182 
T&R ti Tidies’ Iftorn! ftiafiiaet mi3 BPictoriul BHEome feamjua-rtion. 
Ipimdf Jtfj&rratm* 
A PEW HINTS FOB, THE WINDOW. 
Everybody likes to liave a pleasant “ spot of green¬ 
ery ” upon which to rest the eye, and in almost any 
form one is a " thing of beauty and a joy if not for¬ 
ever, at least the whole winter long. Those who are 
fortunate enough to own conservatories and employ 
gardeners lose in a great measure the delight of tend¬ 
ing to and caring for the wants of their different plants. 
So it is to those who have waited with patience and 
watched with eager eyes the unfolding or sprouting of 
some precious “ Picciola ” that I will give my few hints. 
To turn a nice sunny window to account there is 
nothing like a window-garden; and those whose amuse¬ 
ment it is to train a few window-plants will find them¬ 
selves greatly helped 
by procuring from the 
nearest greenhouse a 
peck or two of sifted, 
fertilized earth, pre¬ 
pared for plants in 
pots or boxes. A lit¬ 
tle money invested in 
this way will save 
many disappointments 
and failures with pet 
flowers. Plants in 
hard, caky earth can¬ 
not thrive; and a little 
care in loosening and 
keeping it moist will 
do away with this 
trouble. 
For the center-piece 
a rustic box is best; 
and a very pretty one 
can be made of cork, 
glued in pieces on the 
wood and varnished 
with walnut - juice, 
which will resemble 
rough bark. Others 
are covered with bits 
of rope, arranged in 
patterns and painted 
over with oak varnish. 
Be careful, when or¬ 
dering the boxes, to have a strip of wood nailed at ’ 
each end, to raise it slightly, and ftnee or four holes, 
half an inch in diameter, bored, to give drainage. 
One of the best things for window decoration is 
what is commonly called German Ivy. Some of the 
florists say that it, is. not the true Ivy; but takes its name 
from the great resemblance which it bears to it. Also 
that it cannot be a native of Germany, which is a cold 
country; while this-Ivy is easily killed by a little frost, 
although it will endure a very low temperature and 
seems, indeed, to grow best in a room not too warm. 
It does well in shadier places than suits most flowers 
and grows easily by slips. The smallest piece, if it 
have a leaf or two, roots in a few weeks. When it is 
trained over windows and given plenty of room to ex¬ 
tend itself, it will before spring produce a quantity of 
golden flowers, although it is seldom seen in this con¬ 
dition. Start a pot of Madeira Yine—which is a rapid 
and also graceful climber—on each side of your box, 
letting the vine run up on strings ahd meet in the cen¬ 
ter of the frame above, and you have a pretty outline, 
which can be filled in according to your fancy. An 
Ivy going about and over the window will make a rich 
frame; and as the side tendrils shoot out they can be 
fastened in swinging festoons across the window. But 
the vine altogether lovely is the Maurandya, with its 
white, pink, and purple flowers, which can be arranged 
with great effect in hanging baskets. 
Strive to produce leaves, rather than flowers, and de¬ 
pend upon foliage and its grouping for pleasing effects. 
A few drops of ammonia to a quart of water will turn 
the spray from the watering-pot into a summer rain, 
Dikefenbachta Korn ms. 
imparting to the water something which rain derives 
from the atmosphere. 
SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 
Mrs. Kate Sherman :—The botanical name of the 
Cinnamon Yine is Dioscorea latatas. It is really a 
Chinese Yam and the root is edible. It is hardy in 
New York; so, of course, it will prove so in Pittsburgh. 
Plant in ordinary garden soil, or very rich soil (either 
will do), several inches deep, and allow it to remain 
undisturbed for several years, when they should be 
divided and reset. I had two tubers and a handful of 
balls two years ago, and now must have a peck or 
more. 
If Irene II. Williams will send me a bulb of her Scar¬ 
let Gesneria, I will send her a lovely, fragrant White one 
In the January Cabinet Mrs Eleanor Jordan de¬ 
sires a Cactus. I think I have the one she describes, 
and will send her a small one, if she will send me her 
address. I wish our writers would give their locality 
or their latitude, so their hints would be of greater 
value to flower-growers. For what suits in the South 
does not in New England, and vice-versa. So many 
persons complain of their Oleanders dropping their 
buds. It is because they are root-bound or kept too 
dry, Either condition is fatal to their blooming well. 
Mks. R. S. Truslow. 
Kanawha C. H., West Ya. 
SWEET-SCENTED CACTUS. 
In reply to Mrs. Anna D. Haynes in regard to the 
wonderful variety of 
Sweet-scented Cactus, 
I would say that I 
have one which was 
said to be the Night- 
Blooming Cereus. It 
is as large around as a 
very large corn - cob 
and is seven feet high. 
Do not know how tall 
it would grow, as 
mine has been broken 
off several times. Has 
a large, lovely, 
creamy-white blossom 
and sends forth a 
most powerful and ex¬ 
quisite fragrance, fill¬ 
ing the midnight air 
at a great distance. 
The flower begins to 
open about sunset and 
closes about sunrise. 
Blooms in July and 
August. 
Nannie C. Q. 
Quicksburg, Ya. 
--o- 
PERFUME OF 
FLOWERS. 
The perfume of 
flowers may be gathered in a very simple way, with¬ 
out any apparatus. Gather the flowers with as little 
stalk as possible, and place them in a jar three 
parts full of olive oil. After being in the oil 
twenty-four hours, put them in a coarse cloth and 
squeeze the oil out of them. This process with fresh 
flowers is to be repeated, according to the strength 
of perfume desired. The oil, being thus thoroughly 
scented with the flowers, is to be mixed with an equal 
quantity of pure rectified spirits and shaken every 
day for a fortnight; then poured off, ready for use. 
During the season for sweet-scented blossoms any one 
can try it without any great trouble or expense. It 
would lend additional interest to the cultivation of 
flowers. Mrs. E. L. F. 
