is to move them away from the
windows; put sheets of newspaper inside the panes, not, however,
touching the glass, as a "dead air space" must be left between. Where
there is danger of freezing, a kerosene lamp or stove left burning in
the room overnight will save them. Never, when the temperature outside
is below freezing, should plants be left where leaves or blossoms may
touch the glass.

As with the problem of light, so with that of temperature--the specially
designed place for plants, no matter how small or simple a little nook
it may be, offers greater facility for furnishing the proper conditions.
But it is, of course, not imperative, and as I have said, there is
probably not one home in twenty where a number of sorts of plants cannot
be safely carried through the winter.

MOISTURE

It would seem, at first thought, that the proper condition of moisture
could be furnished as easily in the house as anywhere. And so it can be
as far as applying water to the soil is concerned; but the air in most
dwellings in winter is terribly deficient in moisture. The fact that a
room is so dry that plants cannot live in it should sound a warning to
us who practically live there for days at a time, but it does not, and
we continue to contract all sorts of nose and throat troubles, to say
nothing of more serious diseases. No room too dry for plants to live in
is fit for people to live in. Hot-air and steam heating systems
especially, produce an over-dry condition of the atmosphere. This can
be overcome to a great or complete extent by thorough ventilation and by
keeping water constantly where it can evaporate; over radiators, etc.
This should be done for the sake of your own health, if not for that of
the plant.

Further information as to watering and ventilation will be found in
Chapter VII (page 45), but before we get anxious about just how to take
care of plants we must know how to get them, and before getting them we
must know what to give them to grow in--the plant's foundation. So for a
little we must be content with those prosaic but altogether essential
matters of soil, manures and fertilizers, which in the next chapter I
shall try to make clear in as brief manner as possible.

CHAPTER III

SOILS, MANURES AND FERTILIZERS

The soil must furnish the whole foundation of plant life. For centuries
those who have grown things have realized the vital importance of having
the soil rich or well supplied with plant