FERNERY 



large for ferneries of ordinary size, and they 

 lose their beauty as soon as obliged to crowd 

 against the glass. 



Great care must be taken in watering a 

 fernery. Because of the constant evaporation 

 which is taking place, there will be constant 

 condensation on the glass, and this moisture 

 will run down and return to the soil, unless the 

 top of the fernery is kept open. It is impossible 

 to lay down any definite rule for watering, but 

 I would give this general one: Give more water 

 only when there seems a prospect of the soil 

 becoming dryer than leaf-mold usually is as 

 we find it in the woods. 



It is well to lift the cover of the fernery an 

 inch or two, every day, to allow surplus mois- 

 ture to pass off. Leave it open for an hour or 

 two. 



The most satisfactory of all ferneries for the 

 parlor or living-room is one that is made to fit 

 the window. Any carpenter — in fact, any man 

 who is "handy with tools" — can make it. It 

 is simply an enclosure of a space two feet, or 

 thereabouts, in depth in front of the window 

 at which you locate it. Stout iron brackets 

 should be fastened to the lower part of the win- 

 dow-sill to furnish the necessary support. 



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