Shading
Throughout the summer months, nearly all indoor plants are benefited by being protected from exposure to the direct rays of the sun, even if they do not absolutely require Shading. Particularly is this remark applicable to stove and greenhouse plants, very few of which, unless they can be placed in the open air, are successfully grown without more or less shade under glass. As a rule, the Shading used should be sufficiently thin to allow light to pass through it, while preventing the sun's rays doing injury. A great variety of material, in various thicknesses, is procurable for Shading plants; the system of fixing thin blinds to rollers, which may be drawn up in dull weather, is one of the best. A permanent shading invariably weakens plants, because in dull weather they cannot get sufficient light. When rollers and blinds cannot be fixed because of the expense, or for other reasons, perhaps the best alternative is to thinly stipple the glass outside with whiting mixed with milk, or some oily substance, which will not readily wash off. If white should be objected to, the solution, before being applied, may be tinted with a substance known as Brunswick green; but, as Shading of this sort would be more or less permanent for a season, it should be put on very lightly. Cutting-boxes, hand-glasses, and small propagating-frames may readily be shaded with sheets of paper, which can be taken off at night and during dull weather.