Good daylight is essential. A windowsill, however, is not a good place. With a north window the proximity of the glass is too chilling: and with a south window the direct sunshine striking through the glass is too strong. And, however close-fitting the window frame, there are bound to be draughts on the sill. A few plants are tough enough for such a position—geraniums and fuchsias are often seen in windows—but it cerigerous for forced hothouse plants. An unheated room, passage, hall is also unsuitable for such udiects as begonias, caladiums, and crotons.
An overheated atmosphere equally disastrous. For, although the plants come from a hothouse kept at a high temperature, the atmosphere there is also kept very damp. Moisture escapes from plants in proportion to the dryness of the atmosphere in which they are, and if this evaporation is excessive they quickly become exhausted.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.