Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 March 1880 — Growing Plants in Living Rooms. [ARTICLE]

Growing Plants in Living Rooms.

Th e following embraces extracts from an address delivered by Peter B. Mead before the New Jersey Horticultural Society: To snow you that 1 have some right to speak on the subject, as well as to win your confidence, 1 will state that I have grown plants in rooms since I was a boy. In this way I have grown, of species and varieties, several thousands: indeed, I have more than once had upward of six hundred in the house at the same time, nearly every window being ornamented in this way. I may, therefore, be supposed to know what kinds of plants sucoeed best in rooms. I will ada that I have had no inconsiderable experience in growing plants in the greenhouse, and I am oompelled to admit that to grow a plant well in a room taxes one’s knowledge and skill more than to grow the same plant well in a greenhouse. There is, therefore, no occasion for the sneers that we sometimes hear about growing plants in rooms. . Some of you may ask whether plants in rooms are detrimental to health. Speaking from my own experience, I most say they are not. I have even had my bed-room windows crowded with plants during the whole winter. It must be observed, however, that some persons have very delicate and susceptible nervous systems, and cannot endure even the delioate fragrance of the rose. Such persons may be injured by, or suffer great Inconvenience from, fragrant flowers. I have known some suoh persons, however, to receive much pleasure from the cultivation of inodorless flowers. Aside from suoh oases, I know of no injury likely to arise from growing Slants in rooms; but I know of a great eal of solid comfort and pleasure. Thus much on the score of injury to the health of the grower. I will turn next to the conditions best adapted to the health of the plants. Since the general use of hot-air furnaces and baseburning stoves, the difficulties of growing plants in rooms have been muoh increased. In parting with the fire on the hearth and the wood-burning stove we parted with a good deal of pure, healthy air. But we must make the best of it, and have recourse to ventilation and open windows aud doors in connection with some expedients to be hereafter noted.

In regard to exposure, a room facing the south is the best; next, east; next, west; and last, north. There are seme plants that are very well adapted to either of these exposures, which will be mentioned in their turn. There are some “accessories” which are almost indispensable. A barrel or two of good soil should be put in the cellar, ana not left out-of-doors. The best soil for general purposes is rotted sod. A good outfit would consist of rotted sod, leaf mold from the woods, old, well-rotted manure, and sharp sand of any kind, except sea sand. If rotted sod cannot be had, get the best soil you can; for yon can make it good enough with the other materials. Next, something tb Stand the plants on. Have a box made throe and a half feet long, two and a half feet wide and three or four inches deep, and, if convenient, lined with zinc. Place this on a table, and fill it with clean sand, which should be kept moist. This will promote cleanliness as well as the health of the plants. It will, be a great convenience to have the table fitted with

roller*, not only for rolling it back am cold nights, but tar handling tke plants triton necessary to change or dean them. There is no necessity for saucers buL Jtay this arrangement, can be Irebly prevents the accumulation at red spider *and some other insect poets. TIM drip is absorbed by the sand, and no harm is done to the carpet. The moist sand table has another advantage: The evaporation that slowly bat constantly takes plaoe from its snrfaoe greatly promotes the health of the plants. Perhaps the ladies will admit that a vaporiser is a good thing to hare. The plants think so, and so do L loan only allude briefly to the use and composition of soils. Rotted sod, redoeed with more or lees sand, is well adapted for most kinds of plants. In the absence of rotted sod, a good compost may be made of any common soil, leaf mold and sand, to which should be added, if convenient, a little well-rotted manure. If you have no manure, then drop in the water occasionally a lamp of carbonate of ammonia or a few drops of hartshorn. Do not at any time nse guano, either in the soil or in the water. For the cactus and succulents generally the soil should be light and sandy. In regard to watering, do not have any set time for this, but water a plant whenever it needs it, or as soon as the soil gets dry on the surface, and then five it enough to go quite through the all of earth. Plants like the calls, however, should be kept constantly wet. 4 plant in bloom needs more water than when not in bloom; a plant in a dormant condition needs less than when growing, and some plants, when dormant, require to be kept quite dry. It would take too much time to classify these plants here. A good brass syringe, with duplicate roses, is quite a necessity. A watering-pot about nine inches deep, seven inches in diameter, with a spout two and one-half feet long, iittfti with a couple of roses of different degrees of fineness, is a very convenient thing for a lady to handle. The face of the rose should be flat and made of copper. One rose should have very fine holes. The common handle is an awkward thing. Instead of being placed at the top, and at right angles with the spout, it should start at the edge nearest the spout and pass over the top to near the bottom of the pot, m a line with the spout. In placing the plants in position on the table do not crowd them. No two plants should touch each other. No matter what your knowledge and skill, or how painstaking you may be, you cannot grow good plants if you crowd them; not, at least, what I oall good Slants. You cannot do it in a greenouse, much less in a room. It is much more satisfactory to have a few well-grown plants than to have many poorly grown. Place the plants, therefore, in a proper position, and so that each may have a due share of sunshine and light. The spaces between the pots may be very prettily filled in with selaginellas, ferns, festuca glauea, tradescantia and similar plants that like a little shade. Syringe or vaporize the plants frequently overhead.' Open the windows at top or bottom when the weather is mild. On very cold nights pull down the shade ana roll the table a little back from the window. If you have but little fire-heat, you can, on cold nights, .spread. some papers or a sheet over the plants. Do not keep the room too warm. In brief, be thoughtful and observant, and these and many other things will naturally suggest themselves.