THE GARDENING WORLD 
329 
‘January 19 , 1895 . 
generously, as I thought, gave me a small Fuchsia 
about 2 in. or 3 in. high. This was considered a 
prize, and was duly placed on the window ledge, 
tended and cared for ; it grew vigorously, and in 
time rewarded me with some fine blossoms, but 
judge of my dismay one day on coming home to be 
informed my Fuchsia was gone. The father of my 
schoolfellow, who I should say was a raiser of new 
florists' flowers, had noticed my plant was different 
to anything he had; he made inquiry and found his 
lad had given me one of his new seedlings in place 
of a cutting of some other sort. My plant changed 
places, and I doubt not in due course was sent out 
as some Hero, Defiance, or Beauty of Blankshire. 
So you see I had at least some initiation into the 
varying fortunes of window gardening many years 
ago ; and thence onward in one way or another have 
had some little to do in this matter. 
I remember on one occasion travelling some 400 
miles with a large number of plants to embellish 
could at least enter into the spirit of the gaiety and 
be charmed at the sight of another’s joy. But the 
back window. What a difference ! No life, no 
motion, nothing to interest, simply surrounded by 
blank brick walls. This, thought he, will never do. 
So covering the walls with paints of a good French 
grey, he filled in, with most artistic taste, here the green 
fields and gardens of his native village, the glorious 
hills clothed with verdure, and at another portion a 
good stretch of the ocean and seashore, each in good 
keeping and proportion, in fact a work of art. So, 
when jaded with work, and wearied with looking on 
the scenes in front, he would retire to the back and 
with open window imagine he received an invigorat¬ 
ing breeze from the pine-clad mountains, or a breath 
from the sea filling his lungs with fresh and life- 
giving ozone. 
In the new number of The Forum, one of the lead¬ 
ing American magazines, the Rev. W. B. Hale has 
given a description of the manner of living among 
of plants most suitable to the different positions of 
the casements. 
By all means endeavour if possib'e to get some 
colour on the window sills. If the house is so situ¬ 
ated that there are windows facing either the East, 
South or West points of the compass, many plaDts 
can be grown in these that will bring a large amount 
of flowers and foliage all through the Summer and 
Autumn. It will, of course, be borne in mind that 
those facing Sou(h and West will always produce 
finer displays than those facing East, but to make 
amends for this, the Eastern and Northern positions 
may have the casement filled with Ferns and Mosses, 
for these possess a charm and give pleasure to many, 
who cannot for long gaze with delight upon the 
dazzling colours of the flowering plants. There are 
many kinds of Ferns easily obtainable iu the im¬ 
mediate vicinity,such as Scolopendriums Polypodium 
Lastreas, Aspleniums, as wel as the Blechnum 
Spicant so there need be no scarcity of these cool 
The famous Tweed Vineyard, Clovenfords, established by the late Mr. William Thomson. 
the windows of a mansion in the immediate vicinity 
of Kensington Palace. This was to me a most 
pleasant occupation, and I have every reason to 
believe gave perfect satisfaction to those whom I 
had the pleasure of serving. I think the most casual 
observer must have noticed the aftection that many 
exhibit for a few flowering plants in their windows 
who dwell in large centres of population ; the old 
recollections of the gardens in the country in days 
gone by cling to them with a tenacity it is impossible 
to shake off, and so, in spite of most adverse sur¬ 
roundings, often a very deleterious atmosphere and 
small share of sunshine, still grow a few plants, and 
if the blooms are small and scarce the foliage is often 
fairly abundant and green. 
Some such feeling must surely have possessed the 
Frenchman who in days gone by found he must 
follow his occupation into the city instead ot the 
country where he had always resided. On reaching 
Paris he found that whilst the windows of his front 
rooms looked out into the busy street, where all 
appeared lively and animated, and though unable to 
take part in that which passed under his eye, he 
the Cotton operatives at Fall River, one of the 
textile centres in the United States. After mention¬ 
ing the feeling of enmity existing between employed 
and employers, he refers to a strike recently taking 
place against a reduction of wages, and then goes on 
to say—“ the houses in which the people live are in 
blocks of tenements, arranged around a court. The 
buildings all being on ground that is very low and 
always damp ; and the stench and filth abominable." 
After describing the Richard Burden block, the 
little Canada group, the Slade Mill tenements, it 
passes on to those of the Globe Company, respecting 
which, he says—“The first floor of this block is 
deserted, the tenants were overpowered with rats.” 
He also says at one of the upper windows is a box 
filled with soil in which stands a leafless Geranium. 
I must confess. Sir, this plant stripped, denuded 
and bare, appealed most strongly to me, for where 
plants cannot thrive, depend upon it, it is equally 
dangerous and life imperilling to all human beings. 
This brings me to a part of my subject, I think 
most important, viz., the aspect and surroundings of 
the windows it is intended to decorate, and the class 
and lovely denizens of our banks and woods. There 
are also many other European and North 
American species, that could easily be secured and 
successfully grown with those of our own country. 
Many of the Ferns are best managed when grown in 
the rooms. I am aware, however, that a number of 
plants indoors has a tendency to cause the rooms to 
become somewhat damp, for a degree of humidity 
is present such as would not be the case if no plants 
were present. Still if a limited number were grown, 
the amount of moisture would be so slight as to be 
scarcely noticeable. 
Endeavour then to obtain a healthy plant of 
Adiantum cuneatum or a Caplllus-Veneris ; if they 
are fairly well established it is better that they be 
left alone for a short time, that is as far as potting is 
concerned. When, however, they have got used to 
the position and are growing freely and need a larger 
pot, the soil I would recommend would be of a light 
nature, rather than a heavy one. Some boggy peat, 
leaf soil and sand, with a little garden soil would suit 
them admirably. Before potting, there must be some 
broken potsherds, charcoal, or small cinders, placed 
