iterally--you cannot kill it!
But that is no excuse for abusing it either, as there is all the
difference in the world between a well cared for symmetrical plant and
one of the semi-denuded, lop-sided, spotted leaved plants one so
frequently sees, and than which, as far as ornamentation is concerned,
an empty pot would be far more decorative.

The rubber requires--and deserves--a good rich soil, and in the spring,
summer and fall, all the water that the soil will keep absorbed. Give
less in winter, as an excess at this time causes the leaves to turn
yellow and droop.

As the rubber is more difficult to propagate than most house plants, and
specimens will not get too large for several years, it will be best to
get plants from the florist. It frequently happens, however, that an old
plant which has been grown up to a single stem, becomes unwieldy, and
bare at the bottom. In such cases the upper part may be removed by
"topping" and the main trunk cut back to within six to eighteen inches
of the pot or tub, and water withheld partly until new growth starts.
The old stem may thus be transformed into a low, bush plant and
frequently they make very handsome specimens. The topping is performed
by making a deep upward slanting cut, with a sharp knife, at the point
you want in the pot for your new plant. In the cut stuff a little
sphagnum moss; remove this after a few days and wash the cut out with
warm water, removing the congealed sap. Insert fresh moss and with
strips of soft cloth tie a good handful over the wound. _Keep this
moist_ constantly until the roots show through the moss, which may be
several weeks. Then pot in _moist_ earth, not wet, and syringe daily,
but do not water the pots for two or three days. Sometimes pots cut in
halves and the bottoms partly removed are used to hold the moss in
place. August is a good time to propagate.

_Ficus elastica_ is the common rubber plant. The "fiddle-leaved" rubber
plant (_F. pandurata_) is another variety, now largely grown. It differs
from the former in having very broad, blunt leaves, shaped like the head
of a fiddle, which are marked by the whitish veins. Two other beautiful
plants are _F. Cooperia_, having large leaves with red mid-ribs, and
_F. Parcelli_, with leaves marbled with white. They should be given a
higher temperature than _F. elastica_.

_Saxifraga_: _S. sarmentosa tricolor_ is the commonly known strawberry
geranium, or beefsteak plant. It has a quite unique