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Show ' - , I 1 . , , . I - PoCrtX THE INDOOR GARDEN ' Plants ' JSj By LIONEL RICHARDSON ItS- GHT I ij , CXZjT-J i , . , u i i i , i j ii ii i i ii ' . V l LA L rn . jv ' PLANTS MUST BE SELECTED -WITH CAREFUL STUDY onditions of Light, Air, Sunshine and Temperature in Various Rooms of the House Are Very Important to Life of Indoor Plants : ( ' ' ; Hi. . : the year arc the hardy plants tb.it flower in the winter time. Of these the beat known are azaleas, carnations, cyclamen, ardlsla, zonal geianluuis ami violets. All thetse will stand a good . deal of cold, In fact will Ihrlvo better In cool than warm atmosphere, preferably pref-erably from Ao to 55 degrees In the daytime and ten degrees cooler at night. Camellas, dlanlhua, scented geraniums and oxalls arc moderately hardy, requiring about ten degrees more heat than tho other class. In addition to all these, there are many other plants that can be made to bloom In the winter by preventing them from blooming in the summer, cutting off tho blooms as fast as they appear. The soil suitable for most plants is black loam, consisting of from 40 to GO per cent, of sand, the remainder being clay and humus. It may be secured se-cured from n florist, but any person with n garden of, her own can prepare be turned PTery ttvr clays so that the light reaches a different part every time. Now, different plants require a different dif-ferent amount, of light. Ferns, for instance, which' In their native state sf-ck the. heart of the forest where they can be protected from the hot rays of the sun, need less than blooming bloom-ing plants. This should bo considered consid-ered when cultivating a window box. If the exposuro Is to the south or west, where the nun shines all the year around, you need blooming plants; if to the north or east, foliage plants. But both kinds can be accommodated accom-modated In the same box by placing those that require sunshine in the centre, cen-tre, with those that prefer shado at the side. Plant 8 should not be exposed to tho cold, rainy atmosphere of late fall or early spring. As said before, they should be selected with reference to the temperature of the room in which they are expected to grow. They should have fresh air dally, just as human beings. In cold weather the window farthest away from them should be opened for ventilation. then it is time to shift into a larger one. When so doing it Is wise to change tho soil. When potting plants that have been growing indoors one should do so at least two weeks before be-fore bringing them into the house, In order, as It were, to accustom them to new surroundings. Watering. Watering is by far the most Important Impor-tant duty in takluij caro of the indoor garden. Sickly plants, In six cases out of ten, arc the result of being watered Just whenever the owner happens to think of It. A good percentage, of the remainder are caused by an excess of water. Too much is as bad as too little. lit-tle. When over-watered the roots are unable to absorb all the moisture. This causes the soil to become soaked, thus excluding the air. Then the earth becomes be-comes Hour, the roots dec-ay and tho leaves o tho plant turn, jellow and "ill : yr-j mr'H imi 'it H::.-! m t ; : . ' M '.-.---' It-id il: K t-1 C. '.-x-- ...ii. y.im Mi! .!: fall off. When under-watered the roots dry up, with similar results. All potted plants should be watched. Rub a pinch of the soil between the fingers. If it crumbles up without caking, cak-ing, then you know that It Is time to administer water; but if it cake.s then there Is still enough moisture unabsorbed. . The water s-hould bo of the same temperaturo as the room in which the plants are kept and should be clear. People who pour the hot water loft at tho bottom of the tea kettle on their flowers must not be surprised if the roots are scalded to death. The plant should be allowed to stand and drain for some time. Then the excess In tho saucer or Jardiniere Jar-diniere must bo emptied out. When the flowers aro In window boxes, by tho way, holes should be drilled in tho bottoms of the boxes In order to allow the excess moisture to drain off, Syringing is also very important. All plants should be so treated except those whose leaves are covered with hairs (trlchomes). The value of syringing syr-inging is that It helps to keep the foliage clean, the breathing pores of the plants open and the leaves and ttems free from insects. On warm days this syringing should be dono outside, putting tho plants where they can get the sun whllo taking their bath. It Is better not to use a nozzle, but place the thumb over the opening of the hose and spray the water so that it may fall on the leaves like rain. In cold weather this should bo done in tho bathroom. Plant3 with large and tough leaveu, such as palms and rubber rub-ber plants, need to be sponged from time to time. Po this lightly and don't rub the leaves. Turn to tho Light. Frequently you will see In a room a vow of plants that seem all one-sided anil unsyrametrical. In such cases you will notice that the leaves are turned towards the window. This is caused by the natural striving of tho plant for night. Now light Is as neces-sary to fcomo plants as to human beings. These, even though supplied with proper soil, sufficient water and Ideal temperature, frequently fail to bloom and you can bo pretty sure that it is because of lack of light. When a plant stands continually in one position so that It gels the light only from one Hide, the leaves naturally turn towards tho window; hence the lop-sided effect. ef-fect. To obvlato this, the plant should 1 T V -.- z c -; .-r": ; wv ' ' . W- -i $. ' ' L : rmmm ; .1.. . . u . - I T I '! .1, -1 r '. ; v J u - ! c--' -,: - -J ' v- - ;-'' . v -'. AN INEXPENSIVE CONSERVATORY ARRANGEMENT. I ONE does not need to he a florist or FJ.;man to be gad that the popularity cf Indoor gardening is iu'erc asimr rapidly. 1 lanU ' when carefully tended add a tremendous tremen-dous lot to the Interior beauty of tho home and of the psychological value of this It 1.5 hardly necessary to ppeak here. Furthermore, the care of plants affords a healthful relaxation as well - a3 considerable pleasure to both women .who arc busy and those who have not many household duties. Ei'.ch year more materials are being bought for this purpose. The demand for new varieties of flowers that can be grown in pots 13 constantly increasing increas-ing and new forms are now being stocked which are distinctly guperlor to those formerly In vogue. It is not such a frightfully difficult task to grow plants indoors. Many women have started bravely but given it up In disgust through their lack of success without trying to And out the reason. As a matter of fact, most failures fail-ures are eausr-d by lack of knowledge of the most elementary necessities of plants. Despite all the hodge-podge of miscellaneous subjects supposed to be taught in the public school today to-day it seem3 that hardly any peoplo know that everything in tho animal kingdom must have food, water and air Just as much as animals. Now the focd for t.lants i3 presided by the soil and when th-y are potted the nourishing nour-ishing properties in the small amount of soil contained In the pot sometimes become exhausted and must be renewed. re-newed. Then, asain, dry air, dust and improper im-proper temperature are frequent causes of disappointment to the indoor in-door gardener. To guard against loss sho must exercise scleclloji oi tho plants best suited to her purpose. She must not choone those, that require a cool,- moiKt atmosphere to grow in rooms kept very warm anil dry. Furthermore, Fur-thermore, the must not exp-ct ordinary llowers to thrive in a sunless, northerly north-erly exposed window. Before buying her plants eho must study all the conditions: con-ditions: light, air. suushiue, temperature, tempera-ture, that prevail in the different rooms in her house. She1 should choose varieties that can withstand all the drawbacks. : '.' . A' ' rV : '----' ' '.n- -i''". , " "- "k- ' . .5'-' ; v. : ' ...! V. V-h-V. .: i iW y y ;. V .' ',. . : -'v.f .-;:. .? 'M i -r r.l ::.: : : I : . .r:.- ' tVJ !- , . f Don't Duy from Peddlers. Here, right at the outset, is whero so many women make their worst mistakes. mis-takes. They seo an itinerant flower vendor passing In the street and buy on impulse ami without tho slightest forethought. It is a good rule never to buy from vendors or street stands. They nearly always have plants which have been neglected or for some reason rea-son sold oft cheaply by some florist. Then, too, they have prubably bcin hawked through tho streets for days, allowed to wilt and become covered In dust. Moreover, seeds bought from the Itinerants are quite unreliable because these people, though honest enousrh in purpose, no doubt, haven't the tslight-c:jt tslight-c:jt Idea what they are selling and they generally sell anything they can get hold of. For indoor gardening, as for outdoor pardoning, the only pafe and economical plan is to pitronizo a good, reliable florist and seedsman and buy tho best he has. Tho most suitable for this time of her own potting soil by cutting thick sods, piling them up and letting them rot for six mouths. This Is impossible for tho beginner, of course, so ehe hid best have recourse to the florist. Great care should be taken to see that tho pot Is of the right size for the plant It is to contain. If it bo loo large It will have loo much i;oil and this will hold more waler than tha plant can use; then the soil will become topgy and eventually sour, causing decay of tho roots and tho ultimate dea'h of the plant. If the pots aro loo small the roots will not have room to expand In. Furthermore, the nourishing properties In tho too small nmuunt of soil will become prematurely exhausted, as also will the water it lioldi. Don't imagine that, having once chosen the ii v lit size of pot, this matter mat-ter can be dismissed from your mind 03 far as that particular pot Is concerned. con-cerned. The plant has to bo watched and the roots examined. If they are found matted at the bottom of the pot, |