April, 
86 
AND 
greenhouse. 
to have them ije hardened oft 
ta M “V”HdS or -le »»">■»»• 
Wor.»l»SPl“" igOTtomMaoW 
Geramuras, Stevi.as, Ab ^ 
THE WINIlOW aASDEN FOE APEIl. 
Om- window plants now ai-e growing and 
blooming freely. Arrange that the stronger 
do not smother the weaker ones. Water 
copiously' all plants in vigorous growth, 
using water that has the chill taken oft 
rather than very cold water right from the 
cistern, barrel or well. 
Attend to shortening the shoots to prcr 
serve the plants in stocky condition, and 
use the tips you cut off as cuttings. 
Ke-pot such plants as need shifting, and 
prick out and pot or box young seedlings, or 
pot or box off rooted cuttings before they 
get drawn, crowded or otherwise weakened. 
Continue to strike cuttings of all plants 
which you desire to propagate, also sow 
seeds. H you have not space for all of your 
young plants close up to the glass in yoiu- 
windows, remove the hardier kinds of them 
to a cool room. Here they are less apt to be¬ 
come spmdly than in the warm room. 
Ventilate fi-eely every warm aud sunny 
day, by opening the windows early in the day 
and shutting them early in the afternoon. 
Avoid draughts. U the warm sunshine 
causes any of the plants to wilt, a screen of 
thin mosquito netting drawn beU^een the 
plants and glass or on the outside of the 
^vindow will be of much ser^^ce, but it 
should be removed at all times except dm-- 
intp warm sunshine. 
With our old plants, newly rooted cut- 
tin<^s and young seedlings, our windows 
mU, probably, be getting rather crowded,, 
but if we may have such auxilianes as hot¬ 
beds or cold frames, we can find relief. 
HOX-BEDS. 
Directions for the construction of hot¬ 
beds have been given in former numbers 
of The Amekicax. Garden, so that it will 
not be necessary to repeat them here. If 
you wish to strike cuttings in the bed or put 
into it the small plants from your windows, 
then an inch or two of sifted coal ashes over 
the manure is as good as anything to set the 
pots on or plunge them in. 
Whenj^we have many kinds of flower- 
=eeds to raise in a hot-bed, J prefer sowing 
in .shallow flats and setting these in the bed. 
In this way if one kind,of seed takes longer 
to come up than another, I liave not to 
wait for it before using the space vacated by 
the early seed, but, instead, can move out 
and crowd ui> the boxes. 
COED FRAMES 
Are excellent places for wintering Violets, 
Polyanthuses, Anemones, Forget-me-nots, 
Pansies, Biennial Stocks, Wall-flowers, and 
the like; for giving us flowers from March to 
May, also for wintering summer-blooming 
Cai’uatious, Penstemons, and other herba¬ 
ceous perennials almost but not quite hardy. 
But apart from their use as winter quai'- 
ters to these, cold frames in spring are ex¬ 
cellent places in which to start seeds of 
Zinnias, Stocks, Asters, Mai-igolds, Mourn¬ 
ing Bride, Drummond Phlox and many 
other plants, to be in time transplanted to 
our beds and borders. 
Carnations, Paris Daisies, Verbenas, and 
many other plants can be put out into cold 
GeramuiuB, be 
Hibiscuses, Cape ‘ benefit to 
transferred to coh ■ allowed 
themselves, Provi^S ^tes iresines, Al¬ 
to reach them. stock should 
ternantheras and sum .m , 
shmadbeiutupearlysoastore^^^^^^^^^^ 
extra sun heat, and covevpd 1 
ni-lit. In warm, weather the sashes may be 
"moved by day, but in cold 
the occasion of sleet or drenching lains keep 
on the sashes day and night. 
hardening off peants. _ 
No matter how hardy a plant m.ay be, if 
wintered in a window frame or gveen- 
house, it should not be planted out in the 
garden in spring without first being we 
hardened off. Therefore we should not be 
entriippedbythe moist and sunny weather 
we usually have towards the end of April, 
in suddenly putting out of doors to stay out 
any of the tender plants we have wintered 
in-doors. It is inconsistent that we should 
trust tropic.al plants to the mercy of our 
northern weather, before our oivn Oaks, 
Hickory, or Indian Bean have spread a leaf 
or burst a bud. Putting our plants outside 
to get the benefit of a warm, gentle shower 
does them much good, but we should bring 
them in-<loors before night. 
VIOEETS. 
Those that have been blooming all winter 
long, will, toward the end of the month, be¬ 
gin to grow and spread considerably and 
cease flowering. As soon as that is the case 
lift the clumps, break them up and secure 
all the good, strong side shoots—most of 
them will have a few shoot.s—and plant 
them closely in a cold frame in sandy soil 
as you would cuttings. They will soon be¬ 
gin to root nicely, when, after being gradu¬ 
ally hardened ofi’, they may be planted out 
in rows in the garden. These young plants 
make the best stock for blooming next 
winter. Wji. Faeconer. 
Tuberous Begonias sBould be potted as 
eai'ly as convenient in the spring. Much of 
future usefulness depends upon rooting well 
before leaf growth commences. All are 
liable to push early. Therefore it is neces¬ 
sary to watch closely, as the beauty and 
symmetry of the plant is very materially 
injured by an early, tender growth. It is a 
good plan after potting summer-flowering 
tubers, to keep them in a dark place, moder¬ 
ately warm, until convenient to place them in 
the window garden. But by all means bring 
them immediately into light and sunshine as 
soon as they show a detei mination to grow. 
Unless well started and blooming before the 
usual hot, dry days of our summer months, 
it will do little or no good. All delight in a 
rich, porous soil, and only with divided, 
fresh-cut tubers sandy soil—that is more 
sand than loam—is preferable for starting. 
I have no greenhouse or conservatory, 
and speak strictly from window gai-den ex¬ 
perience. By using small pots for the be¬ 
ginning, one can often find room for start.- 
ing a large collection of these choice and 
novel plants, beautiful in foliage as well as 
flower. S. C. H. 
Of 
ciiii highly 
TUBEROUS ROOTED BEGONIAS, 
all beautiful plants for summer pot- 
culture I know of nothing more attractive 
than the new Tuberous Begoni.as. For 
three years T have grown them and find 
them so easily inan.agcd tluit I 
recommend them. 
Little tubers, about half an inch across, 
pill-chased three years ago this spring, are 
at this time three inches in diameter. All 
last summer, and from their earliest growth, 
tliey wei-e a mass of (lowers, Imt, l.li|. tulier.s 
have grown witli surprising rapidi(;y, and 
what was one last year I propose, to divide 
inf,ofour this sea.son. 'I'liey are as misilv 
divided as Glo.xinias, and unless wanted fo'r 
bedding onto,- large specimen plants, it is 
better (.0 divide iarge i.uliers and start tlie 
par(,s in small jiots of wandy soil ami repot 
as soon as well rooted, (llUng i„ about the 
I*, of earth as slipped from I,he small pot 
witli rieh porous loam. 'I'lmy are vigorous 
glowers, and soon fill small pots witli roots 
which hold togetlier nicely 1,, slipping fi-o,’,, 
one crock to the other. 
THE ABUTHON. 
One of the best plants for the house is 
the Abutilon, better known, perhaps, as 
Flowering Maple, from a resemblance of the 
foliage, in some varieties, to that of the 
Maple of our woods, arid sometimes called 
Fairy Bell, because of its pendulous, bell¬ 
shaped flowers. It is a plant that grows 
well under circumstances not favorable to 
the s.atisfactory development of most plants, 
being able to withstand dry air and the gas 
emanating from coal fires. In this respect 
it is quite equal to the Geranium. It has 
very pretty foliage, and its flowers, wliile 
not as sliowy as those of many other plants, 
are very pretty and attractive, and are pro¬ 
duced almost constantly. TTiis is one reason 
why it is such a f.avorite, wherever grown, 
for it is rarely without a few flowei's. 
d’hei-e are many varieties. One of the 
best is Boule de Neige, pure white, and a 
lirofuse liloomer. Santana is the nearest 
approaeli to crimson of any I have tried. 
'I’he old variety, liearing yellow flowers, 
veined with scarlet, has the best habit of 
growth, and, to my mind, the finest foliage. 
'I’he variety Thompsotii has leaves beauti¬ 
fully blotched with yellow, the blotches 
having the appearance of mo.saie-work. It 
is a free bloomer, its (lowers being yellow 
and erim.son. [.\ double form of .1. Thomj'^- 
noHi has recently been iiri.roduced by Feter 
Henderson & Co., New ^'ork, to whom we 
are indebted for the lu'companying illnstra- 
tion. It originat.ed in a “sport" which, 
while it retains the heantiliil mottled yello'V 
and green foliage, iiroduees (lowers that ri'- 
•semhle in form a double Hollyhock.—K d.] 
There is a variety of slender growth, 
vi'xi/lariiiiii^ which has iong leaves in which 
the variegation of yellow is very ell’ective. 
I'his variety is of great use for baskets, or 
to grow in pots oeeupying an elevated I'o- 
sltion where Its long hranehes cun droo)) to 
suit themselves. Tluij' .should never bo tied 
ui), or trained in any way, if you would got 
the best ell'ect of the plant. I liavo a plant 
of It in my collection wliioh completely 
covers tho jiot In whioli it grows, imd gives 
