the a 
meb.canga^ 
[Peb 
oots 
WINDOW GABDENINQ FOB. FEBRUARY. 
Now as the days are growing longer, 
warmer and sunnier, plants wil 
grow and blossom more freely than 
f„ nridwinter. Pineh in Fuehsras Heho 
tropes, and others that are grown g too tall 
or spindly. Increase the supply of water as 
growth and the drying influence of sunshrne 
and warmth demand. Be vigilant and spare 
no insectpcsts. Ventilate freely in nrrld and 
surrny weather, but avoid drafts, and rn ven¬ 
tilating do so gradually. Vcrrtrlate early 
and close up early. Abutilons, Marguentes 
and some others that have filled tlrerr pots 
with roots will need a little extra nourish¬ 
ment, give it in the way of weak liquid 
manure, or better still, pick out some of the 
surface earth from the pots, and replace 
with equal parts of turfy loam and rotted 
manure. 
repotting- plants. 
Many of yoirr plants for flowering as Tea 
Roses, Petunias, Fuchsias or Geraniums, if 
in vigorous condition, and those kept to 
furnish cuttings, for instance Coleuses, Sal¬ 
vias and Ageratums, may be the better off 
for a shift; but if you will have no room for 
them after they should be repotted, better 
leave them undisturbed. If you have room 
and convenience for them you may shake out 
and pot single, the cuttings of Heliotropes, 
Ageratums, Coleuses, Iresines, Geraniums 
and other summer decorative plants that 
you have wintered—a bunch of cuttings in a 
pot—^but if you cannot yet take care of them 
leave them alone till March when you may 
find relief in a hot bed or cold frame. 
In repotting plants use clean washed pots 
only, and more particularly than the out¬ 
side let the inside be clean. Drain the pots 
with some rubble, as broken pots, brickbats 
or rotten stone pounded small, and over 
that strew thinly some of the roughest of 
the soil on half rotted leaves to prevent the 
earth from clogging the drainage. 
SOIL FOB POTTING. 
Turfy loam piled up for about a year, and 
well rotted manure are the principal 
material, but never hesitate for want of any 
particular kind of earth. Wood-soil is capital 
when mixed with loam, so is leaf mold, but 
do not use fresh muck or peat from a swamp. 
Some gardeners use a great deal of sand in 
their soils, but I fail to find much good in it 
if the loam is turfy and leaf soil or light 
manure is mixed with it; in fact for the or¬ 
dinary hou.se plants as Geraniums, Fuchsias, 
Carnations and the like I don’t add sand. 
Break up lino all the lumps in the loam, 
they are clay balls and-worm casts, and in 
their unbroken state fine roots cannot derive 
benefit from them; don’t think they are 
fibre lumps and will keep the soil open,— 
fibre lumps are unmistakable and if largo 
need to be tom apart or chopped up. Never 
use soil that is wet or muddy, nor fresh or 
pasty manure. Cow manure from the heap 
is seldom fit to use before it is two years old 
on account of its pla<tic nature. Balms 
Callas, Crinums, Amaryllises and other 
fleshy rooted plants delight in fresh loam as 
thin cut sod chopped up fine. Roses like 
strong heavy loam. Azaleas, Heaths, Cy- 
tisus, and othm-s I*;:;;;; 
thrive the best n 
, Vinca rosea in a warm 
Sow some seeds of T 
room, you eye the best, and m 
white flowers with lec y ^3 to 
order to have good seedlings 
order — - ..nice 
out in May, you Ccutaureas 
early. Sow also V feverfew and 
(opesty ^*,i’„/small seeds as Tore^ 
Torenias. In so\Mn» the like I fiavo 
nias, Lobelias, Begonias . 
known amateurs to pots, 
surface of tbe.r Fuchsia and ^ 
and in this way raise a fullc 
when they took every precaution to pi op. 
separate pots for them. 
ir iS well t>0 stU’l t» GJV y 
slow growing kinds i" ordei^to Iravo ^strong 
plants by planting out tnue, i 
soon to sow Stocks, Asteis, ‘ ° q ’ 
Zinnias and the like. You may sow Cy 
clamen, Amaryllis, and other bonder peiei - 
nial plants as soon as you wish, provided yoi 
have heat to start them in. And you may 
sow Columbines, Larkspur, Pi/rethnan rose- 
urn and other perennials as soon as you 
please if you are prepared to take care of 
them. The Pyrethrum and Larkspur will 
blossom the first year from seed, but not¬ 
withstanding oft written statements to the 
contrary Columbines will not blossoin the first 
year. 
GLOXINIAS AND AMAKTLLISES. 
If you have some old plants at rest and 
they are showing signs of growth bi'ing a 
few of them to the light and give them a 
little water; do not force them but let them 
come along slowly. The same with tuberous 
Begonias. But do not start the colored¬ 
leaved Caladiums or the pretty flowered 
Achimeneses before March or xApril. If you 
would like some lovely Gloxinias from July 
till September, sow some seed before the 
end of March, keep the seedlings near the 
light, prick them off singly and about an 
inch apart into pots or boxes, and, about the 
end of May, plant them' out in a cold frame 
or old hot bed. 
CUTTINGS. 
Propagate from cuttings all the plants you 
can—Geraniums, Fuchsias, Carnations, Co¬ 
leuses, 'Verbenas; stick the cuttings into the 
soil on the shady .side of the pots the large 
plants are growing in, some may die but 
many should live. When these cuttings arc 
rooted pot them by themselves or put them 
into shallow boxes. Or you may fill small 
or medium-sized pots with sand 
soil and dibble your cuttings 
them, and place thorn 
window and away from draft. Keen tl.om 
moist but not wet. Wm Fa , . 
rVM, J.'ALCONEit. 
or sandy 
firmly into 
in a warm shady 
SBC0E88 WITH H0U8E PLANT8 
apparently many persons wb^^’ 
little pains with their window ru-’l 
whose plants thrive excellently^: 
throughout tlie soasoi.- -i ^ ' li'eom 
who are continually fussing 
in their windows, and ^growth 
too persistently, the iLili”'"°n 
loaves and never a flower iT* Y^How 
member that housed ni ''O re- 
liko 
"“‘y ‘loi'ondeut 
for their well being upon the judicious 
of those who nurse them. * ®are 
Ladies very often fill their windows 
fine plants and then consign them 
tender mercies of the jiarlor maid, with • 
structions to water occasionally, and u 
set Wy> ^«sh air 0 ^®'' 
in a while. As a matter of course, the n 
things will become sickly and pine aW°^ 
when their owner will wonder “ What 
them,” and will probably declare she ‘‘n * 
not the gift of making plants grow.” jf ** 
common sense, careful judgment, and enr 
a little attention daily, is requisite to hav^ 
windows full of bloom and stands covered 
with liealthy, thrifty plants. Those who do 
uot love them well enough, however, to give 
them personal care need not expect to keep 
them in first rate condition. 
SELECTING PLANTS. 
Do not expect too much of plants. You 
may purchase one that is just entering upon 
its season of rest, when nature requires it 
to remain dormant. If it shows no inclina¬ 
tion to put forth the new shoots, all that is 
to be done is to keep it clean and water it 
moderately. During its period of rest, the 
plant needs much less water, than when it 
is active. 
Frequently plants are purchased just as 
their foliage is at maturity, when within a 
short time they willwitherand droop. This 
is particularly the case with Adiantums, or 
Alaiden-liair Ferns, which are the finest just 
before their fronds shrivel. A lady brought 
to a florist the other day the most pitiable 
looking ridiantion cuneatum, which she had 
purchased but a week before, when its quiv¬ 
ering wiry stems, hung luxuriant with rich 
green lacy foliage. She indignantly in¬ 
quired if “ that was the kind of plants he 
kept.” Like many others selecting Adian¬ 
tums, she had picked one out for its beauty 
when iust at its full maturity. Very soon 
its leaves began to tum, when it drooped, 
and certainly presented a most dejected ap¬ 
pearance. Had its owner but cut off the 
limp fronds and borne patiently with her 
Fern, in a few weeks it would again ha^e 
uncurled fresh fans of foliage to tremble 
with every wave of air. 
AIK AND MOISTUEE. 
Fresh air, and moisture all plants nius 
have, and the majority of them will no 
thrive without light and sunshine. Hon>c 
plants are generally kept too warm. ^ 
temperature from 55° to 70° is better t an 
warmer for the varieties usually culti'a e^ 
in windows. Give them aii’, but ne^oi’ox 
pose to a draught, which is disastrous. 
frosh air can bo admitted from an ^ 
room, it is safer than to open the ® 
at tlio top. Never lift them from tho o 
plants sufloi 
in winter. As a rule house , - 
from a lack of moisture in tho 
this is o.spoci:iUy true when thoro is m' 
It is a vory good l)i«^ ^ 
lioat and gaslight, ii. is a vu, j e-- 
sot pans of water on tho plant stain , 
flu vases in tho room with watoi- 
makes a heal thior atmosphere 
well as plants. It is often tho 
only person in tho house will have ' o 
on hur ],lants will bo tho cook, 'y'®* 
(lows will bo gay with Hoses and Goia' 
bociiiiHo tho steam from tho boiler a" 
ties will provide tho moisture iioodoi 
plants in tho kitohon windows. yio 
It is an injiirions habit to pass S'"' ^fcwa 
plants daily with a watoriug pot, "" 
