294 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
November, 19 ii 
Primroses are certain to bloom, and require little besides drainage and 
good soil. They do not need a large amount of sunshine 
are doing things on a small scale. Woods earth, garden loam and 
sand, in about equal quantities, with a small amount of very old 
manure, make a good soil mixture. When potted the tips of the 
bulbs should be just covered. They are simply watered and set 
aside in a cool dark cellar until they have produced root growth 
of sufficient vigor. This point can be settled by making the soil 
moist enough to come out in a ball when the pot is tapped. If 
the roots do not show on the surface the plant must be set back 
for a longer stay in the dark. Bulbs need some moisture to de¬ 
velop roots, but should not stand in a soil that is really wet, as 
some kinds will mould. 
When satisfactory root growth has developed the pots are 
brought upstairs to the light, and it is well to increase the de¬ 
gree of light gradually. For this purpose we built a home-made 
table with three shelves, the top one on a line with the window sill 
where full sunlight could reach the bulbs. The pots were first 
placed on the lowest shelf, near the floor, for a few days; then on 
the second one until the foliage had attained a natural green 
color, which showed that they were ready for the top shelf. This 
space-saving device also ensured a succession of bloom. 
A moist atmosphere is beneficial to the bulb family. The buds 
sometimes blight if they are grown in a dry hot room. The 
flowers of some sorts remain in condition for a month if kept in 
a cool place. It is well to cut all flowers off to prevent the 
formation of seed pods, but, for the sake of next year's flowers, 
the foliage should never be cut or bruised. The best grade of 
bulbs will more than pay for their cost. 
When the blooms have lost their beauty the pots should be set 
in a light cellar to ripen the bulbs. They will not require much 
water, as the idea is to dry them off gradually. When the leaves 
are entirely dry the bulbs are ready to store for October plant¬ 
ing in the garden. A place that is mouse-proof but not air-tight, 
away from strong light and with a temperature of about forty 
degrees, will just suit them during the storage period. 
For Christmas bloom some of the quick developing types should 
be started early: Chinese lily in water — soon after the middle of 
October; double Roman narcissus early in October; paper white 
narcissus, October 1st. 
I. M. Angell 
An Ideal Plant for the House 
IME and again I have been asked what I considered the 
best all around plant for the house and without hesita¬ 
tion I have replied that nothing could equal the Kentias for first 
choice and the Aspidistra for second. Both of these are excel¬ 
lent for the house and will stand the rough usage to which all 
plants are subjected to a more or less degree, and look well under 
it. During the past winter I have been foixed to revise my list 
of suitable plants and instead of topping it with Kcntia I now 
write Grevillea Robusta with capital letters. This plant is an 
old one and for years I have used it for many decorative pur¬ 
poses with great success but never tried it under house conditions 
not thinking it just the thing for such purposes. The test that I 
gave it convinces me that it is an excellent house plant; that it is 
as hardy as either the Kentia or Aspidistra; that it is by far more 
decorative; that it is adaptable to many more uses, and that it 
can be grown by the dozen or hundreds with little labor and 
small cost. On the streets of San Diego it grows to a height of 
seventy-five feet adding to its decorative foliage effects great 
clusters of flowers, making a singularly beautiful street decora¬ 
tion. 
To get a stock of these plants for the winter start the seed in 
the spring. Sow in shallow boxes or in pots and when large 
enough give successive shifts into larger pots as the growth de¬ 
mands. In transplanting from the seed boxes the plants are a 
little apt to be slow to start growth, but if they are not allowed 
to dry out they will eventually establish themselves. During the 
summer months they may be plunged out in the garden where 
they can be cared for by proper watering. In the fall pot them 
two or three weeks before taking into the house. To make a very 
attractive pot put four or five small plants together. Use rich 
loam with good drainage. A window box filled with small 
plants is to be recommended for inside use in a sunny window. 
Fern dishes with small plants look well on a table. It is how¬ 
ever with the large plants that the best results are to be had. 
|If you have had good success with your seedlings, the plants 
should be about twelve to eighteen inches high by fall and these 
will continue to grow after being taken into the house. With the 
older plants the lower branches are apt to drop off but by pinch¬ 
ing out the top of the plant a growth can be forced in the place 
of the lost branches; the second year should see the whole plant 
very much improved. FTalf a dozen two-year-old plants grouped 
in a large pot with smaller plants to hide any loss of leaves at the 
base will be attractive. In fact such an arrangement can be kept 
in good condition for season after season by judicious pinching 
a n d watering. 
Two plants like 
this in a room 
will give an ef¬ 
fect not possible 
with any other 
kind. 
Unless sowing 
has been done in 
the spring the 
best way would 
be to buy a plant 
at a greenhouse 
and experiment 
with it the com¬ 
ing winter. The 
following spring 
if large plants 
are wanted for 
the fall sow 
early but for 
smaller plants 
make your sow¬ 
ing later. Many 
greenhouse men 
do not carry the 
Grevillea over 
the second sea¬ 
son because of 
When the masses of flowers appear upon the deco¬ 
rative foliage of Grevillea robusta, it is unsur¬ 
passed as a house plant 
