Radies' Moral feafilaet natl SHctorual Home fiampaiiiaii. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY, 1878. 
GREENHOUSE AND FLOW¬ 
ERS. 
Last year my collection of plants became too large 
to be kept daring the winter, as had been their pre¬ 
in my room. It was a great prob¬ 
lem with me what to do with them. True, we had a 
cellar in which Geraniums, etc., had been preserved, 
minus their leaves, but there was no room for so many 
even if their beautiful foliage could be retained. A 
pit was thought of, but decided to be impracticable in 
my case. 
It was desirable that the receptacle, whatever it 
might be, should give ample space for the full enjoy¬ 
ment of its treasures. Greenbacks were none too 
plentiful, and the cost was an item to be gravely con¬ 
sidered. A greenhouse or conservatory was out of the 
question. 
After pondering the subject, I concluded to get “Un¬ 
cle Lewis,” a Jack-of-all-trades, and neighbor of ours, 
to build me a log house. I found him at leisure, and 
quite at my service. Armed with an axe, he went to 
the woods and soon cut pine poles enough to build a 
log cabin 12x12. The place selected for it was at the 
south of the kitchen, which would be a protection 
against the north winds. The logs all put up, the 
first ones on the ground, the flat roof given the 
proper inclination, it was thickly covered with pine 
poles, over which were layers of straw and earth to 
the thickness of two feet, and the whole closely cov¬ 
ered with slabs. An eighteen-light window was care¬ 
fully fitted in on the south side, a narrow door on the 
sheltered north side, and a daubing of mud inside and 
outside rendered it almost as warm as a stove. Shelves 
were placed around three sides and a stage in front of 
the window, when my beauties were committed to its 
protecting care, and there has been no reason to re¬ 
gret it. 
Our more fortunate friends who have conservatories 
and bay-windows, will naturally shrink from the 
thought of their pets having such surroundings, but it 
is not for them this is written, but for those, who, like 
myself, must have their plants preserved, and with 
as little expense as possible. For the benefit of such 
the entire cost is given, $7.40. 
The temperature was at all times uniform, and dur¬ 
ing our coldest weather it was the pleasantest place 
on the premises. My plants were not checked at all 
in their growth, but continued to throw out shoots and 
in many instances flowers during the whole winter. 
Two Geraniums, a white and a salmon, bloomed from 
the first of December until late in the spring, when I 
compelled them to rest. A Calla behaved admirably 
in a small box filled with wood mould; it grew to 
quite a commanding height, and bloomed prettily in 
April. I am trying now to coax it into bloom. 
Good soil, cleanliness, and copious supplies of water 
will satisfy all its wants. 
An especial favorite of mine is the ever-blooming 
Oxalis, and we do not properly appreciate it until the 
frost-king has extended his icy sceptre over the vege¬ 
table kingdom, and rendered the prospect without so 
dreary that we welcome every hint of summer; then 
its tender green leaves and bright, cheerful-looking 
flowers gladden our hearts. They are not at all fasti¬ 
dious ; give them plenty of room and they will not 
require an analysis of the soil, but will reward you 
by myriads of flowers. 
A dwarf Cape Jasmine, which is decidedly a 
Tom Thumb, not more than six inches high now, 
seemed determined to bloom last spring, but thinking 
it would weaken the plant, I pinched the buds off. It 
is again full of buds, and now it shall have its own 
sweet way. I have heard of so many complaints of 
the difficulty in rooting Cape Jasmines, that. I will 
give my plan and its success. Plant the fully ex¬ 
panded flower with the leaves surrounding it, turn a 
glass over it, water sparingly, and it will seldom fail to 
root readily; it should not, however, be transplanted 
in several months. 
Last spring I made a capacious hanging-basket of 
large wire, much to the detriment of my hands, and 
after lining it with moss, filled it with rich soil and 
and a source of delight to us at home. The Trade- 
seantia grew like “ Jack’s bean stalk,” only in a con¬ 
trary direction, for it trailed on the floor for weeks be¬ 
fore it was removed to winter quarters. 
The grotesque Cactus is a subject of daily increas¬ 
ing interest. When their cultivation was first com¬ 
menced, like most amateurs, I used just such soil as 
Geraniums delight in, and consequently was much dis- 
pointed in their growth, which in some species is 
marvellously rapid and in others provokingly slow. 
A few failures taught me my error, and now I find one- 
hall good soil and one-half bricks broken up and 
mixed with white sand, epicurean food for them. 
L. E. F. 
PUBLISHER’S ANNOUNCEMENTS. 
GBAUD OFFERS IN SEEDS. 
Our offer of Flower and Garden Seeds is good to any one. Send us 
the $3 and certificate, and yon will get not only $3 worth of seeds, 
but also any $1.50 Book we publish or any three Books worth 51) cts. 
each, or Tiib Ladies’ Fi.okai. Cabinet free one year Any one who 
is now a subscriber of The Floral Cabinet, who will get three 
friends to each order $1 worth of Seeds, and thus make up a club of 
$3, we will give to them any $ 1.50 Book we issue, or any three 50 ct. 
Books, or a club of three may each have for the $3 not only $1 worth 
of seed each, but in addition each can have any 50 cent Book we pub¬ 
lish. Kemember, these are seeds only, and do not include plants, or 
implements, or tools. Likewise we give with the Seeds Books only 
as Premiums, and nothing else, except The Floral Cabinet. By 
telling of this to your friends, you will see what a splendid oppor¬ 
tunity it is. See January number for advertisement and certificates. 
Award of Prizes.—The Prizes offered for Pretty Windows 
last fall, has now been decided as follows; 
Prettiest Window Garden. 
1st Prize: To Mrs. Clara F. Sweetser, Peabody, Mass. 
2d “ Mrs. T. C. Hayden, Sun Prairie, Wis. 
3d “ Mrs. W. A. McAllister, Goshen Ind. 
4th “ Mrs. M. J. Giddings, Weston, Mass. 
5th “ A. H. Mundt, Fairburg, Ill. 
Prettiest Floral Decorations. 
1st. Mrs. E. L. Freeman. E. Orleans, Mass. 
2d. Mrs. Mary P. Guild, Lynn, Mass. 
3d. Pauline Alexander, Quincy, 111. 
The Engravings for these ore now being made, and we will begin 
to publish some tn each number, beginning with March. 
Covers.—The Cover to Floral Cabinet is much liked. It will 
he used occasionally when we are most crowded with business, but 
it is not intended to be used with each issue. 
1M ew Plate of Flowers.—Any subscribers for this year who 
have paid for the Cabinet without Frontispiece, and who may desire 
to obtain it, will please remit 15 cents, as it must now be sent separ¬ 
ately from the paper, and postage prepaid at higher rates. Trial sub¬ 
scribers can obtain it also by remitting this price. 
It is so handsome a Plate of Flowers,"that we predict every one will 
want it, and it only needs to be seen to he thoroughly enjoyed. Every 
one who loves flowers should have “Treasuresof Garden and Wood¬ 
land.” It is one of the prettiest colored plates of flowers ever seen. 
Prize Recipes.—The Recipes which were sent in last year 
were submitted to a lady who is familiar with all the Cook Books in 
the United States and England, and her unbiased judgment sent to us 
was this I never saw such a splendid collection of Keceipts. It is 
the finest ever published. They are the rich cream of the very best 
this country has ever seen.” Our readers will thus see why we con¬ 
tinue to publish them, because they are so superior and contributed 
by the very best housekeepers in the United States. We shall soon 
issue them in book iorm, and make it the Model Cook Book of the 
country. 
Design for a Little Rockery and Trellis 
for Vines. 
well rotted leaf mould, then planted Tradeseantia, 
Moneywort, Scarlet Verbena, and a few seeds of Con¬ 
volvulus to twine around the wires suspending it, and 
in a short time it was the admiration of every visitor, 
COMPLIMENTARY. 
Tna Ladies’ Floral Cabinet, with its ‘’Treasures of Garden and 
Woodland ” for 1878, is as lovely as the day that ushers it in, and the 
whole artistic picture, from its background to the tiniest stem and 
tendril, is in our eye faultless; every flower, hud, and leaf, perfectly 
drawn and painted and arranged, full, and yet a little fly is not for¬ 
gotten, for there it is, lightly lit on a delicate flower. Thank you, 
thank you for this “ thing of beauty.” It is a joy. With admiration, 
gratefully yours, Mrs. M. M. Wei.by. 
Baltimore, Md. 
I must tell you a little compliment. The gentleman to whom I 
carried my Cabinets for binding, said when I called for them, “ I 
never saw so handsome a boik as they make : I carried tnem home 
for my wdfe to look at.” Mrs. Annabel C. Andrews. 
The Cabinet ranks higher, in my estimation, as a family paper 
than any that has come under my observation. Housekeepers can 
not find time to read long at a time, and when tired of the routine of 
every-day life, her spirits are buoyed up on taking the Cabinet and 
finding this and that little item which enables her to give this bed¬ 
room the flnishinz touch, or the very receipt 6he wishes to fix a sa¬ 
vory dish for him who will come in tired and hungry. How well re¬ 
paid she feels as praise by looks or word is bestowed for her trouble 
(which is pleasure to her) since it pleases her better half. 
A. E. Withers. 
The Cabinet is a perfect treasure. I would sooner do without my 
Sunday shoes than to go without my lovely Floral Cabinet. 
Estes Park, Colorado. Mrs. M. M. S. 
I consider the Cabinet the most beautiful ladies’ paper in the 
world. Mrs. Fannie E. ITale. 
Seabeck, W. T. 
The Cab'net is most emphatically one of those articles which 
every woman wants her very own, and a borrowed number is never 
quite so interesting I begin to feel impatient to see a fresh, sweet 
Cabinet filled to overflowing with beautiful things. But the Eng¬ 
lish language has been exhausted by your many admirers to express 
their admiration of your paper. Mrs. S. M. Huff. 
Wytlieville, Va. 
I am so much pleased with the music in the January number of 
Floral Cabinet, that I cannot refrain from expressing my appre¬ 
ciation. You have given us many, many heart-stirring pieces, but 
the last affords to me a satisfaction fully equal to the price of the 
Cabinet. " A. W. 
The Frontispiece, “ Treasures,” is exceedingly beautiful. These 
Floral Memories have a fascinating fragrance of the right sort—an 
aroma sesthetic. * 
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