Evening star., 1937-01-13
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
MARGARET GERMOND.
GROW THEM INDOORS. BY Allen H.
Wood, jr. Boston: Hale, Cushman

once upon Time all houses III Inis
fair country were blessed with feature
which was considered as essential as the
roof. 1t was plot of ground that served
multitude of useful purposes in the
art of home making For at least seven
months in the year it famed with the
rioting colors of growing, blossoming
plants. Little girls played keeping
house" beneath shade tree or relived
the adventures of Cinderella, with an old
wheelbarrow serving as the pumpkin
coach. Little boys became red-skinned
braves as they lurked in the dense forest
OF syringa bush, or marched of to war
behind valorous leader bearing aloft
the tattered remains Of kitchen apron
tied to broomstick.
A rotting piece of plank from high
board fence, stuck in the ground at the
head of patch of wild violets and in
scribed with a childish scrawl, marked
the last resting place of dear old Sport"
the faithful. gentle bird dog whose death
engraved the first scars of sorrow upon
Juvenile hearts. A red brick, standing
end-up at the back of pansy bed and
also appropriately inscribed with chalk
or whitewaSh, marked the grave of "Buz-
zer," the beloved cat who continued to
purr through the process of being dressed
and ridden in doll clothes and carriage.
A cobblestone, laid amid the lilies of the
valley, bore testimony of respect for
another pet, pete" the canary. A high
swing hung from the topmost sturdy
branch of tall tree and bit Of ground
worn bare by the trampling OF tiny feet
furnished the materials for making mud
pies.
This original outdoor theater in Amer
lea. which was source of pleasure and
entertainment for the entire family, was
called the back yard" When Winters
chill began to penetrate the earth, the
plants which were to flourish indoors
were aroused from their Summer rest in
the damp, shady corners of the yard and
placed on their allotted window Sills,
stands and racks Mounds of dead leaves
and street sweepings were piled high
around the roots and over the beds of
those harder varieties that were to re-
main outdoors. Nature in those days did
most of the nurturing of the decorative
and fragrant group of her family of
children.
But, alas. the back yard is almost as
extinct as that favorite bird of the cross
word puzzle makers, the dodo. What
used to be the back yard is now park
ing lot, a tin garage or the site of
tall pile of steel and concrete. All that
actually remains of this one-time revered
and cherished institution has been con-
verted into formal garden or reduced
to the status of a window box usually
on the wrong side of an apartment house.
The urge to grow things, however still
persists as part of the human makeup,
and even against the heavy odds of
overheated rooms, impoverished earth
and unintelligent care the things that
grow make noble effort to foster the
germ of life within them. But there is
no reason for any one who really wants
to cultivate a back yard indoors to
become discouraged because their labors
yield only sickly, anemic fruits. There
are few places where something that is
beautiful will not grow if given intelligent
care There are countless varieties of
blooming as well as non-blooming plants
from which to select those best adapted
to the rooms which they are to grace,
and a little study concerning their ma
ture. their earthly requirements and their
care assures results that make of indoor
gardening a genuinely pleasureable ex-
perience.
In the compilation of "Grow Them
Indoors not anything that the indoor
gardner should know has been left out
by Mr.. Wood. The book has been writ
ten for outdoor as well as indoor gar
denerS. though it is primarily manual
for the guidance of those who need to
know what to grow and how to grow
flowers and fernery in room. an apart
ment. conservatory or house.
Beginning with the fundamentals upon
which successful growing necessarily de-
pends, Mr.. Wood gives full instructions
concerning heat. light, soils. water, ven-
tilation and pruning. He includes, also.
complete directions for the construction
of miniature greenhouses and conserva-
tories where such equipment is desirable.
and chapters on potting, repotting, the
handling of seedlings. bulbs and cut
tings, and the prevention and cure Of
the diseases which afflict various speci-
mems of plant life.
Several hundred plants are recon-
mended as desirable for indoor growing,
giving wide range of selection for al
most any type OF room. Flowerlng bulbs,
cacti and SucculentS, vines and host
OF miscellaneous house plants afford a
choice that intrigueS the imagination
and fosters a desire to become a house
gardener whether or not the reader has
c "er experienced the satisfying joys OF
n4ce, old-fashioned back yard,
Each plant Is fully described, its origin
stated, its scientific as we'll as its COM
mon garden name given and full instruc-
tions for its cultivation and care are
specifically related. And in addition to
this manual of instruction the book also
contains such information that is enter
tanning as we'll as educational. On the
back of the jacket cover, under the head
ing, do You Know?" the following ques-
tions are listed:
How to make a snake plant flower?
What to do with bulbs after they have
fiowered indoors? Why freshly washed
plants should not be left in the sun?
How to grow plants under artificial
light? That most house plants need
resting periods? How plant shows it
is hungry? That charming house plants
can be grown from a grapefruit seed, a
sweet potato, an alligator pear seed?
How to grow plants from leaves? Why
stone plants look like stones? That cacti
grow within the Arctic Circle?"
All of these and many other questions
are answered by Mr.. Wood. The book
is profusely illustrated and contains a
seasonal index, an index to the plants
described in the volume and general
index that fully covers the entire work.
A book. indeed, that makes possible the