AND 
greenhouse 
THE PKIZE IXOWEE. 
[The prize iov Ittic 
some time ago. hy a poor man Imng i 
where the siin shone but a (,,,4 turn 
day, when he would hold his flower 1 
it round whiio the sunshine lasted.. 
It was high noon; and through t 
A worn, stooped form among the } 
Wended his way. A Uttle flower h 
Within his arm, and when he teaohc P 
Whore they had bid him come, he laid it doi 
Amongst the rest; ho stancUng near to • 
Flowers of the richest hues, 
And those of dazzling splendor, were t ei , • 
His eye scarce moved to them, whate 5 
were; 
Shy, silent, and unnoticiug, he stood 
As guardian of his own bright, peerless one; 
For it had been the sweetest thing to him 
In his lone life, and as it grew he watched 
The velvet petals opening from the buds. 
As a mother would the features of her child. 
Its sweet, delicious fragrance was to him 
As grateful love; it was a thing divine. 
So exquisitely wrought! and when he felt 
Oppressed by anxious care, ^twould softly breathe 
Sweet words from Holy Writ— “And shall He not 
Clothe you much more 1 ” and soothed his he.art 
to rest. 
At length his name was called, but he remained 
Absorb’d in thought, and heaven had those 
basket I 
Ulw.™ .»S«i “ ’“'2 
pl„t to . iy ,oli«e, 
be the 0.\alis. It h®® ,^f,,siou. The leaves 
is produced in grea P „t,ems which 
MADEIRA VINE. 
For large baskets I have found the Mad • 
Vine very satisfactory. I do not give 
n great, ^nicn ; ^ich soil, and in consequence its growth ^ 
are borne on long and s'®” almost ^ot so strong; but the leaves will be eW 
ver the basket grace j „iynvR 1 and more attractive t.ho., 
droop over the basket “ J ^ell above j together and more attractive than wheat 
bide it. The little things. I , has a rich soil to grow in. I pinch it back 
the foliage and are C laim o pthlooms , pitilessly until the basket is covered witl. 
like thepink-flowm’edvanetyjo®t ^ 1 ^ ^ 
move profusely ^ requires very ! allowing some to droop, and others I train 
haveevergrown. dm p grow in, along the chains suspending the basket 
littl6 Ctll’G* GriV6 it ft & -rr. +lio <v1/\ae-ir Iaovas rIaoti 
Keep the glossy leaves clean and youwj]] 
have a charming plant by treating it in this 
way- -r, ^ 
E. E. Rexporb. 
SOIL POE POT PLAKTB, 
One reads so much in certain periodicals 
about the importance of having this or that 
kind of soil for different plants, that the 
amateur is quite sure to get the idea that to 
grow plants well requires skill in selecting 
the proper soil for them to grow in. I used 
to think so, and often went to a good deal of 
trouble to secure such a soil as was recom¬ 
mended for a particular plant. But one day 
I received some newplants, and as I hadnone 
of the soil recommended as necessary tor 
them, and could not secure any, I potted 
thoughts; 
And when one came and said to him, “Your 
flower 
H;is gained the prize,” be knew not what was 
said; 
But when be know, his eye grew bright; tears 
coursed 
The aged cheeks for very joy of heart. 
And there was pride, not for himself, nor all 
His care; but such we feel when noble things 
Are done by those we love! 
—London Golden Hours, 
WATBEING PLANTS IN POTS. 
Some people attempt to keep pot plants 
without giving them any water at all; the ' 
result Is familiar to every one. Usually, 
however, the earth in the pot or box is kept 
soaked, and very much in the condition of 
an ordinary swamp. We have ourselves seen 
dead evergreens pulled out of boxes full of 
mud. Neusie Erfmdtingen gives utterance to 
the following timely remarks : 
“Watering plants is one of the most im- | 
portant things in the culture of house-plants, | 
and very special care should be devoted to 
it. Plants ought not to be watered until j 
they need it. It will be evident that they 
require wetting if, on taking the earth from ' 
the pot it crumbles to pieces like dust; a 
sure sign is to knock on the side of the pot, 
near the middle, with the finger-knuckle. If 
it gives forth a hollow ring, the plant needs 
water; if there is a dull sound, there is still 
moisture enough to sustain the plant. Plants 
must not be wet more than once or twice a 
day; on dry, clear days they require more 
water than on damp, cloudy days. On the 
other hand, the earth must not he allowed 
to dry out entirely, for that is also veiy in¬ 
jurious. 
‘ ‘ In wetting them, the water must bo poured 
on in such a way that it will run out again 
through the hole in the bottom of the pot. 
If the earth gets too dry, it is best to place 
the pot in water, so that the water will snt 
urate the soil very gradually.” 
OXALIS BASKET, 
and plenty of water, aud it will be sure to 
please you. It does not insist on having sun¬ 
light, but it will do better w'ith some than it 
will without any, being brighter in color, 
and flowering more freely. The only insect 
that I have ever found on my Oxalis is the 
red spider, and a daily use of the syringe for 
a week has routed him. 
TRADESCANTIA. 
The variegated Tradescantia is a very 
pretty hanging-plant. I have a basket of it 
in which the variegation is very unique. 
TRADESCANTIA MULTICOLOR 
Will have a few green loaves, wh 
have nothing but striped loaves 
gi’een branches appear, T cut the 
once, Hiis plant will grow well i,, 
poor that otiior jilanls would starve 
■n It, If you wiil give it plenty of 
do not like It as woil wlion growi 
Hoii; the joints botwooii tiio loi 
ongcr, and tho growtli is too rainn 
make It throw out a largo 
branches, piueh the ends off elosb t 
Keep at this persistently until tho a 
niums, and other plants of that character— 
a mixture of turfy loam, garden mold, well- 
rotted manure, and sharp sand, in the 
proportion of one-third of loam, one-thiid 
garden soil, aud the otherthirdmadeup of the 
manure and sand. For strong-rooted plants 
I add less sand than for those having many 
small roots. In all eases I had sand enough 
to keep the soil from becoming heavy. Tho 
result was that these plants made as fine 
and healthy a growth as I cared to see. I 
began to think then that perhaps it was not 
necessary to go to so mneh trouble in procur¬ 
ing different soils for different plants as I had 
supposed, and after experience convinced 
mo that most plants will do well in almost 
any good soil. It is astonishing how readily 
plants accommodate themselves to ciroum- 
stances widely different fi’om those in their 
natural state. 
Some plants, like the Fuchsia, prefer lea 
mold, and will do better in it than in any¬ 
thing Disc I have ever tried ; but I grow fine 
plants in exactly’ the same soil that I S*'® 
my Geraniums. It is my practice to inU t e 
turfy loam — which I procure from un er 
old sods in the pasture—the garden mold an 
the manure—wliich I got in corners of 
barn-yard — well together, and add the 
as I pot my plants, putting in more or less as 
I consider it advisable. 
I find that most amateurs do not ^ 
consider it nooessary to pay much atten > 
to tho item of sand. But it is. I 
soonor omit tho mannro, if I Inid to c >0 
botwoon tho two. If you use plenty of 
tho soil will iiovor bocomo heavy and e 
pact, aud quite likely sour. Tho sand 
•I light aud porous, and tho water runs 
readily, thus luakiug it almost impossi 6^^ 
drown out tho plant by ovor-watorinK' 
tho air can poiiotrute to flio roots , 
Make up such a compost as I use fl® ^ 
can grow good plants in it every timo- 
