B. weltoniensis, even if it is not so 
common. The large brilliant red flowers never fail 
to gain a large number of admirers. The bulbs flower 
best after becoming pot-bound, provided a liberal 
supply of water and sometimes manure water of some 
sort is given. I have seen a large clump of bulbs 
grown in a zinc pail, because they had burst the 
earthenware pot in which they were originally grown. 
Campanulas, Pelargoniums, &c. 
Of quite another type is Campanula isophylla, 
which, when grown as a basket plant, develops stems 
of wondrous length, flowering continuously for many 
weeks together from the axils of the leaves, as the 
stems elongate. The dry atmosphere of the window 
seems to suit it, for it looks perfectly happy in the 
windows of many a cottage and villa. The type has 
blue flowers, but the white variety is not much less 
common. Compared with most of the above it is 
singularly striking how such a plant as Plectranthus 
fruticosus should be grown to the extent which it 
enjoys. The broadly ovate, or slightly heart-shaped 
leaves are singularly like a Nettle to the ordinary 
observer, and the plant frequently goes under that 
n^me. The flowers fire blue, and being prodded ii) 
terminal racemes or panicles are very elegant, but in 
many cases the plant never flowers in the window at 
all. In a list of popular window plants, Pelar¬ 
goniums could not with justice be omitted, but it is 
more difficult to fix on individual varieties which 
enjoy a great run of popularity', on account of the 
continual changes and production of'new varieties. 
There is one however named Happy Thought with a 
large creamy yellow blotch in the centre of each 
leaf, and which is now becoming remarkably fre¬ 
quent in windows. Amongst the old-fashioned and 
unimproved species are P. Radulum, P. tomentosum, 
and some others which were very popular for window 
culture thirty years ago, on account of their fragrant 
foliage. Individual varieties of Fuchsia are more 
numerous now than they use to be, but a few have 
enjoyed a wide range of distribution and popularity, 
including the old Venus Victrix, Rose of Castile, 
Venus de Medici, Lord Beaconsfield, and Wave of 
Life. 
Evergreens. 
Evergreen subjects include the India Rubber plant 
(Ficus elastica), Aspidistra lurida and its variega¬ 
ted variety, concerning the utility of which too much 
can hardly be said. Their leathery leaves are very 
tolerant of a dry atmosphore, and in virtue of that 
peculiarity they may be and are grown in the same 
window from one year’s end to the other. They are 
on that account invaluable. More recently Aralia 
Sieboldi has become tolerably plentiful, and pro¬ 
mises to be a similarly durable plant under like con¬ 
ditions. The same may be said of Othonna crassi- 
folia, a slender-stemmed and pendulous plant with 
succulent foliage, that has already given great satis¬ 
faction as a window plant, and is much appreciated 
by cottagers. It may be grown in a pot or basket, 
and suspended much in the same way as the old 
Mother of Thousands. The flowers are yellow, but 
the peculiar appearance of the plant is more creative 
of interest than the flowers. It is a South African 
plant and very hardy. 
Ferns. 
Ferns have always been objects of great interest 
on account of their graceful, and often finely cut 
foliage. The number of species employed is very 
great, including both British and exotic ones from 
the common Male Fern to Adiantum cuneatum. 
The latter, by reason of the delicacy of its fronds, can 
only be kept in good condition for any length of 
time by protecting it with a bell glass. The 
Wardian case is also brought into requisition for the 
successful culture of a large number of kinds. 
Common species that are fairly tolerant of a dry 
atmosphere and may be kept in a window all the 
year round are Pteris serrulata cristata compacta, 
P. cretica cristata, and several other of their 
varieties. P. tremula is beautiful and delicately 
cut, but it is a shorter-lived Fern, more especially 
when grown in a dry atmosphere. 
Streptocarpus. 
Amongst flowering plants that have given evidence 
quite recently of their suitability for window culture 
are Streptocarpus Rexii, and the numerous hybrids 
and cross-bred seedlings which have arisen from the 
crossing and intercrossing of the latter with S. 
Dunnii and S. lutea, better known as S. parviflora. 
A dry atmosphere seems very much to their liking, 
and wherever they have been cultivated in windows 
they have flowered with remarkable freedom and 
continuity. The great variety and the individual 
beauty of their flowers, together with the quantity 
produced, and the dwarf, compact habit of the plants 
should ensure them a long continued popularity and 
wide distribution.— J. 
* 
Tomatos and the Disease. 
There are so many varieties of these now offered 
to growers that it is not to be wondered at if some of 
the latter have more or less difficulty in making a 
proper selection as regards their free fruiting pro¬ 
clivities, good quality and appearance, and last, but 
not least, their undoubted disease-resisting proper¬ 
ties. Among the sorts I have grown within the last 
few years were Orangefield Dwarf, Hathaway's Ex¬ 
celsior, The Lorillard, a fine, early and otherwise 
desirable Tomato of American origin, Red Perfec¬ 
tion, and Golden Queen. The above-named sorts 
hp-ye all proved very serviceable a,nd also disease 
resisting with the exception of Red Perfection, which 
was otherwise quite the finest in colour and good 
culinary properties of the other red sorts. 
Prior to last season I had observed no trace of the 
dreaded fungus, and I am of opinion that the par¬ 
ticulars connected with its appearance point to the 
variety in question as being among those which are 
most liable to the attacks of the unwelcome scourge. 
The plants on which affected fruits first appeared 
were growing in pots arranged alternately with others 
of the Golden Queen variety along the centre of a 
recently planted vinery, and all treated alike as to 
cultural conditions, including soil, watering, and of 
course temperature, atmospheric humidity, and ven¬ 
tilation. Each of the plants received about a table¬ 
spoonful of Thomson's Vine and Plant Manure as 
soon as the first fruits were fairly set. Several 
plants of Red Perfection were also planted at the 
foot of the back wall and trained up the trellis, the 
fruits on these in some instances being also affected 
slightly. It is noteworthy that no trace of the fungus 
could be detected on a single fruit of the yellow 
variety Golden Queen, and the facts stated, when 
viewed in the light of scientific opinion, viz., that the 
primary cause of the Tomato—in common with the 
Potato—disease is due to atmospheric conditions, 
point I think unmistakably to the hardier constitu¬ 
tion of the latter variety enabling it to resist the 
disease, and are not without their significance to 
raisers of novelties of this now popular esculent.— 
D. Macliie, Ayrshire. 
-- 
FRENCH TRUFFLES. 
The following particulars respecting the production 
of Truffles, wffiich are extracted from a report of the 
United States Consul at Bordeax, recently appeared 
in the Board of Trade Journal: — 
There are three species of Truffle found in France 
— the black and most common, the white (highly 
prized), and the Truffe a Vail, which has a flavour of 
Garlic. They are found in all soils, but chiefly in Oak 
forests, or where the earth is damp and calcareous, 
thriving best in an almost sterile soil. The best that 
the country affords come from Perigue.ux and about 
Angouleme. 
In appearance the ordinary Truffle is about the size 
of a Walnut, with a rough, brown, warty surface, 
closely akin to the Potato, which it likewise re¬ 
sembles in consistency, though not in colour. Not 
yielding to cultivation, they must be sought for in 
chance places, nor is the method of obtaining them 
the less interesting. 
Recently it has been found that dogs could be 
trained to perform the duties that are instinctive to 
the pig, and so great is the demand in France for the 
Truffle that many of the canine species are now in 
certain districts possessed of this estimable talent 
Finely cut or sliced Truffles are mixed daily with 
their food, until at length they develop a liking for 
the flavour. Afterwards their owners conceal, in 
some portion of a field where Truffles are supposed to 
exist, a little tin dish of filet aux Truffles, covering the 
same with a few handfuls of earth. The dog is then 
brought out and urged to hunt for the dish, goaded 
by an empty stomach. When he at length finds it, 
he is caressed by his master, and thus, in the space 
of a few weeks, he will readily learn to hunt for the 
vegetable itself. 
Truffles are seldom found twice in the same place. 
A field that may yield a great quantity this year will 
be quite fruitless the next. Though Alexander 
Bornholz, a German scientist, claims to have trans¬ 
planted and raised the article in question, repeated 
experiments to that end have proved but failures. 
The Count de Noa, a Frenchman, and a certain M. 
Rousseau made like claims, but they have in each 
case been discredited. 
The very fact that the Truffle is a rarity, and that 
it grows only in certain districts, has been enough to 
make it an object sought after clandestinely by pea¬ 
sants or those who carry them to market. There 
are poachers for Truffles as well as for game, who 
hunt by night with their dog or pig, a plague to 
landowners and a bete noire to local gendarmes. 
Scarcely is there a canning establishment at this 
moment in France that does not among other ali¬ 
mentary products, preserve this dainty. It has 
become as indispensable to the dinner table of the 
noblesse as the aromatic sprig of Garlic fo the frugal 
repast of tfie peasant. 
