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WARDIAN CASES. 



BY SHIELEY HIBBEED. 



SrtfCE it has been generally admitted that 

 Wardian cases are greenhouses in little, 

 and to be managed in precisely the same 

 way 08 greenhouses, they have been roore 

 extensirely adopted ; and, as a conse- 

 cjuence, they have added very largely to 

 the number of the cultivators of ferns. 

 Upon the originally proposed plan of shut- 

 ting them close as if hermetically sealed, 

 there were but few plants that lived for 

 any length of time ; and even where mode- 

 rate success attended the eS'ort, that suc- 

 cess was rather owing to the accidental 

 and unintended admission of air through 

 the crevices of the structure, than to tiie 

 exclusion of the external atmosphere, 

 which was at first supposed to be essen- 

 tial. It is impossible to have anything 

 like variety, or make sure of a very select 

 few ferns living any length of lime, unless 

 the interior of the case is regularly venti- 

 lated, and even allowed occasionally to get 

 moderately dry, though to become dust- 

 dry would injure them. 



In the case of fern shades, which fit 

 into glass dishes, and whicli, as long as 

 there is water lodged in (he rim into which 

 the lower edge cf the shade rests, are air- 

 tight, air must be given thi'ce times a week j 

 by removing the shade altogether for a few | 

 hours. This allows the excess of moisture j 

 to dry off the foliage, and prevents mould ; 

 and the glass getting dry in the mean- 

 while, it is prepared to take up a fresh 

 supply of moisture from the soil when re- 

 placed, which is equivalent to a cu'culation 

 of water as well as a change of air, and 

 prevents the soil getting sour and sod- 

 dened, as it must do if closely confined, 

 exhaling and receiving back continually 

 the same impure moisture. It is im- 

 portant, too, iu choosing fern shades of this 

 description to see that the glass dome fits 

 loosely in the pan which accompanies it. 

 Last spring one of our shades, which was 

 a tight fit, was removed into a sunny win- 

 dow for a few hours to make room for 

 some domestic operations. The sun heated 

 the air within the shade, the expanded air 

 had no means of escape, and it bm'st the 

 shade with a loud explosion into a multi- 

 tude of fragments. A guinea's worth of 

 glass was thus lost in u moment, and 

 a collection of Selaginellas placed in jeo- 

 pardy through neglect of this precaution. 



In planting fern shades made wholly of 

 glass, I find it a good plan to lay down a 



good depth of broken flower-pot?, or clean 

 cinders of the size of walnuts, and to sup- 

 ply at first enoug!i water to fill upas high 

 as these, so that when filled the water may 

 be heard to rattle among the crocks if the 

 pan is tilted on one side. By lifting off 

 the glass every day for an hour, the exha- 

 lations are got rid of speedily, and the ferns 

 are constantly supplied with what rises 

 through the soil by capillary attraciion. 

 Success in these matters often turns on 

 points of management that appear trilling ; 

 let me, therefore, describe tlie process of 

 planting a fern shade. If intended for a 

 winter ornament, it should be planted iu 

 July or August, that the ferns may be 

 established before the decline of the sea- 

 son, and if they are evergreen kinds they 

 will have plenty of time to throw up an 

 abundance of fine fronds, which the libei-al 

 supply of water from below, v.ilh regular 

 ventilation, will render luxurious and beau- 

 tiful ; and before winter comes, the excess 

 of moisture will be gone, but the soil will 

 hold enough to render watering quite un- 

 necessary until spring. In a large pan — 

 say, six inches depth — lay down two and 

 a-half inches of drainage, and let the top 

 stratum consist of very small stuff, not 

 larger than hazel-nuts. On this lay a thin 

 coating of half-decayed moss or sphagnum. 

 Fresh green moss is apt to go sour or 

 breed fungi, and therefore it is preferable 

 if it has been for some time exposed to the 

 action of moisture. Fill up to the level of 

 the rim with a mixture of turfy peat, leaf- 

 mould, small broken charcoal, and the 

 siftings of broken pots, varying from the 

 size of a hazel-nut to that of a pea, with 

 plenty of silver-sand. I never measure 

 the ingredients of any compost, but the 

 beginner may like to be saved from doubt, 

 and therefore let the proportions be taken 

 as follows : — Peat three parts, leaf-mould 

 one part, silver-sand one part, broken 

 charcoal and crock-siltings one part. This 

 compost should be broken up and mixed 

 with the hand, and should be in a free 

 lumpy state. Ferns will never prosper 

 if the compost is sifted, but a little of the 

 finest of it should be put aside to dress 

 the surface with when the planting 

 is completed. Now, take a can of boil- 

 ing water, and water the soil till you 

 have supplied enough to rise to the top of 

 the drainage. The water should be poured 

 into the centre first to warm the soil gra- 



