BOMBAY PEtttiMkfEd. 1*9 



and requires strong supports on account of it & cuinpara lively great 

 weight, especially when soaked wilh water during the monsoon, 

 when its threads also swell out and leave less space for the light to 

 pass through. For structures exclusively devoted to foliage-plants, 

 I should, however, prefer it to the lighter kinds, partly because the 

 denser shade in this instance is beneficial, and partly because the 

 dense texture causes a closer atmosphere in the structure. For all 

 other Ferneries, the coir-matting, manufactured at the local jail, 

 va lying in mesh from ^ to ^ inch, is more suitable. That 

 manufactured at the Tanna Jail is double woven and 

 consequently more expensive (by measure) than that prepared 

 at the Bombay House of Correction, and is generally 

 considered more durable. I have, however, not found its dura- 

 bility sufficiently superior to that of the latter to compensate for it* 

 greater original cost. Though the roofing is the most necessary 

 part of a Fernery, the way of fixing and supporting it has also to be 

 considered, and is by no means unimportant, A flat roof is not only 

 unsightly, but also considerably less efiicacious in obtaining the full 

 advantages of the coir matting, than a sloping, or an arched roof, 

 which not only affords greater protection against the midday- sun, but 

 at the same time just sufficiently breaks the rays of the morning and 

 afternoon sun. A roof having a slope of 65 — -70° (the angle formed 

 by the level of the ground and the slope continued till it cuts this 

 line), towards E. and W., will generally be found most useful. The 

 unchecked vertical rays of the sun will only enter, such a roof a 

 short time in the morning on one side and a short time in 

 the afternoon on the other side of the structure, so that only one 

 half of the interior of the structure will, at these times, be exposed to 

 the vertical rays, while the other half will only receive oblique and 

 consequently less active rays. The supports of the roof may be of 

 hollow bamboos, rafters, or posts, all depending on available means, 

 desired durability, or other circumstances. A Fernery that is meant 

 to be a permanent structure, should, however, be built of solid teak 

 posts, set in masonry foundations, and connected at the top with a 

 central beam and the ribs of the roof, across which battens should be 

 fixed for supporting the matting. The matting, which is generally 

 procurable in rolls measuring up to 100 yards long and 1 yard wide, 



