The Portland daily press., 1878-10-30
AGRICULTURAL.
Window Gardening.

knowledge of the subject; and when we at
tempt to deal with living organisms that have
ways of their own like plants that show
likes and dislikes; that take gratefully GER
tain forms of treatment and become impa-
tient under adverse conditions), the need of
extensive information seems imperative. Ma
ture has great capacity for rectifying our mis-
takes-for restoring plants that have suffered
in our hands; but in window gardening she
has small opportunity to perform this work.
Hence the necessity that we understand the
nature or needs of such vegetation as we
strive to cultivate in our homes. A few lam
gushing plants are nuisance, but the quick
active growths the bright, graceful foliage
plants full of vitality or vjgor, are great
pleasure; and whatever we do for them is
done with ambition and enthusiasm. / think
very few persons, however, 60 down to first
principles. and understand the simplest laws
of plant life.
PORTING PLANTS. Multitudes practise
house gardening who never learned how to
pot plants. They have never adopted, never
understood . the principle upon which all
florists act in putting small plaHts into small
pots, and as they outgrow them shifting
each into pot one size larger. and thus con-
tinuing until there is no longer need of
change. The reason is obvious. A small
plant, or weak plant, -one that has lost vigor
by removal or any other cause-needs very
little soil ard very little water, 1t must be
left to get fresh start from its own inherent
vitality. In potting plants for winter use,
from the garden or elsewhere, it must be
done with reference to these facts. A plant
always suffers more or less by change; still
it may be abundantly able to repair damages
il 1t have chance; but force it to fight for
life in stagnant moisture, being overpotted
and overwatered, and the prospect of success
is very poor. Ii amateurs would but follow
the advice so often given-that of planting
in pots in the spring whatever is designed
for winter use-dsturbance of the roots in
autumn would be wholly avoided. If
window-box is to be used, the unbroken
balls could be transferred from the pots to
the box, and the interstices filled with itch
compost.
BEST PLANTS FOR WINTER. Having
studied the preliminaries of household gar
dening. one may proceed to make a selection
of stock. have no new list of plants, nor
list of new plants to offer. The number and
variety already given by every one who
writes on this subject is already too extended.
One can select for herself such geraniums as
she likes; such fuchsias, heliotropes, roses,
foliage plants, succuients, etc. Avoid all ten
der, tropical egetation-everything that re-
quires uniform temperature and humid at
mosphere; for these conditions cannot be full
filled in an ordinary sittingroom. 1t matters
not that one says she has grown poinsetta
palcheYrinaG that was the admiration OF the
neighborhood; or that another tells you that
she has seen as fine camelias grown In sit
ting-room as in greenhouse. These are
but exceptions. Where one succeeds hun
dred fail, and success, you will always find,
depends upon some unusual appliances for
culture. Let us try to seek easy gardening,
and not deep plants that will trouble US
that will distress US If the lord of the manor
happens to come in from a driving. storm
half frozen Tor thinking that he isl, and
shakes down the coal, opens the draft and
raises the temperature of the room 10 deg. to
Is deg. too high for our coolblooded vegeta-
ton. The room was made for comfort and
for common human needs, and not to grow
house plants. Still, without detriment to
such needs, we may have window.box that
will give us much pleasure.
EXPERIENCE THE BEST GUIDE. Whether
one has speciality or not, it is readily dis
covered that some plants flourish better for
one person than for another, owing, doubt
less, to the conditions of growth being more
accurately adjusted. / have much satisfac-
ton in Sedum Specialize for winter plant.
Ipot root with good number of shoots in
the autumn, and leave it in the cellar until
midwinter; then bring it up, and after it gets
accustomed to light and warmth, give it the
hottest place in the south window, and it
soon grows into plant of unusual beauty-by
lamplight 1 have never seen anything finer.
The leaves are large and broad, each curled
back upon itself, OF clear ivory color, edged
with green, and the stems are erect and
white, slightly tinged with pink. But have
seen many unsuccessful attempts to produce
the like result-when the plant generally
became dingy green, or pale yellOw-having
no special Interest. am sure that in my
case it is the full strong sun that becomes the
beautifer.
On the other hand, l sometimes fail when
my neighbor succeeds. Peristrophe, pani-
cum and the like, were all failures, and I
was about to condemn the whole tribe of va
riegatas. but was saved from the folly of do
ing so by some authority-Josiah Hopes,
think it was-who declared that the first
named was an admirable plant. If we can
not grow what friend or florist commends,
we need not necessarily conclude that there
was deception or fraud; but we may well be
careful not to give conspicuous places to I'M
tried things.
STRIVE FOR GOOD FOLIAGE. Amateurs
are always too anxious for Towering plants,
not seeming fully to appreciate handsome
foliage. Ii the Gala does not bloom the Gala
is of no account. Now this is an elegant
pioup nho VIGIL WoAeh ShOWlbS IL uCfcI
bloomed. In the whole catalogue of orna-
mental. foliaged plants, scarcely anything is
comparable to the silver-margined, golden
tricoor and bronze-leaved geraniums, and
those should never be allowed to bloom, that
the opportunity for LEAKAGE be unimpaired.
Begonia rex and some of its varieties are
worth score of ordinary blooming plants.
There are many choice exotics that may be
made available. For decorative vines [ know
IF npfbinU annaI IN Enuicb INV, Tod wiz,
and smilax. The ivy standardization
elegans-grown on trellis, makes very fine
display in winter; SO also do some of the
coleus and other foliage plants. The selec-
ton will ever remain matter of taste. One
likes what another dislikes, and this is anoth-
er of the reasons why we are so otter disap-
pointed in our purchases.
HOLLAND BULBS. Nothing meets the
want for flowers in the winter so fully as the
Holland bulbs. Our windows may be made
gorgeous with them the latter part of the sea-
son. Not sweet, like hyacinths, that are in
dispensable, but far more strong, are the ear.
ly tulips, the duc-van.thols. Plant several in
one pot in autumn, and fill many pots. Set
them away to grow roots, according to the
florists directions; then, in mid-winter, bring
them into bloom in your sitting-room. have
had the best flowers, especially from hya-
cinths, by planting three, five, or nine bulbs
III DoX just large enough 10 n0ld them, and
plunging the box, in autumn, into a warm
border or somewhat sheltered place. In the
winter, in February thaw, dug up the box
or boxes, AMI when they were sufficiently
drained, gave them light and moderate heat,
and the finest spikes of flowers made their ap-
pearance Immediately. Pots would be broken
by freezing, hence boxes must be used: and
if they are unsightly in the window, cover
them with lichens, cup moss and baby-cones,
an abundance of which may be gathered in
the autumn rambles.
PLANTS FOR FORCING. A long list of good
garden plants for forcing has been given us,
aud I can speak with confidence of few that
I have tried, among which are Dcentra Spec
tabilis, Deutzia gracilis, Spirea Aruncus, Lili-
um Longiaorum, not forgetting Sedum Spec
table already mentioned. OF herbaceous
spireas, Dicentra, etc., crowd the pot full of
roots-the more shoots, the more bloom.
Give the potled plants entire repose and no
water, or only trifle after they are placed in
the cellar-which may be done any time af-
ter the ground freezes. 1 never think it
worth while to disturb this kind of stock be-
fore mid winter; then bring to the living-room
such as you desire to bloom at once, Tesery-
inn Soma for a euccnssiop af fowarS rrh;,