TIIE LADIES' FLOBAL CABINET. 
261 
a given situation much better than others, so in all 
cases those that do the best should be selected. It is 
folly to undertake to grow a plant where the surround¬ 
ings are uncongenial. Rare plants poorly grown, are 
sad sights, while the more common plants, well grown, 
are pleasant objects to look upon at all times. Before 
taking plants into the bouse for the winter, it is scarcely 
necessary to remark that every plant should be made 
perfectly clean, and is important that all pots, if old> 
should be left exposed to the elements for some time 
before using, in order to have them sweet and clean. 
Cleanliness is the great secret of success in plant man¬ 
agement, and too much attention cannot be devoted to it. 
In taking up plants for the window-gardrn, a proper 
selection of such plants as harmonize well together is 
unimportant consideration; not only as regards their 
general appearance, but the treatment they require. 
Plants needing a high temperature should not be placed 
alongside of those that succeed best in a low or medium 
one. In no case select a plant for the living-room that 
requires a humid atmosphere, if you do, there will be a 
living skeleton in the room during most of the winter. 
As a rule, the greater the variety of plants taken into 
the living-room, the greater will be the number of fail¬ 
ures, and the less attractive the whole will appear. On 
the contrary, if the situation is a warm, sunny one, let 
all the space be filled with Geraniums, and the window 
will present a cheerful, healthy appearance ; or, if the 
situation is shaded, let the shelves be filled with Ferns 
and Begonias, plants that always harmonize; a low 
temperature will not do for these, however. There is 
no plant more beautiful for the window than the Pe¬ 
tunia, yet it does not look well mingled with other 
plants; a single plant will fill an ordinary window if 
properly trained. Let each select such plants as 
taste dictates, and have the collection all of the 
same family, and see if the effect is not all that could 
be desired.- 
GERANIUMS. 
m. 
Taking all in all, it is questionable if any class of 
plants is so amenable to cultivation as this very popular 
. flower. It is thoroughly cosmopolitan, thriving equally 
well in the humblest quarters as in the inchest accom¬ 
modations—provided it gets plenty of light, rich soil and 
wat.-r. The present is a good time to take cuttings, 
which should be of well-matured growth, from four to 
five inches long, and during September there is no better 
place for them than an eastern aspect out of doors, or 
where they will not get the whole of the sun. It de. 
pends upon the quantity required whether to put them 
in boxes by the hundred or in pots by the few or singly. 
In either case, a little rough soil should be at the bot¬ 
tom, finer next, and on the surface a layer of sand an 
inch thick; or where sand is plenty, that may be used 
altogether. As soon as rooted, which can easily be 
known by the cuitings showing signs of making new 
leaves, they should he immediately potted off, especially 
if wanted for winter flowering, into good, rich soil. 
This may be any good garden soil with a third of well- 
rotted manure or, what is better, a soil composed of 
rotted turfs taken from any good pasture land; this 
should have a portion of manure added according to the 
conditions of the land from which the turf is taken. 
We use in our soil (and find very good results) a sprink¬ 
ling of bone-dust sufficient to be able to see plainly after 
being well mixed together, or perhaps say a twentieth 
part of bone dust to one part of soil. The size of the 
pots should not be larger than 3 inches in diameter, 
using for the bottoms always the roughest pieces of the 
soil, filling up afterwards with the finest, making firm 
and watering thoroughly. Until danger of cold, they 
may left out of doors, then bring them inside of either 
dwelling-house or conservatory, as the case may be. 
As soon as the pots are filled with roots, they should be 
at once potted into a larger size; at this and all subse¬ 
quent pottings be sure to place in the bottom of each 
pot an inch of broken pots to insure drainage. With 
this treatment, a sunny position, and a temperature 
not exceeding 00° Fahrenheit at night. Geraniums 
will flower all winter. 
If larger plants are required, those growing outside, 
and that were cuttings last spring, should be taken up 
early in September, any straggling branches cut back, 
and the very largest leaves removed, potted into moder¬ 
ate size pots, from 4 to 6 inches, according to the size of 
the plant; shaded a few days, after which they may be 
treated as advised for the smaller plants. But don’t 
forget the drainage, for, as soon as they begin to grow, 
they will require lots of water. Those not having either 
plants or cuttings can obtain from the florist plants 
that were rooted late in the spring, and are kept in small 
pots for purposes of sale until now. These should be 
got early, and treated as advised for the rooted cuttings. 
In growing specimens to a large size, it is necessary 
to keep repotting them from time to time, as each pot 
gets filled with roots; they must be trimmed into shape, 
so that one branch does not get the mastery and inter¬ 
fere with the others. The very strongest branches 
should be pinched back to induce a bushy growth, to 
balance the sap, so that the weaker ones are not robbed; 
and if there is any particular day that the plants are 
wanted for. it is a good plan to take off all flowers and 
buds until six weeks previous to the time they are wished 
for. In growing our finest specimens and when the pots 
are well filled with roots, we water two or three times 
each week with weak guano-water in proportion of 1 oz. 
to 3 gallons of water. Other weak manure-water would 
be good, but we use the guano because it is the easiest 
and pleasantest to get at. As to varieties of pot culture, 
those that very often are failures out of doors are the 
most beautiful when grown under protection. 
We append a list of the best up to the present time, 
and assure those who desire to renew their stock of 
Geraniums, that they will do well to obtain, at least, 
some of them. 
Twenty-four double varieties in their classes of colors: 
white—Heroine, Floconde Neige, Jeanette; flesh—Bot- 
