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

Various Hints

_Artificial manures--Labelling--Cutting off dead flowers--Buying
plants--Tidiness in the garden, etc._

With far the larger half of our population =the question of cost= comes
into everything. There are so many claims on our purses, that the money
spent on recreations can only be a small part; moreover, is always liable
to be drawn on at any moment. Somehow, the money laid out on a garden
always seems to be grudged, especially when it is for such things as
manure, so that if that item can be reduced, so much the better.

=A "WRINKLE."= One good way of buying it, is to get the boys who sweep the
roads to bring the contents o