334 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



WINDOW GAEDENING. 



BT JOHN K. MOLLISON. 



(Continued from page 301.) 



FILMY FERNS IN CASES AND UNDER BELL-GLASSES. 



[HIS is a class of ferns well deserving a chapter all to 

 themselves ; their delicate membranous texture and 

 love of shade and moisture requiring a mode of cultiva- 

 tion altogether different from the other kind of ferns. 

 Their fronds when held up between the eye and the 

 light appear so delicately transparent that their simple internal 

 structure is revealed to the naked eye more clearly than in any 

 other kind. They cannot be cultivated in rooms unless in a close, 

 well-made case. The Warrington case I consider the most prefer- 

 able. It differs from the Wardian case in having the lower part 

 filled with water, combining a fern case and aquarium in one. 

 The presence of water in the lower part causes a steady moist 

 atmosphere which filmy ferns naturally delight in. It is 

 only in a case of this description that they feel at home. In 

 their natural haunts they love to creep among the dripping rocks 

 near a waterfall, where shade and constant moisture is kept up ; so 

 unless you can contrive to keep up the same conditions of atmo- 

 sphere, there is little chance of your being successful in their culti- 

 vation. They are so thin and delicate, that a few minutes' sunshine 

 or dry air causes them to shrivel up and die. Still a fair amount of 

 light must be allowed as long as the sun does not reach them. 



I do not think there is anything in connection with window 

 gardening of such absorbing interest as the cultivation of these 

 beautiful ferns, and any one may well be proud if successful in 

 growing them as they should be grown, for they are extremely beau- 

 tiful and interesting. 



A Warrington case being partly an aquarium, it is necessary to 

 raise above the water small rocks and islets of burrs or artificial 

 stone, having hollow crevices filled with soil in which the plants 

 may grow. Other suitable rests may rise from the bottom on which 

 to stand pots and earthenware baskets. Pots and baskets hanging 

 from the roof and earthenware baskets at the sides complete the 

 internal arrangement. But here let me impress upon you the abso- 

 lute necessity of having ample drainage at the roots of your plants, 

 and always in good working order, to allow the water to percolate 

 freely away through the soil, for though filmy ferns require moisture 

 as a necessity of ttieir lives, they cannot endure the evils of stagna- 

 tion. In fact, if the drainage at the roots is ample and good 

 they cannot suffer from excess of moisture. A dry atmosphere is 

 their death warrant ; there is nothing that will hurt them sooner. 

 Used to the damp, dark crevices of rocks, where the sun never 





