M02TTHLT CALENDAR. 237 



balconies are turned into greenhouses and miniature stoves, gay with the 

 brightest and greenest foliage ; and in Paris there are many contrivances in 

 use by means of which the rarest and most beautiful plants are produced. 

 Passifloras cling to columns in the upper floors ; water-plants start into blos- 

 som, in tiny basins, curiously contrived in solid brickwork ; and limpid water 

 flows down a miniature rockery, from whose crevices start up ferns and lyco- 

 podiums." It is not our intention to recommend any such fliiry-like adjuncts 

 as those belonging to the bedroom aw guatrieme of Paris ; but there are many 

 appliances, of a very simple character, by means of which our rooms may be 

 made gay with flowers of home cultivation. Many years ago, we accepted an 

 invitation to visit a gentleman living in the very centre of the densest part of 

 London, — a square, only second in its smoky atmosphere to the celebrated 

 square in which Mr. Dickens has placed the Cherrible Brothers, and their 

 factotum, Tim Linkinwater. We were ushered into a room well enough as 

 to size, but in which darkness was nearly visible. Here we found every window- 

 occupied by a glass case, in which plants were growing in a manner which 

 astonished us ; feras of the greenest and freshest hue ; orchids, such as we have 

 rarely seen surpassed, were growing there, redolent of health and vigour ; and 

 we were told, to our great surprise, that the cases were hermetically sealed, and 

 that no water had been administered for many months. This was the fii'st 

 we had seen of the Wardian cases, since so celebrated. 



639. A closer examination of Mr. Ward's system disabuses us of some of 

 these first impressions, while it increases our admiration of the philosophical 

 princii)le applied by the inventor of the Wardian case to floral culture. What 

 Mr. Ward sought was uniformity of moisture and the exclusion of soot and 

 other palpable impurities of the atmosphere : the air finds its way through 

 imperfections in the glazing ; and by inclosing plants in well-made and glazed 

 cases light is admitted, and a proper degree of moisture secured. They are 

 supposed to be a little world in themselves, influenced by common principles 

 of evapoi'ation and condensation. The heat of the sun or of the room 

 produces evaporation during the day, and during the nigiit the process oJ 

 condensation restores the moisture to the soil. 



640. The imperfection of the material used in glazing leads in course of 

 time to a deficiency of the moisture, and a fresh supply becomes necessary. 

 On the other hand, when the inside of the case becomes colder than the 

 sun'ounding air, a deposit of dew takes place, which has been one of the 

 difiiculties of their cultivation : the only remedy is to render the temperature 

 more equable within and without ; and for this pui-pose it is necessary to have a 

 door to the case. 



641. It is obvious that these miniature greenhouses may be apphed with 

 great ease to any window ; a pair of brackets on a level with the sill will form 

 a stage, which may either support a case such as we have described, or a 

 permanent greenhouse may be erected thereon. All that is required is a 

 glazed frame, from 12 to IS inches high in front, with glazed sides, rising to 

 the window-sash at an angle of 30^, with a framework to receive a sash at the 



