The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-12-12
THE HAsKIN LETTER
Plants in the House
BY Frederic K ]. Hasizin.

Most good housewives find the ar
rangement Of their flower pots and
window boxes the duty incunben.
upon them Immediately after the fall
housecleaning Few homes are now
regarded as properly furnished with.
out some growing plants. The in
terest in home grown plants is great
Lest in the smaller towns where cut
flowers from the green house are NOT
easily accessible, but even the city
housewife takes great pride In q
thrifty plant Of her own raising. The
lcustoTn OF distributing home grown
plants for Christmas presents grows
each year and tends still further to
increase the interest In caring for
them. The recipient Of plant grown
by the loving care OF friend is apt
| to take great pains to keep it in good
condition. and this care may lead her
ito add other plants to her stock.
Much less EFFORT is required to keen
thrifty growing plants in the family
living room than is generally sup
posed and the labor is well rewarded.
The plants need to be properly plant-
ed, to be watered properly, to have a
reasonable amount of sunshine and to
ibe protected from freezing temper
I. ature and usually require little other
attention unless attacked by an in
! sect pest A growing plant adds
beauty to the plainest furnished room.
Its effect upon the atmosphere is
beneficial to the health of the family.
contrary to former beliefs.
The window box is becoming nee
essary furnishing in many homes.
Frequently 1t is the ,handiwork Of the
schoolboy who has made it in the
carpentry work course of his manual
training. The increasing amount OF
nature work in the school rooms In
forests the children in the window
boxes which supply specimens for
work and they are eager to establish
them in their homes. The construc-
jtion Of window box is simple
matter to the average home carpenter
and It can be a. perpetual source OF
pleasure II kept replenished with
thrittily growing plants. The win
dow box for ordinary uses should be
about a foot deep. The bottom should
be we'll covered with broken crockery
and stones to give drainage. "A layer
of moss or vegetable fiber should
cover this to prevent the soil from
washing through. The two materials
should take up about three inches
and over them should be placed soil
to within an inch or two Of the top
of the box. The Department OF Agri-
culture says that foliage plants are
better adapted to the home window
plants than flower plants and recon-
mends begonias. small ferns, kenil-
worth ivy, smilax, aspidistra and
geraniums. These last are utilized
for their foliage rather than for the
bloom expected.
Where a window box is unattain-
able or insufficient to meet the de-
mands Of flower loving family, any
number of ported plants may be KEEP!
in the living room. With ordinary
care they Will give good results
Where asuf1cient number of pots are
unavailable, tin cans can be used, as
many a woman has demonstrated. An
old lady in a Tennessee town has been
making beautiful use of hundreds OF
old tin cans for number OF years.
She melts the tops of over her
kitchen stove, removes all old paper
and makes several. nail holes in the
bottom before giving each q coat o.
red paint. A handful Of small stones
I'm the bottom OF each, then q hand
full Of moss after which garden soil
fills 1t almost to the top. Then some
thing is planted in each can, some
times two or three seeds, sometimes
o slip from some of her own large
thrifty plants and some that are
begged from a florist. The cans are
placed in little dark shed next TO
/ her kitchen until they are started,
and then brought into the light as
her experience directs. Each Christ
mas this old lady sends at least fifty
growing plants to the old folks home
in her neighborhood and when Easter
j comes she has a similar bit OF good
cheer ready. Others are distributed
among her friends and neighbors. Her
only expenditure in money is a ten
cent can Of red paint. The rest is
PeNASASS oh0 t0fiuS lSdIot 7M1llCu GU
able her to distribute welcome gifts
with lavish hand.
The horticultnrist Of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture last week made
out upon request special list Of
hardy plants which can be grown in
pots in the average home. These
include begonias, coleus, fuchsias,
heliotrope, tradescentia. smilax, as
pidistra, cacti. petunias and Kenil-
worth ivy. This assortment includes
Towering plants, foliage plants and
training vines. Except the begonias,
which are bulbs, all can be grown
from slips procured from the florists
or othtr plants. Geraniums are the
most reliable and can be grown either
for foliage or for flowers. If foliage
/ is desired, the plants should be wat
cred freely II flowers are the chief
object. the plants should be kept very
dry, almost to a whiting point, as this
, is their native condition. They. need
no be kept in a warm pfase and ars
not injured II the temperature falls
as low as 40 degrees at night
Fuchsias are not seen as, frequently
as a few years ago, partly because
they are not reliable bloomers, al
though the rich graceful flowers we'll