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FLOWERS m THE HOUSE. 
PLANTS FOE HOUSE CULTUEE. 
If you have only an ordinary window in which to 
keep plants, you can grow about half-a-dozen very 
satisfactorily, provided they are not large-growing 
kinds, like Oleanders or Abutilous. Such plants re¬ 
quire a bay-window, or conservatory. If you have a 
bay-window, three times this number can be grown 
without crowding, and an Oleander, 
or some other large plant, can be 
added. Plants should never be 
crowded. It not only spoils the looks 
of them to huddle them together, but 
they do not do well. One reason why 
so many lose plants which they are 
trying to grow in windows is, they 
try to keep too many. Some of them 
must be crowded away from the sun, 
and these get sickly, turn yellow, and 
finally die. One healthy, vigorous 
plant is worth a thousand poor ones 
Better try a few, and aim to have 
them fine specimens, than to have a 
dozen spindling, unsatisfactory ones. 
Of those best suited to house cul¬ 
ture, I have selected as the six best 
the Calla, Rose Geranium, Zonale 
Geranium (of this class there is so 
large a variety that all tastes can be 
suited as to color, habit of growth, 
and profusion of bloom), Heliotrope, 
Fuchsia, and Ivy. If you have a bay- 
window, or another ordinary window, 
any of the following will prove very 
satisfactory : Begonia, Lantana, Eu- 
patoriuin, Plumbago, Capensis, any 
of the scented Geraniums, Coleus, 
Cactus, and, if you are willing to give 
them all the care they require, Roses, 
Salvia and Verbenas. For hanging 
plants, I would recommend Vinca 
Harrisonii, a beautifully variegated 
plant, Moneywort, Lysimachia, and 
Saxifrage. If you want some small¬ 
growing plants for brackets, use Ox- 
alis, Chinese Primrose, and the pink- 
flowered Mesembryanthemum. 
SOIL FOE POT PLANTS. 
I have found the following to be 
the best soil for plants in pots : One- 
half fine, fibrous soil from under sods 
in an old pasture, one-fourth well- 
rotted barn-yard manure, or leaf- 
mold, and for the remaining fourth I 
add clean, sharp sand, and common 
garden mold, varying the proportion 
of sand to suit the liking of the plant 
I intend it for. For Geraniums, I have nearly one- 
quarter of the soil sand. For Fuchsias, I have also a 
liberal allowance, and use fibrous earth in place of the 
garden mold. For Roses, I use more garden mold, and 
less of the pasture soil. For all the others, the mix¬ 
ture I have spoken of does very well. 
POTTING. 
Don’t use too large pots for flowering plants. For 
scented Geraniums, which are grown for their foliage, 
use larger pots to encourage a ranker growth. Fuch¬ 
sias need larger pots, in proportion to their amount of 
stalks and foliage, than most other kinds. Geraniums, 
the flowering kinds, Heliotropes, Lantanas, and Bego¬ 
nias, will do well in six-inch pots, and they can be 
changed to eight-inch ones if they seem pot-bound, as 
they get age. A thrifty Calla should have an eight or 
ten-inch pot; Fuchsias an inch smaller, while Eupa- 
toriums, Plumbago, Roses, and Coleus will not need 
larger than seven-inch ones. In potting plants, always 
put in bits of broken crockery or brick in the bottom 
of the pot, then fill with soil, rapping the pot well to 
settle the earth together firmly. After putting in your 
The Ipomcea Leptophylla. 
plant and seeing that the earth is well-shaken down 
about the roots, give it a thorough watering, and keep 
it. from the sud for a few days. 
watering plants. 
My rule is, never to water plants, as a general thing, 
until the surface of the ground seems dry; then give 
them a thorough watering, enough to run through the 
1 soil and out at the bottom of the pot. If it drains off 
readily, you need not be afraid of bad results from too 
much watering, if you wait until the surface is dry 
again, before giving more. With good drainage, you 
will never have sour, moldy soil. The Fuchsia needs 
to be kept quite moist, and will take a liberal allow¬ 
ance of water every day through the growing and 
blooming season. The Begonia requires more than 
most other plants, while the Calla likes to be kept 
very wet. Always have your water for this plant as 
warm as you can bear your hand in it. Always take 
the chill from the water you give any of your plants. 
Cold water checks their growth. 
REST OF PLANTS. 
All plants require rest. They cannot be expected 
to grow and bloom all the time. When 
they throw out no more buds, and 
seem to be inclined to rest, let them. 
Reduce their usual supply of water, 
giving them only enough to keep 
them from wilting. When they are 
ready to go to work again, and you 
can tell when that time comes by 
watching them carefully, increase 
their supply of water gradually. It 
is well, at such times, after the plant 
has been in the same soil for six 
months or more, to give a little man¬ 
ure-water. These fertilizing liquids 
are easily made, and stimulate the 
plants to healthy growth, if too much 
is not given. For a large pail full of 
water, use half a pound of guano. 
After it has dissolved, give from one 
to two tablespoonsful, twice a week, 
to each plant, for a month. I know 
of no better stimulant. 
PLANT ENEMIES. 
If your plants get covered with 
green lice, fumigate them with to¬ 
bacco-smoke. Put coarse stems, 
smoking-tobacco or cigar-ends, on 
coals in a small dish, and hold it under 
the plants, over which a newspaper 
should be thrown to confine the smoke 
among them until the lice are stupe¬ 
fied ; then shake the plants thorough¬ 
ly, and sweep away all the insects 
which fall from them. After that, 
sprinkle them thoroughly, taking care 
to wet the leaves below as well as 
above. If the red-spider comes, you 
must sprinkle your plants daily, being 
very particular to see that the under¬ 
side of the leaves are wet, for there is 
where the spider hides most. If you 
keep your plants well-sprinkled, they 
will not be apt to become infested 
with spiders, and they require sprink¬ 
ling daily, when grown in a living 
room, in order to keep healthy. The 
greatest drawback to growing flowers 
successfully in houses, is the dry air 
they usually get there. If worms get 
into the soil, dissolve a piece of lime as large as a tea¬ 
cup in a pailful of water. Use one-third as much of 
this solution as you do of clear water, when watering 
your plants, and I think you will rid them of these 
pests. 
I have tried to give good, practical hints, and I have 
drawn them from my own experience. I hope they 
will help others to be as successful in flower-culture as 
I have been. 
Eben E. Rexford, 
Shiocton, Wis. 
