2 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
their cultivation, as house plants, from tlio supposed 
fact of their not being well adapted for such purposes; 
also from the fact that all the small vermin known to 
the plant grower are particularly fond of the Russellins, 
therefore requiring constant care to k^ep them clean. 
For basket plants; there are none more beautiful or 
graceful than the one we figure ; its interesting rush¬ 
like branches, heavily studded with their bright red 
blossoms, that continue on for many months, waving 
airily beneath the bottom of the basket, makes it a sub¬ 
ject of almost unequaled beauty. It is also well adapted 
for the situation; as the heat of the room is always much 
greater near the ceiling, the plant will thrive; while 
most others placed in the same situation wither, because 
of too high a temperature. This plant should have plenty 
of room, in fact, should be grown singly in the pot or 
basket, for its perfect development. It delights in a 
good rich soil, and when growing, a liberal supply of 
water. It is advantageous in growing this species to 
syringe them frequently, in order to prevent the appear¬ 
ance of insects, and for their extermination in case they 
should appear. Young plants are obtained with great 
facility from cuttings of the half-ripened branches, 
simply put in a pot of sand or sandy mould, with a glass 
over them. If convenient, the pot should have a little 
bottom heat, although they will strike root without it. 
HINTS FOR JANUARY. 
The work to be done in the garden this month, if any, 
is what should have been done last month, and consists 
in the preparations necessary for a well-ordered garden 
and lawn the coming season. As nature makes all her 
preparations months in advance of any outward demon¬ 
stration for the development of foliage, flowers, and 
fruit, so ought we to have all things in readiness for the 
reception of the first flowers in Spring, in order that 
they may not be ashamed of their surroundings. 
Nature’s work in Winter has been very beautifully 
described by Grindon, in “Plant Life,” as follows: 
“ The new year opens very appropriately in the depth 
of Winter, since the commencement of all things, both 
in the natural and in the moral world, takes place in 
secrecy and seeming darkness. Yet New Year’s day is 
a matter only of the artificial division of time. The 
phenomena of living nature which mark the actual 
progress of the year, are independent altogether of the 
almanac. Long before we exchange our kindly greet¬ 
ings, and those happy salutations and generous wishes 
of the season that signalize the advent of the new year 
to our firesides,—long before this it has been New Year’s 
day to a thousand buds and flowers, both in field and 
garden. Delicate looms have been set in motion to 
weave that sweet apparel with which, in due time, even 
Solomon in all liis glory might not compare. Deep in 
the hidden chambers of many a root and little bulb, 
have commenced in quiet energy those wonderful pre¬ 
parations which, when Summer bids welcome, charm 
our eyes with lovely colors, and our nostrils with 
aromas. In a word, though to a civilized man it is the 
first day of the year, to vegetable life it is a period of 
advanced infancy. Rightly to esteem the flow of the 
seasons, we must view them as an unknown sequence 
of new developments. Though one class of appearances 
may come to a close, another rises out of it almost be¬ 
fore we miss the departing one; as on a fair midsum¬ 
mer’s night, before we have lost the last trails of the 
reluctant sunset, the calm, still sweet aurora of the new 
sunrise peeping over the mountain-tops enters our 
hearts like the smile of a child. 
In a word, again, we never see beginnings. We think 
we trace rivers to their sources, but the first trickles 
among the moss on the mountain-side are collections of 
water-drops that have their own anterior history. The 
coy sources of the Nile, that have at length rewarded 
enterprise, far back as they lie in those sultry African 
plains, do but represent a stage in the life of the im¬ 
mortal stream. The forest that has been venerable for 
ages began in acorns and tiny seeds, whence derived, 
even the philosopher can only guess. The shells that 
inlay the wrinkles on the sands,—these come tossed up, 
it may be, from some birthplace that human eye lifts 
never beheld ; it is always something in a measure ac¬ 
complished that we obtain ; early as we commence our 
search we always enter late ; the year has begun before 
we thought, or could be quick enough to watch. So it is 
with the operations of Divine Love. Everywhere we are 
steeped in blessings that lie back beyond all memory of 
beginning, or perception of cause. We may leam to 
appreciate more fully, and understand better—to be 
more grateful ; but for the first flow of them, we must 
ask of the “ morning stars” that “ sang togethej,” and 
of the “Sons of God” that “shouted for joy.” The 
simplest throb of pleasure that swells the soul in con¬ 
nection with the good or true, if we will but look at 
ourselves in the light of recipients, that we are, is no in¬ 
cident merely of the hour, but a result of something our 
diary does not record ; far, far away in the heavenly 
era of earliest boyhood was sown the seed that brings 
forth that pleasant food. 
Take first, as an illustration of this wonderful winter- 
life in plants', the little bulb of the common garden 
crocus. At this season, if we have not one at hand to 
dig out of the ground, it is easy to procure an example 
from any seed store. The bulb itself is round, flattened 
at top and bottom, and covered with elegantly netted 
brown scales or coats. Upon the summit are elevated 
several white spires, plump, hard and pointed, and in 
these, if we dissect carefully, will be found all the 
golden glory that would have been unfolded in March 
and April. The petals are there, minute it is true, but 
in that respect not inferior, in their degree, to kings and 
princes as they lie in their cradles; the stamens are 
fully formed, and stand as the principal part of the 
blossom, and round about are tiny spear-like leaves. 
Every cluster is wrapped separately in transparent 
clothing, and over the whole are strong opaque vest- 
