225 



internal surface of the glass, and returned whence it came ; thus keeping the mould 

 always in the same degree of humidity. About a week prior to the final change of the 

 insect, a seedling fern and a grass made their appearance on the surface of the 

 mould.'' — p. 25. 



After briefly stating the reflections to which this unexpected event 

 gave rise, and having mentioned the conchisions arrived at, the author 

 proceeds : — 



" Thus, then, all the conditions necessary for the growth of my little plant were 

 apparently fulfilled, and it remained only to put it to the test of experiment I pla- 

 ced the bottle outside the window of my study — a room facing the north, and to my 

 great delight the plants continued to grow well. They turned out to be liastraea Fi- 

 lix-mas and Poa annua. They required no attention, the same circulation of the wa- 

 ter continuing ; and here they remained for nearly four years, the Poa once flowering 

 and the fern producing three or four fronds annually. At the end of this time they 

 accidentally perished, during my absence from home, in consequence of the rusting of 

 the lid, and the admission of rain water." — p. 26. 



The author next details his experiments on different plants, includ- 

 ing Trichomanes speciosum, Hymenophyllum, Jungennanniae, and 

 Crocuses both with natural and artificial light ; and describes his 

 Tintern-Abbey house, his alpine case, drawing-room case and case 

 with spring flowers ; thus exhibiting to his readers the gradual deve- 

 lopment of his plans, until he conducts them to his " largest experi- 

 mental house." In this house, erected in the scene of his early dis- 

 appointments, perhaps on the very site of the rock-work on which 

 no attentions could prolong the existence of some of our hardiest na- 

 tive plants, we now see not only the " wall covered with ferns and 

 mosses," — the earliest object of the author's ambition, but a host 

 of botanical treasures from all parts of the globe growing side by side 

 in the gi'eatest luxuriance and beauty : the ferns especially, both na- 

 tive and foreign, appear to be quite at home ; the tender and delicate 

 Trichomanes speciosum being one of the most lovely objects in the 

 collection, and Osmunda regalis, planted in March last, now has 

 its noble fronds crowned with fructification. 



The chapter concludes with the following remarks upon " the im- 

 portance of reflecting on what we see around us." 



" The simple circumstance which set me to work must have been presented to the 

 eyes of horticulturists thousands of times, but has passed unheeded in consequence of 

 their disused closed frames being filled with weeds, instead of cucumbers and melons ; 

 and 1 am quite ready to confess, that if some groundsel or chickweed had sprung up 

 in my bottle instead of the fern, it would have made no impression upon me : and 

 again, after my complete success with the ferns, had I possessed the inductive mind of 

 a Davy or a Faraday, I ought, in an hour's quiet reflection, to have anticipated the re- 



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