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The fuchsia does particularly well in 
the house, especially if placed in a sunny 
window after being trimmed and tied up 
to a frame. Dig up one of these plants 
and cut it to about one half its height; 
thin out the superfluous side branches but 
leave a few of the longest on each side. 
Make your frame and allow sufficient 
length on the arms for future growth. Tie 
the branches to the arms with raffia and 
then put back into the ground. When 
taken into the house keep it just moist for 
some time. Give water only when flowers 
begin to appear. The severe cutting back 
helps the condition of the plant and to¬ 
gether with the lack of water tones it up 
for early flowering 
in the spring. A 
fuchsia treated in 
this way will give 
great pleasure by 
its abundance of 
bloom but a watch 
should be kept, 
pinch out any tend- 
ency to rank 
growth. A few 
plants of different 
varieties will make 
a window show 
worth having. 
Geraniums, too, 
can be made to do 
better than ever 
before by the same 
methods. Take an 
old plant and cut 
out the center, 
leaving only a 
branch on e a c h 
side. Cut out 
everything but 
these two branches 
and then after ty¬ 
ing the m to a 
system is so easy that it might well be 
practised even by those who have no gar¬ 
den at all. It is well to start preparations 
for the culture while it is still possible to 
obtain supplies of the previous season’s 
crop. The tubers chosen should be in 
sound condition and of a fairly good size; 
if these conditions are complied with it 
does not matter much what kind of potato 
is chosen. 
The place in which the potatoes are to 
be grown must be quite dark. A good- 
sized cupboard, a cellar, or even a large 
box will answer the purpose well, suppos¬ 
ing no other situation is available. Some 
arrangement in the way of rough staging 
until there is little left of them save their 
skins. In order that a succession of new 
potatoes may be provided, it is a good 
plan to start the old tubers on the shelves 
in batches at intervals of about a month. 
In this way it is quite a simple matter to 
arrange for a supply of this delicacy all 
through the autumn and winter. In one 
case which came under notice, good crops 
of potatoes were still being gathered in 
February. 
In order to secure the best results it is 
desirable that the potatoes produced in the 
novel manner should be carefully cooked. 
The potatoes arc said to be nicest if boiled 
slowly for about seven or eight minutes in 
an enameled sauce- 
p a n a n d then 
steamed until fully 
cooked. 
frame give 
them 
the benefit of a 
few weeks in the 
ground before housing. These plants will 
flower when taken into the house and they 
will also have an attractive shape wholly 
unlike the plants as they usually appear 
in windows during the winter. They 
want, of course, a-sunny window just as 
the fuchsias do, to get best results. 
This treatment applies to about all 
plants grown in the garden, the only 
stipulation being the necessity of prepara¬ 
tion early enough to allow the plants to 
get on their feet, as it were, before being 
taken into the house. While the treat¬ 
ment of training was suggested as an ex¬ 
ample, it remains only for one’s particular 
taste to determine the form of growth, 
whether high or low, and then make their 
frames to suit this shape. 
After the potatoes have been in the dry mold for six weeks or so, the small white tubers will 
commence to bud out on them 
New Potatoes During the Winter 
T HAT a supply of new potatoes is of 
great service during the autumn and 
winter months goes without saying. Not 
many gardeners know that to obtain such 
a thing is really a very simple matter. The 
should be provided, though often enough 
existing shelves are quite satisfactory. On 
these it is desirable to spread two or three 
inches of dry mold. All is now ready for 
the putting of the tubers in position. 
The potatoes should be placed singly on 
the shelves, so that they are well embedded 
in the soil, although it is not essential that 
they should be entirely covered. There is 
nothing more to do save to examine the 
tubers for any sign of mold, which should 
be at once cleared away. Also it is very 
important to see that no rays of light can 
reach the potatoes, as this will encourage 
the production of leaves, a very undesira¬ 
ble feature which prevents the budding out 
of young tubers. 
After about six weeks it will be ob¬ 
served that the potatoes are beginning to 
bud off small white tubers, and these will 
steadily increase in size until, when they 
are as large as walnuts, they may be 
gathered. All the small tubers will be 
worth leaving, as these will steadily in¬ 
crease in size until ready for gathering. 
So the old potatoes will go on producing 
Winter Cheer in 
the House 
T HE garden, 
however, is 
several months off, 
and while it is not 
a bit too early to 
realize what it can 
do for us, and to 
begin to plan what 
we can do for it, 
there are other 
things that demand 
more immediate at¬ 
tention. One of 
these is the decora¬ 
tion of the house 
for the holiday 
season, and as long 
after as possible. 
For this stop and 
think twice before 
you spend your 
money for wreaths, 
cut flowers, glori¬ 
ous but tender be¬ 
gonias, delicate ferns, or other things that 
will wither or quickly lose their beauty 
when removed from the humid atmosphere 
of the florist's. To every thing you 
purchase in this line apply the test ‘‘How 
long will it last in our house?" Some 
plants will do well at a moderate tempera¬ 
ture and with plenty of fresh air, and 
these are, of course, much more suitable 
for your purpose. Such for instance is 
the beautiful cyclamen, an ideal Christ¬ 
mas plant. And such common things as 
the geranium and flowering begonias are 
not to be despised. A good healthy 
geranium is much to be preferred to a 
failing azalea, or brown-leaved maiden¬ 
hair fern, even if it did cost only one- 
tenth as much. Elsewhere in this maga¬ 
zine will be found information as to keep¬ 
ing plants healthy in the dwelling house, 
and in such difficult positions as in partly 
shaded windows, or for center-pieces. 
Mention is made too, of plants that are 
not well known as house plants, although 
especially suited for this purpose, and you 
should make vourself familiar with these. 
( 385 ) 
