THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



131 



mayhap has been washed with some preparation to render it nearly 



opaque. A cheerful display of greenery would be far preferable to 



a window that looks like a great sheet of dirty paper marked with 



lines dividing it into squares. "VVe remove the lower sash, or we 



take out both the sashes, and construct as deep a case as inner and 



outer sills admit of, and perhaps a little more than the width of the 



sill on the outside. There must be escape for water from the bottom 



of the case, and there ought to be six inches depth enclosed by a 



moulding round the base, in which to place the soil in which the 



plants are to be grown. Over the bottom should be strewed a layer 



of broken bricks, of the size of walnuts, and over that a mixture to 



be made as follows. Take of turfy peat, chopped or torn to the 



size of walnuts, with all the dust resulting from the operation; 



three parts of this peat, 



with one part silver sand, 



and one part bricks broken 



almost to the size of peas, 



would form a compost in 



which any plant adapted 



for the case would grow 



to perfection. A much 



greater depth of soil than 



the six inches allowed for 



in the construction of the 



case, can be obtained by 



constructing a miniature 



rockery, and so heaping 



up the soil towards the 



centre between the stones 



of which tlie rockery is 



formed. The best stone 



for the purpose is soft 



sandstone, but common 



coke will do if there is 



any difficulty; or picked 



pieces from the " burrs " 



used in garden rockeries 



will do very well, as they 



soon become mossy, and 



plants grow well amongst 



them. 



As a rule, there are no 

 plants to equal ferns for 

 these cases, and as they will afford more space for them to grow than 

 ordinary fern cases, some species of large size may be introduced. It 

 will be understood, however, that a suuny south window is not the 

 place for ferns ; there, indeed, another course must be pursued. As a 

 rule, it will not be possible to heat these wiudow-gardens, though in 

 some instances, no doubt, hot water will be made to circulate around 

 and beneath them, for their protection during cold weather. But when 

 not so aided, the hardier kinds of ferns should alone be planted in 



