244 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
have arisen from either too much water or too little light, and fre- 
quently both combined, although the persons having them in charge 
have strenuously denied that any more water had been used than the 
plants required, and have insisted that they were placed in a very 
light situation. The light situation is usually quite a dark one; 
generally a space between two windows, witha dead wall at the back 
of it, or ina corner, receiving a little light obliquely from a window 
two or three feet distant. When the plarts are turned out, it is 
found that they have been treated as aquatics, and kept fairly up to 
their knees in mudand water. Then people wonder at their want of 
success. 
The hanging fernery was my first attempt in this direction. I 
designed it to take the place of the hanging basket, which so seldom 
appears in good condition in the home. The case was turned from 
walnut, several pieces being glued and nailed together, to obtain the 
proper depth, and also to keep the wood from warping. It tapered 
to a point at the bottom, to give lightness to its appearance. A zine 
pan, with a rim to receive the shade, fitted the case loosely enough 
to be readily removed when watering was necessary. This case, as 
first constructed, was covered with a shade eight inches in diameter 
and ten inches high, and was suspended by silvered copper wire. 
The case first exhibited before the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 
ciety in June, 1871, had a shade twelve inches in diameter, and 
fourteen inches high ; was elaborately turned from maple and walnut, 
ornamented with ebony trimmings, and filled with Onychiwm japoni- 
cum, Adiantum ussimile, A. cuneatum, Selaginella Wildenovii, Pani- 
cum variegatum, Fittonia Pearcei, F. argyroneura, Lycopodium 
denticulatum var., and Mitchella repens, some lichens and wood mosses. 
It was awarded the society’s silver medal. 
This case, when taken from the hall, was suspended in my 
window, where it received the morning sun for about an hour each 
day, and was not disturbed again till January, excepting when it 
was occasionally turned to the light. It was then a mass of green. 
I noticed considerable soil on the glass, carried up by slugs in 
their nocturnal rambles ; also some decayed fronds of the adiantum. 
Altogether it was as much of a success as a close case could be, 
and would prohably satisfy most people who grow plants for home 
decoration. 
There are some plants that seem better suited to a close case 
than to any other situation. They are confined chiefly to the Lyco- 
pods and Selaginellas. Many of them are very beautiful, rivalling, 
and in some cases closely resembling, their allies, the ferns, in 
beauty of form, and delicate, feathery appearance. They make 
superb specimens grown singly under a shade, and I consider this 
the most satisfactory way to grow them, having the case large enough 
to fully develop their beauty of form and habit. Their growth is 
generally quite rapid, and to any one who delights in a well-grown 
plant, the culture is worth trial. Selaginella Lyallii, S. africana, 
S. plumosa, 8. umbrosa, and 8. triangularis, make quite large plants 
and are erect in habit, There are many others usually found in 
plant catalogues, and as far as I have tested them, all are eminently 
