Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-02-23

l hardly expect in this talk upon window
gardening to interest only those who make
the cultivation Of plant, i'll the house Il
study. that means success, and in order to
do this, one must not only admire but love
them Then the labor of taking care OF
them is no hardship. bat pa>tilne. There
are very many farmers wives, especially
those farmers who make butter making u
speciality, who are constantly at home. and
who cannot be entirely satisfied wiIhout
some means Of lifting their minds now anI
then from the regular routine of milk
Swimming, cooking, etc. and ut times get
ting little Out-oi-dOor exercise withal-
and what is there any better calculated t.
do this, particularly to the true love Of
flowers, than the cultivation of them? Be
sides, they add 50 much to The adjournment
of our homes that even those who snrcr at
the mans uScd and time >PM can but
admire and feel delighted ut the sight OF
vigorous and well-kcpt plants in winter
Every one that cares enough for them to
get them, wants them to grow and 90 their
lest. If possible. and to gain this end there
are certain conditions proper soil, air.
light. heat, etc, that must be compiled
with, and in oN!er to know what these are
with different Varieties, one must have en-
perlcncc-fOr | have found no common
amount at reading will save all Your plants
for the reason, that means that would
work like a charm in the hands Of Il good
florist would, in many cases. prove uttel
failures with the inexperienced OF anna
tcurs.
For this reason. feel nv inability to DO
this subject justice, but if what | have
learned in the short time | have been ex-
perimcnting will be the means of saving
some ones beauties to them | shall be
glad, for | know how hard it is to get :,
nice plant and Just begin 10 enjoy it and
have 1t droOp and die, while YOU are total V
ignorant of What TO do to save il. But still
do not know but Il small amount of this
disappointment is necessary to stimulate
one TO ty and study into their wants and
necessities.
TO commence with. made Geranium
almost Il Speciality, having some TOO diff
ferent varieties. | chose these on account
of their general hardness and ease uf cul-
ture. and 10y getting the very dwarf varir-
ties could not only accommodate them bet
ter i'll the windows, but found them NOR,
abundant blO>>omrr>. also having larger,
talrer blossoms than the old tall GROW in O
Ones-and here | would like 10 say nlauv
Of my acquaintances would hear of the
number | had and come to see Them ,X-
peCtlng, of course. they must about fill the
house and | could see at once their di-ap-
pointment at the show they did not make.
Nevertheless, consider them far superior
for house culture. and some of them iu-t
as good for bedding out.
| have found black sandy peat the
best soil have ever tried for these, one
that by the help of the farmers fertilizer
will bring out plenty Of good-sizcd flow
crS, that is, if they can have II few our~'
Of sunshine each day and p'enty of fresh
air. As these are not troubled with in
scct', with the exception of the white mite
in the earth. the daily watering with an
occasional ehowcring of the foliage j. all
required. For the mite | find the a>he.
from tobacco an ctfectual remedy, ard u
patcr-familias ut our house INDUCES i Il
cigar now and then, 1t is very easy to look
up the plants that need, and set in lis
rcach-they then become useful to each
other This white mite is made by Il Sm;,l
brown fly, and to destroy this one must
tumigate With tobacco. Those of til,
Grraniums we keep for the beauty of til,
foliage and the lvy-lCavcd need to he KEEP
quite near the glass to bring ont the rcl
cplorlng, as You must NIP every bud un
less YOU wish to lose leaves. The only
chance of 4 failure to ret a fair amount OF
blossoms with these or Ill varieties o.
blooming plants, N winter, is in not .ct-
ting your cuttings started early enough tC
have them yet strong healthy roots and
plenty of them, before they are confined
entirely to the house. No one need cX-
poet 4 plant to bloom we'll that is not wei
started by tie middle of June. Now ;
wold IN regard to starting cuttings may
not be out of place. have the best sue
cess In putting them by the cdg" of Il 20.
rOuS pot-One that Is white and unrlazr,
upon the inside. in the sandy peat, and i
they are well taken off-tllat is, if the rcrn
of the root as call it, is not left on tn,
old plant-One may have a right to cXpcc
all to live, with the same amount of imh
and air they need willie growing. Their,
are some kinds. like the huicSc t1ltiu. e.
las, etc, that start quicker in water.
with these 1t Is only necessary TO have ;
joint left on them, to have them star
readily.
Many people think it almost impossible
to start cuttings in winter, bu. think it :
mistake as have started quite Il number
of Gcranlulns. Polegomums, Fuch>ias and
lantanaS this winter. The past wear have
procured quite a number of different vari-
cites OF BegOnltS, some for the beauty OF
their foliage and others for their different
Colored blossoms These | find thliv,
best in Il rather cold and shady situation
and want more sand in the earth, about
two-thirds sand and the rest loan, with
plenty # charcoal for drainage. They
Ike moist atmosphere, but not much
water on the roots 50 shower the foliage
with warm water, being careful to avoid
getting much into the pot. | have never
found any insect that troubles these, but if
they are put into too rich earth or kent
too wet, the roots will decay or the stalks
damp off Just above a Joint, and it is con-
s'derably 50 with the Chinese Primrose or
frimua, Japonic:t. if kept too moist; but
the Primrose will not Lear water on lis
leaves at all and likes richer soil than the
Begonia NV first Primro>e-poo. thing
how hard tried to make it live-but in
stead was killing it with mistaken kind
ness. | had read in the florists book Of in
structions. Primroscs delight in Il rich
sandy soil and moist temperature.
Wei" | said, - can substitute for the
moisture repeat d showerings, and BY set
ting it in the sunshine I'll get something
Of moist atmosphere about it also my
Begonia rex. | know they grow we'll in
the moist atmosphere of fern cases, SO I'll
pu. it by the side of my Primrose and so
Kill two birds with one stOne-and mos,
assuredly did, beyond my future resur
rection, too.
! think the double white Primrose more
impatient under ill-treatment than the sin
gle varieties, and is not apt to do quite as
well in with other plants in the window.
but neither kind will bear crowding have
Observation-Disclosures that has been
quite beauty this winter, if arranged in
with other plants so as to cover the
bare stalk, and thus hide another of nv
plumbers, also my ignorance Of botany
Tor had been well read in that | might
perhaps have detected the difference be-
tween the embryo flower buds and the
leaves, and not ported it in lust
the wrong time, As did-expcrience and
ignorance again. l had been told by a
person whom | supposed knew, that a
Poinscttia would not be likely to bloom |
until two years old, mine not being that
re, and knowing it usually dropped its