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HINTS ON HOUSE PLANTS. 
There is no greater source of enjoyment to me than 
properly caring for my little flock of the vegetable 
kingdom. My collection comprises, mostly, the more 
easily grown varieties—Begonias being special favor¬ 
ites. Any success that falls to my lot is attributed in 
a high degree to the almost daily showering my plants 
get. Not enough to drown them, or to leave the 
earth soggy and unfit for the delicate roots, but enough 
to keep the surface of the leaves clean, and thus the 
pores open. A fine healthy growth follows. It is a 
sad fact that a very large number kill their plants by 
neglecting to remove the filth that is sure to collect on 
the leaves, especially in a living-room. How 
unpleasant a Calla leaf looks all covered with 
dust; seems as if you wanted to scrape it off 
every time you see it; that is my experience. 
The same is so with those cover¬ 
ed with lice. I almost itch, in the 
presence of such, to take them up 
and run to the nearest sink, 
subject the disagreeable objects 
to a drowning, and thus relieve 
the sufferers. Now ladies (and 
gentlemen too, if there be any 
like me), do keep your plants 
clean, and it can only be done by 
a daily, or almost daily, sprink- 
liug. 
The vaporizer is a handy in¬ 
strument, and may be had at the 
shops, or one may have a home¬ 
made one, if he is handy in mak¬ 
ing such things. This can be 
used where one is afraid of soil¬ 
ing the carpet, as it projects the 
water in the form of the finest 
mist. 
If I mistake not, the Yallota 
Purpurea is the same as is grown 
here very commonly. A friend 
has the sawed halves of a barrel 
so full it is difficult to remove the 
bulbs. In August they are a fine 
sight. I saw one budded last 
spring, although it is said they 
flower only in, or not before, the 
above-named month. 
The Dracaena and its com¬ 
panion, Aspedistra Variegated, 
are suitable, I find, for hot rooms. A Palm or two 
would find its way into my collection if (ah, that 
little word,) they did not cost so much. The Trades- 
cantia is a fine trailing plant, and with me succeeds 
better than the Ivy, to twine about picture-frames. 
A very beautiful variety may now be had, with leaves 
striped with white. Mahernia Odorata has bloomed 
finely for me this winter, scenting the rooms almost 
like the Tuberose. Try it, you who have it not. Mine 
rested all summer in a shady place. 
The Onion Lily is probably Squills; the flower is 
greenish white, star-shaped. If one wants an easily 
grown plant, and one that will bloom, let him get a 
Crab Cactus. Don’t confound this variety with the 
one you saw, or perhaps have in your own possession, 
and have looked in vain to find a flower upon. It is 
not the kind; get, if possible, one well started, for 
they are slow to root. I have a nice Wax Plant, but 
do not find it, as some catalogues term it, a free 
grower. 
Last summer was found, out in our vegetable 
garden, a variegated Clover Plant. The leaves are 
very prettily striped with yellow. Some said they 
were partly blasted, but the variegation continued all 
summer. Is it a common plant"? I cannot close 
before speaking of my fernery and aquarium, both of 
my own manufacture. Do your readers know how 
easily a fernery may be made ? 
Determine the length, and let the width be more 
than one-half. Construct a neat box four inches deep, 
with a projection inside, two inches from the top, for 
the glass to rest upon; the box is for holding the 
earth; umber over and varnish. The glass must just 
fit inside this box. In cutting the glasses, make the 
end pieces a little higher than the width; mine has a 
some other colored paper. The box to be used should 
be lined with zinc, or tea-lead may do. A Dracaena 
looks well for a centre-piece. Perns may be had in 
the woods, but take care and select judiciously. The 
Partridge Vine, with its red berries, is very accepta¬ 
ble; also the Polypody Pern, found so common on 
rocks. The greenhouse will, perhaps, afford the 
richest selection, and by all means select a Pittonia ; it 
has leaves veined witli carmine, and is truly beautiful. 
Lycopodiums, Peperomias, and the Acorus Variegatus 
(a pretty little upright grass), are desirable.. I cannot 
advise flowering plants for our qdant-case. 
For the aquarium nothing seems to grow as well as 
Vallineria Espiralis. While other water plants die 
and have to be removed, this one continues to thrive 
and be both ornamental and useful. Neither do I 
recommend the Calla for a water purifier. 
Westerly, R. I. H. P. Spicer. 
■ 
Aviary in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pa. 
sloping roof, and looks much better than simply a flat 
It may be a little troublesome to find the exact 
ACHIMENES. 
In the August No of the Cabinet, H. speaks 
of having Achimenes in a hang¬ 
ing-basket, and of their being 
finer than those grown in green¬ 
houses. I was also so fortunate 
last summer as to have the finest 
pot of Achimenes I had ever 
seen. There were three bulbs 
in a five-inch pot, and for two 
weeks certainly thirty-four blos¬ 
soms were expanded every morn¬ 
ing. Of course it commenced 
more moderately, and was bloom¬ 
ing at least two months. This un¬ 
usual thriftiness we thought was 
caused by their being home-raised 
bulbs — that is, bulbs wintered in 
some warm room, and started in 
a hot-bed in spring, instead of 
making a long journey from some 
florist’s, which seems to impair 
their vitality. Achimenes are so 
beautiful, however, that one had 
better have them on any terms 
than do without them. I have 
repeatedly tried to keep the bulbs 
in a cellar, and invariably found 
them reduced to powder in the 
^ spring — a kind of dry-rot, ap- 
[5 „. ' parently. The best way to keep 
them, after gradually drying off 
in the fall, is to set the pot into 
some drawer or closet (near the 
chimney, too,) in a room that is 
never allowed to become real cold. I have found 
one. 
shape of the four pieces for the top, and if you cannot 
calculate it yourself, ask some one who can, remem¬ 
bering that the top should be about one-third the 
height of the whole glass portion; of course the slope 
would be more. To fasten the pieces together use 
braid and good paste. The sides should be laid flat, 
upon some smooth surface, with the proper edges not 
touching each other by some three-eighths of an inch. 
After you have pasted three of the corners, let the 
work stand till it dries; then lift the whole and place 
in proper position. Proceed in the same way with 
the sloping part. Have care that the glass is so cut 
that the parts may fit well; a pattern is, probably, 
best to work from. The work may be made more 
substantial by fastening the braid over the inner 
edges, and finally covering the outside with brown or 
them very satisfactory plants for the adornment of my 
flower-stand on a covered piazza; they will not bear 
sun; one must be especially careful not to let the sun 
strike the pots when starting them in the hot-bed. 
Mine are a lovely blue. If H. has any other color, I 
should be delighted to exchange with her, and hope 
she will write me at once on the subject. 
Washington Heights, Ill. Mrs. J. H. Biggs. 
Black-Eyed Susans. —Answer to P. C. M., in 
February No. of Cabinet. Black-Eyed Susans are 
the seed of a sea-plant. It is the name given them 
by sailors. They are also called West India beans, 
and are very pretty for ornamental work. There are 
three sizes or varieties. Should be soaked in hot 
water until they sprout—then plant and water plenti¬ 
fully- L. E. S. 
