If a small garden has room for any fruit-trees, apples are the most useful kind to grow; they can be so trained as to take up little room; for instance, in espalier fashion, down each side of a sunny walk. These apple-hedges are a lovely sight in spring and also in the autumn, when the ruddy fruit is waiting to drop into the outstretched hand. Though names can easily be given, it is generally a good plan to make enquiries in the neighbourhood as to the best varieties to grow, for so much depends on soil and position. Colloquial names are often given, which require identifying with existing varieties; this can be done by sending up a specimen of the fruit to the manager of a correspondence column in some reliable gardening magazine. These gentlemen are generally able to give the desired information, and no charge is made. A surer method still is to send the fruit which it is desired to identify to some well-known nurseries, such as those of Messrs. Rivers at Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire; they have acres upon acres of splendid fruit-trees of every kind, and my readers cannot do better than purchase all they require from them. Having such wide experience, they can recommend varieties suitable for all kinds of soil and all sorts of positions. For small gardens, apple-trees grafted on the paradise stock are much to be recommended, as they are compact in habit, taking up but little room and begin bearing almost at once. Messrs. Rivers guarantee their trees on this stock to continue in full-bearing for many years. “Plant pears, and you plant for your heirs” is the old saying, but this is all changed now that the quince stock is used so much. Cordon pears on wire fencing bear first-rate crops, and are particularly good for small gardens; the diagonal cordon is perhaps the best. Cooking pears can be grown on north walls, but it is not advisable to try dessert varieties on such a cold aspect.

STONE FRUIT. To grow stone fruit successfully, the soil must contain a fair quantity of lime; moreover the trees, especially if trained against walls, must be kept well-watered at the stoning period. After the fruit has been picked, less moisture is required.

Standard plants are very profitable, as crops of currants and gooseberries can be grown beneath them; this double system of cropping the ground being a great advantage where space is a consideration. Plums require little pruning, and are also not so liable to attacks of birds as other fruit. When ordering, do not get too many trees of one variety, a good selection will give a long succession of fruit; this applies to all kinds of fruit-trees.

Currants are a very manageable fruit, as they do well in almost any position; heavy crops can be secured from bushes planted on north borders, the black currant thriving though it only gets a minimum of sunshine; gooseberries are not exacting either, and will give a good return for a small amount of labour. Both may be propagated by cuttings, and are very reasonable in price, only costing about four shillings a dozen. Messrs. Rivers’ stock of maiden peach-trees and nectarines is unsurpassed, and many of the best kinds obtainable have been raised by them, and are of worldwide fame. Regarding that oft-debated question of protecting the blossom in spring, they do not advise anything in the nature of bracken to be used, this often doing more harm than good. If possible, a glass coping should be placed along the top of the wall, from which tiffany can depend on cold nights; unless this be done, it is best to leave them alone. Fine crops are often obtained in the south and west of England without any protection whatever, the good seasons amply compensating for the bad.

It occasionally happens that the amateur has an advantage over the market grower. This is particularly the case where one wants to curtail the depredations of birds; it pays to protect a few yards of fruit, but where it is a case of several acres, the trees have to take their chance. Cherries have to be watched very carefully in this respect; it is very desirable to keep the Morello cherries hanging long, as they then become sweeter and make good tarts. These trees do very well on north walls.

WANT OF FLAVOUR. One great fault noticeable in fruit-growing of recent years is that everything is sacrificed to size and appearance, flavour being at a discount; the shows have had a great deal to do with this; in the old days, when they were fewer in number, the test of a fruit was its taste. Strawberries in particular have deteriorated in this way, the huge kinds now seen often being absolutely devoid of the luscious flavour generally associated with them. Of course we have better keeping varieties, and they can be obtained much later than was once the case. If the culture of the perpetual varieties is extended strawberries will be in season many weeks longer, and this will be extremely good news for invalids, who find it as a rule one of the easiest fruits to digest. The cultivation of strawberries is fairly easy, but their wants must be regularly attended to. Once in three years the old plants must be taken up, and new ones (the “runners” issuing from the old) planted instead; in the summer a good mulching of strawy manure should be placed between the rows, as this helps to keep the fruit clean, besides enriching the soil. Plants which are expected to bear a good crop of fruit must have all their runners cut off as fast as they appear, as it exhausts the plants much to bear both. Strawberries are partial to rather a light soil, but nearly all other fruit-trees revel in a mixture of loam and clay, with a little sand to keep it open. This soil does not suffer so much from drought, and, being firmer, the larger trees can send their roots down and get a far better hold of the ground than is possible in shingly, poor soils.

ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL. Vegetables take up a good deal of room in a garden if they are wanted all the year round, but a few things can be easily grown. Scarlet runner beans, being ornamental as well as useful, are some of the best vegetables to grow, as they can be made to form a convenient screen for a rubbish heap. These can be brought up from seed sown early in April, and, when a foot high, require sticks; these come rather expensive if new ones are used every summer, but with care they will last two and even three seasons, though latterly they become very brittle. On the rubbish heap, marrows can be grown with the greatest facility, as they revel in the rich warmth there found. They should be bought when a few inches high, and planted out at the end of May, as they are only half hardy. When the flower at the end drops off they are ready to cut; if allowed to get much larger they lose all their flavour. A few, however, should be allowed to become quite ripe, as they can be used in the autumn for making apple-tart, two parts apple to one part marrow, and they also make a good jam when spiced with ginger, etc.

RELATIONS OF THE SUNFLOWERS. Jerusalem artichokes will flourish on a north border, and come in very nicely during November; they are planted in exactly the same manner as potatoes, that is, by means of pieces containing two or three “eyes,” which should go in about February. Like potatoes, too, they can be stored; though so tall, they do not require any sticks; these artichokes present much the same appearance as the ordinary cottager’s sun-flower (indeed, the botanical name is identical, helianthus), having thick, hollow stems, covered with long, pointed, hairy leaves.

Potatoes are rather “kittle-kattle” for amateurs, but where the soil is light they should certainly be tried, especially where there is room for a rotation of crops, as successive planting should not be made in the same place. Beware of giving rank manure to them, a sure precursor of disease; artificial manures, such as guano are far more suitable. No trees must be allowed near them, but a sunny open piece of ground be given up to them. March is the month to plant and the rows should be from fifteen inches to two feet apart.

Carrots and turnips also prefer a light soil and sunny situation. Seeds of both should be sown in March, when the soil is in a friable condition, several times subsequently; the seeds must be well thinned out, and the space between the rows constantly turned by the hoe; the latter operation is particularly needful in heavy land, as it not only destroys weeds, but prevents the soil from caking: the rows should be about a foot apart. Before the turnips are ready, the young green tops make a vegetable by no means to be despised.

Herbs, such as mint, parsley, mustard and cress, should be grown in every garden, as they take up but little space and are so much dearer to buy. Mint is perennial, and will come up year after year, giving no trouble whatever; it spreads rapidly and will grow anywhere. To start a bed, roots can be bought from some market-gardener, or cuttings can be struck from the bunches bought in the shops.

Parsley is a biennial, though generally grown as an annual, because the leaves from young plants are much the best; the seeds should be sown two or three times a year, beginning about February, in a sheltered nook; this herb likes plenty of sun; even the curliest varieties degenerate if placed in a damp shady situation. It prefers light soil, and gives a better winter supply than where the soil is heavy. Flower-heads must be cut off regularly to keep the plants in good condition, though just a few of the best kinds may be allowed to perfect their seed, which should be sown as soon as ripe. Mustard and cress should also be sown several times during the summer; the cress must be sown three or four days before the mustard, to obtain them ready for cutting at the same time; both must be cut almost directly they appear, as, if allowed to grow tall, they become tough, and their flavour is lost; these seeds require no thinning out, the exception that proves the rule.

CHAPTER XIII

Many amateurs look upon annuals as rubbishy things to grow, and only suitable for the children’s gardens, but that is because they have generally failed to grow them properly. With the improved kinds now in cultivation, it is possible to make the portion of the flower-garden devoted to them “a thing of beauty” if not “a joy for ever.” As it is more satisfactory to bring them up from the beginning, I have described in Chapter XVI. a method generally successful. Seed-sowing out-of-doors being rather precarious, I have found it advisable to sow all the smaller seeds either in a green-house or frame, however hardy the annual be. This not only saves endless trouble in the way of protecting the seed from birds, etc., but is advantageous in that one has an earlier display of bloom, owing to the growth being quicker under glass. Below is a table of the choicest kinds:—

The seeds of all these, true to name and ripe for germination, may be obtained from Messrs. Barr, Long Ditton, Surrey, who sell sixpenny packets of all these kinds; small quantities of the well-known sorts only costing threepence. This is a great advantage to owners of small gardens, as one does not wish to give 1s. 6d. or 2s. 6d. for perhaps two thousand seeds of one variety, when only two or three dozen are required. Penny packets of seeds may be had from the One and All Company at most greengrocer’s, and are really wonderful value for the money.

CHAPTER XIV

When strong wooden boxes have been procured, it is quite easy to tack on the cork one’s self, provided one has a sharp knife and a good supply of long nails, and it is most fascinating work; it is advisable to wear gloves during the process, as the hands may become rough otherwise. Seven pounds of the cork may be had for a shilling of any seedsman, and three lots will do two boxes of the average size. The soil should be fairly light, like that used for potting, but before the boxes are filled, several holes, bored with a red-hot poker, should be made in the bottom, and a thin layer of “crocks” spread over them; do not quite fill the box with soil, but leave an inch or two free to allow of watering, and even more if a layer of moss or cocoa-nut fibre is used to cover the surface of the soil; this is certainly an improvement till the plants get large enough to cover it themselves. Only artificial manures must be used to fertilize the roots, and even those must not be given too often, but only in the hot weather, when growth is quick, as they are stimulating to a great degree.

Constant renewals are necessary, if the boxes are to look gay all the year round; even the best gardeners acknowledge this. If continuous bloomers are chosen, however, the cost is considerably modified. Perhaps the winter shrubs are the most expensive item; yet they are often chosen without much regard to cheerfulness; indeed, the favourite kinds present a most funereal appearance.

Aspect has always a good deal to do with the selection of plants, but in the case of windows facing north and east, it is the cold winds more than the absence of sun which restricts the choice. Shelter is a great factor in their well-being.

SHOWY IN WINTER. In a cosy box with a western exposure, and protected on the north, the golden-tipped retinosporas make a pretty show during the cold months of the year, and form a welcome change from the prevailing dark green tones. Cotoneasters, pernettyas, and the variegated euonymus are also very suitable. The polypody ferns, being evergreen, look very well too, and will thrive facing all four points of the compass. In the spring, dwarf wall-flowers, interspersed with different kinds of bulbs, make the boxes look bright, and the new pyrus maulei is also very pretty at this season. The perennial candytuft, too, is a splendid flower for late spring, particularly iberis correafolia, which has a neat habit, and bears quantities of snow-white flowers; it likes sun, and not too much moisture. The yellow jasmine, which is so pretty in winter, looks extremely well when allowed to droop over the edges of a box, as it flowers in quite a young state. The mossy saxifrages are suitable for the edges of the box, and are always ornamental; their charming white flowers, supported on red stalks, appear about May.

Such bulbs as the Duc Van Thol tulips are very bright, and mix well with the shrubs; they should be put in some time in October. Crocuses look well, too, but should not be placed in the same box as the tulips, or too gaudy an appearance will result. A thick planting along the front of the box of the Starch hyacinth—muscari—is uncommon, and an exceedingly nice thing to have, as the moment the window is open fragrant whiffs, resembling new-mown hay, pour into the room, especially on a sunny morning. When these bulbs have to make way for the summer flowers, it is advisable to plant them out in the garden and use another lot next year, as the constant transplantation somewhat weakens them. Of course, one could leave them in the box during the summer, if it were not for the unsightly decaying leaves, which must on no account be cut off.

About the middle of May for the South of England, and a fortnight later for the North, is the time to furnish the boxes for the summer. If the window is small, low-growing plants and trailers should prevail.

FOR COLD ASPECTS. Some good flowers for north and east aspects are fuschias, calceolarias, begonias, and the lovely white campanula isophylla; the latter thrives best in such conditions, bearing finer flowers for a much greater length of time than where the sun scorches it. These plants accord well with stucco, which serves to show up their whiteness more than anything. Marguerites, yellow and white, also thrive in the cooler windows of a house, and are not so exigent in the matter of watering when so placed. When selecting begonias for boxes it is well to choose the single varieties with moderate-sized blossoms; the big flabby ones soon become spoilt by rain, and are not produced so freely, nor is their habit of growth so good.

For hot situations the double geraniums are splendid, but they should not be mixed with lobelias, as they look infinitely better when grouped by themselves, the shades ranging from dark crimson to the palest salmon-pink.

PRETTY TRAILERS. The quick-growing tradescantia with its many-jointed stems and glossy bright green leaves, softens the somewhat formal appearance of the geraniums, and will cover all the bare soil in a marvellously short space of time, and droop over the edges in long streamers; it is quite distinct from the tall tradescantias mentioned in a former chapter, and is the easiest thing in the world to propagate, as any little bits saved over from a bouquet will make roots in a bowl of water, or they can be “struck” in the ordinary way in a pot under glass. The variegated tradescantia is a very choice trailer, but a little more tender than the other, and requires a sunny position, while the plain green variety will do anywhere outside in the summer, even growing well under trees.

For autumn there are the hardy chrysanthemums, and if dwarf varieties with fibrous roots are chosen, a very good show can be made with these till the middle or end of November. The protection afforded them by the house keeps them in good condition longer than when they are in the open, especially when a thin veiling, such as tiffany, is afforded them on cold nights. Even newspapers will keep out several degrees of frost, and form a very cheap method of protection.

CHAPTER XV

STEM-SPLITTING. Lilac, when cut and placed in water will absorb no more moisture than a lead pencil, unless the stems are split up; this can be done either with a hammer or a knife or both. As many leaves as possible should be left on the stems, for when under water they largely help to make the blossoms last well; it is only where the stalks are nearly leafless that the splitting and peeling is necessary.

Maidenhair fern may be made to last much longer if the end of the black, wiry stem is hammered for about an inch up.

It must not be forgotten that cutting from a plant strengthens it, and induces it to continue sending up flower-stalks. People often seem chary of cutting their roses with any length of stem, I suppose because it has leaves and shoots all the way up, but this is an error; they should be cut with about eight or ten inches of stalk; pansies and violas also look much more natural when a portion of the shoot is cut along with each blossom.

BY PARCEL POST. On hot summer days, when flowers are to be sent by post, they should be picked early in the morning, several hours before they are to be sent off, and placed in bowls of water; then, if they are packed close together in tin, wood, or even card-board boxes they will arrive quite fresh at their destination, where otherwise they would be hopelessly faded. When a box of flowers is received, the contents should be put in luke-warm water in a dim light for an hour or so; they can then be re-arranged in the vases they are intended to occupy.

BLUE—A DAYLIGHT COLOUR. Some colours respond to artificial light much better than others. Most shades of blue are not suitable for decorating dinner tables, because they turn almost brown, or at best a dull mauve. In choosing violets, therefore, for evening wear, it will be found that the blossoms which have thin, rather washed-out petals of the lightest purple will look best, the full blue not being nearly so effective. For luncheon, an arrangement of purple clematis in vases on the palest pink ground is lovely, but does not look quite so well by gas-light, though here again if the least velvety flowers are chosen for evening, a good effect can be obtained.

Yellow is a splendid evening colour, but must be bright, or it will look merely cream. A dining-room panelled in light oak, adorned with yellow marguerites alone, is very pleasing to the eye. In the spring, laburnum makes a novel dressing for a dining-table; care, however, must be exercised with this flower, as the pods are poisonous. Blue also looks well with brown in the day-time; larkspurs, forget-me-nots, plumbago, campanulas, nemophilla, etc., all look very well. We know how artistic blue porcelain is on oak shelves, and, if the flowers have a white eye or are veined with white, the effect is somewhat the same. Scarlet is a good gas or electric light colour, but it must be used judiciously, and as a rule only be mixed with white, just as the ladies at a regimental ball are generally only allowed to robe themselves in this pure shade.

SIMPLICITY. Now-a-days the decorations are rarely made so high that one cannot see the other side of the table. Though this arrangement might occasionally be useful in hiding the face of an enemy, on the whole it was found inconvenient; accordingly they have climbed down; the “bazaar-stall” fashion is also disappearing, and flat table-centres are used instead, or none at all. Simplicity is the great cry now, and though of course it may be costly, a charming effect is obtained with fewer flowers than was formerly considered correct, and is moreover easily imitated by an artistic eye in less expensive blossoms.

Some of the flowers to be had in each respective season are enumerated on p. 86. It will be noticed that where plenty of out-door blossoms are to be had, the hot-house varieties are omitted.

TABLE OF NATURAL AND FORCED FLOWERS FOR EACH MONTH.

The cost of a flower is always in proportion to its blooming time. If lilies of the valley are wanted in August, they must be paid for heavily, as retarded bulbs (those which have been kept in ice) are used to produce them.

CHAPTER XVI

A good many plants which might be propagated by division of the roots are propagated instead by cuttings, as the flowers come finer in every way, and of course this method suits many plants which cannot be divided. Chrysanthemums present few difficulties; though the ultimate growth of this Japanese plant entails a vast amount of labour (if prizes are the object in view), yet cuttings from them are the easiest things possible to strike, even easier than a geranium, as there is no damping off. Cuttings are generally struck under glass, this method being the surest, even with hardy plants. The shoots selected should be well ripened, and the cut made squarely below a joint and be taken with a “heel” if possible, that is, with a piece of the old wood attached. All but the topmost leaves should be pinched off, and then the cuttings must be inserted round the sides of the pot, and the soil well pressed down,—the best cuttings in the world cannot make roots unless this be attended to. After that a good watering should be given them, and the pots set in a shady place till they have emitted roots, which may be known by the fact of their beginning to make new leaves. Some cuttings root better when the cut is allowed to form a “callus,” which in warm weather only takes a few hours.

Rose cuttings root very well out of doors on a north border, and trees produced in this manner are often very satisfactory, but they take a long while to come to a flowering stage, somewhat trying the patience of ardent amateurs.

One can gradually get quite a nice collection of interesting plants, by striking all the likely shoots in the different bunches of flowers received from friends, but it is generally best to identify them as soon as possible, so as to give each the right treatment.

Propagation by seed is quite a fascinating employment, and is a successful method, if pains are taken; though so many amateurs seem to fail. I have found it the safest plan, with all except the largest seeds, to bring them up under glass. Even the hardiest can be treated in this way, and one feels so much more sure of the result. For one thing, birds cannot get at them, therefore there is no need to make a network of black cotton to keep them off; neither can the cat meddle with them, and we all know pussy is a very bad gardener.

The pans specially sold for the purpose are the best, but pots will do very well. Fill them with fine moist soil, and press firmly down; then scatter the seed thinly on the top, and only cover with a slight layer of soil, afterwards placing in a dark corner. Where the seed is very small, do not cover with any mould at all, but, as an extra protection, place a piece of cardboard over the top of the pot, so that they shall not be blown away. Seeds like a still atmosphere, moisture, warmth, and darkness. Seeds and seedlings must not be watered in the ordinary way, but the pan containing them should be placed in a saucer of water, when enough moisture will be drawn up by capillary attraction. Thinning is extremely necessary; every plant must be given room to attain its full dimensions; where this is not done, the result is most unsatisfactory. As regards the time for sowing, of course, spring is the most usual, but in the case of annuals it will often be found a good plan to sow a few in autumn, as, by pursuing this method, nice stocky little plants are ready for the garden quite early in the season, and give flowers long before spring-sown seed could possibly do so.

Propagation by layering is very useful, as cuttings of some plants will not strike readily. Strong shoots are denuded of their leaves for a few inches, and their stems slit up and pressed into the ground by means of a peg; when firmly rooted, they can be detached from the parent plant by means of a penknife. Carnations are generally reproduced in this way, as it is the surest method of all.

CHAPTER XVII

I will treat first of palms, which, though such slow-growing subjects, seem the favourite of all for home decoration, owing to their grace of form and good lasting properties. If you observe the roots of most palms, you will see that, attached in an odd way to the rising stem is a sort of bulb, not unlike a pigmy potato. This excrescence, which should only be covered by a thin layer of soil, stores up nutriment for the plant’s use, in much the same way as a hyacinth or daffodil does. This accounts in a great measure for its power in enduring dryness of the soil without flagging, which property, however, should not be abused. Palms should be watered as regularly, though not so often, as more sappy plants.

THE CORRECT WAY TO WATER. Numbers of people do not know how to give water in the correct way, whereby the florist prospers! The golden rule is never to water a plant until it requires it, and then to do it thoroughly. It is fatal merely to moisten the top of the soil, and to leave the deeper roots dry. First give a sharp tap to the pot; if it rings, water is required; if, on the contrary, a dull sound is given out, the soil is wet enough. Lifting a pot is a sure test too, as one’s hand soon becomes accustomed to the difference in weight of a moist and dry pot; the former, of course, being so much heavier. Always see that the water runs through the hole at the bottom of the pot, then you may be sure that each particle of soil is wet, and not till then. If you possibly can, it is best to use water of a corresponding temperature to that of the room they are in; this is most important with delicate plants. Large, shiny, horizontal-leaved plants require a weekly sponging to remove the inevitable dust which settles on them. Gloves should be worn while this is being done, as contact with the skin turns the edges of the leaves yellow; also gloves, of course, help to keep the hands soft and white. Plants with large leaves should never be watered overhead, unless immediately wiped dry, as each drop allowed to stand on the leaf turns yellow, rots, and finally quite spoils the leaf, so that it has to be removed. Palms will stand gas fairly well, but not so well as aspidistras.

THE BEST PLANTS FOR DARK CORNERS. An aspidistra (please note spelling) is the best plant there is for roughing it. The long, thick, dark leaves seem to stand draughts, gas, dark corners, poor soil, and general neglect almost with impunity. But here again watering overhead is fatal, as regards the appearance of these plants.

The leaves should be washed once a week, but I will just say here that where one is in a hurry, and cannot wait to get a sponge and water, a good polish with a duster is not at all a bad substitute.

There are disputes occasionally as to whether aspidistras ever flower. Of course, it is an undoubted fact that they do, and I can give a decided affirmative to any who may question it. My plants flower regularly every spring, but, as these blooms are a dull, greenish-purple in colour, and only sit, as it were, on the top of the soil, they are naturally overlooked.

The modesty of the violet is nowhere when compared with the aspidistra!

Aralias are good room plants, for they have a bold and handsome form, and glossy, bright green foliage, very like that of a fig. They do not stand gas well, however, but, as so many houses are lighted by electricity, this is less of a drawback than was formerly the case. If not regularly watered, too, they have a habit of dropping their leaves; otherwise they are of easy culture. As they grow taller, the lower leaves, even on a healthy plant, generally drop off.

LEGGY PLANTS. It is a good way, when these and kindred plants become “leggy,” to improve their appearance by cutting off the old root, and making them root higher up the stem. Where the plant is valuable, it is best to be sure of new roots before throwing away the old, but, as a rule, aralias have so many joints that they may easily be induced to strike by just pressing the stem firmly into the soil, then putting the pot in some dark place, and keeping the soil rather dry, though the foliage must be kept moist. To be quite sure of success, however, it is best to treat them in the following manner:—Choose a handful of soil with a little loam in it, and, wetting the stem slightly, press the soil round two or three of the joints, and bind closely with some raffia or bass, being very careful to keep the soil always moist, or the plant will fail to make roots. Some people enclose this part of the stem in two halves of a small flower-pot, which is a good plan, if the stem will bear the weight, as it preserves a more even temperature.

The hare’s-foot fern—Davallia canariensis—with its beautiful blue-green fronds, much divided and elegantly arched, makes the loveliest room plant imaginable, and, though fairly common, is not often seen in a good state of health. I have found that, on first buying a pot of this fern, the leaves almost invariably turn rusty and drop off, so that, as the new fronds sometimes do not appear for some while, an amateur might really be pardoned for imagining the plant dead. This is not so; the hare’s-foot merely resents the change of atmosphere (it has probably been in a moist green-house), and, like most of us, takes time to settle down. Once it has acclimatised itself, there is no better plant to be had for the purpose. It is so essentially decorative that no one can fail to admire it. Firm potting is important in growing the davallia, and it does not seem so partial to water as most of the fern tribe. It will also stand gas pretty well, if not shut up for the night in an atmosphere charged with it, and this is the case with many room plants; they strongly object to being left to spend the night in the impure air, though a few hours each evening will not do them much harm. The plan of taking them out at bed-time also prevents so much dust accumulating on their leaves, an inevitable drawback where a room is thoroughly swept and dusted.

Always endeavour to keep your plants well balanced. In a room, it is impossible to do this, without constantly turning the pots round, so that all parts may get the light. In summer, this has to be attended to nearly every day, but in winter less often, as the sun is, of course, much less powerful.

As regards re-potting, great care must be exercised, or more harm than good will result. Palms will grow for years in quite small pots, and do not thrive if over-potted. On the other hand, some plants require it annually, but, seldom or often, unless for some special reason, re-potting should always be done in the spring. From the beginning of February until the end of May, a plant may safely be shifted on, as it is called, because all these months comprise the growing season, when fresh roots are emitted and new leaves being produced almost daily. See that the pot is perfectly clean and dry, and the soil in a friable condition; it should be composed of peat, loam and sand in equal parts; a little leaf mould, where it is for a fern proper, will be beneficial. A potting soil ready prepared may be had for about a shilling a peck from any seedsman, which saves time and trouble in mixing. Be sure to put clean crocks in at the bottom, or the soil will become sour. Shake the pot every now and again as you fill it up, to ensure no crevices being left; loose potting has caused the death of many a fine plant. When the pot is full, press the mould down, leaving from half an inch to an inch (according to the size) bare of soil to the rim of the pot, to allow of watering. It is well to put a layer, about half an inch thick, of cocoa-nut fibre on the top of the soil, as this looks neat, and serves to show off the foliage to the best advantage. Enough of the fibre to cover several dozen pots may be had for threepence. Guano is good, if supplied to the plants during the warmer months of the year. The proportions of guano to water can always be seen on the label pasted on the outside of the tin. It is well to remember that guano should never be given to a plant when the soil is dry, but always just after it has been watered.

Saucers or jardinieres should be emptied as a rule an hour after the plants have been watered, though where ferns seem to flourish most when allowed to stand in water, it is well to continue the practice. In very hot weather, this is undoubtedly of benefit to many plants, but in the winter the soil of all pot plants should err on the dry side, cold and damp together often proving fatal.

GOOD FOR TWO-THIRDS OF THE YEAR. There are some first-rate plants which refuse to look well for the coldest part of the year (unless one is possessed of an hot-house), but which are really capital for brightening our rooms for at least eight months in the twelve. Of these, the asparagus “fern” is perhaps the most useful. It is a lovely and graceful plant, which bears cutting, and it lasts so long, both in and out of water. Being, however, in reality a stove plant, amateurs who have no warmed green-house must not expect to keep it in thoroughly good health during the winter, but so soon as the spring appears, new green stems will shoot up in all directions, and the old fronds will soon be replaced by bright green feathery plumes of infinite grace.

Pteris wimsetti is a charming room plant.

Young eucalyptus plants are also very pretty for decorating a room, and are supposed to be good as a disinfectant. Their habit of growth is uncommon, and very charming to watch, as they quickly reach to an effective size, and make large handsome plants to set in the corners of reception rooms. It is best to bring them up by seed, which should be sown in February or March. Spring is the best time to buy room-plants.

CHAPTER XVIII