30 
I HE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
in a room, that the greatest skill and attention are necessary, 
because the plants which are placed in these are, generally speak¬ 
ing, more tender ; most of them are more seasonal ; and, except 
in the case of those which are put out of doors in the end of 
summer, for the purpose of ripening and hardening the wood, 
they do not enjoy the vicissitudes of a free atmosphere, either to 
refresh with showers, or to clear them of dust by the wind. 
Plants which are kept within doors have to depend wdiolly on 
artificial watering ; and the time and extent of that must be regu¬ 
lated by the nature of the plants. 
This cannot be done, except by those who have made them¬ 
selves intimately acquainted with the characters of plants, and the 
qualities of the climates, soils, and situation, in which they grow 
naturally. This knowledge is not possessed by any except expe¬ 
rienced gardeners, who have thoroughly studied the principles of 
their art, and practised that art on a very varied scale ; and these 
form but a small section of the lovers and growers of flowers. 
Amateurs who cultivate flowers in windows or small greenhouses, 
seldom possess this knowledge ; and even professional gardeners 
are very deficient in it, if they have not, at some time of their 
lives, had the management of an extensive and varied collection, 
or, at all events, seen how such a collection is managed by a 
skilful and practised gardener. Therefore, every young gardener 
should endeavour to spend some time in an exotic nursery, how¬ 
ever subordinate his place may be ; and he should make friends 
of the foremen of the different departments, as they are the men 
that can give him the information that he wants. Amateurs, 
again, who cultivate on a small scale, can have some directions 
from the nurserymen who supply them with plants ; and, in 
addition to this, they must pick up whatever more they can. 
Those who love their flowers, even if these are only a few pelar¬ 
goniums, never let them suffer for want of water. The fault is 
all the other way ; for more plants are disfigured, and even killed, 
by too much watering, than by any thing else. When a pl&nt 
looks sickly, and the leaves lose their healthy colour, and some of 
them drop off, too much water is very often the cause ; and the 
general means of attempting a cure is to give them more. This 
treatment is injurious to all plants grown within doors, except 
such as are aquatic, or natives of marshes that never dry; 
but is most injurious to plants of tropical climates. These 
