290 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



The sides of the conservatory from the 

 top of the floor to the height of 2 feet 6 

 inches are panels running between rafters 

 and secured to the same. A sash sill caps 

 the panels, and above this are the side sash 

 i^ inches thick, hinged at the top to facia 

 and provided with iron straps to open them. 

 The facia, i^ inches thick, runs from rafler 

 to rafter in one continuous piece. The raf- 

 ter feet should be cut away where the facia 

 strikes them so that the face 

 of the rafter foot and facia 

 are on the same plane. The 

 gutter is constructed in two 

 pieces lined with tin and 

 supported by brackets as 

 shown. Care must be taken 

 that the tin laps over the 

 outside face of the gutter 

 and extends close to the 

 facia cap, as otherwise 

 water will surely find its 

 way into the conservatory. 

 The roof is formed by raft- 

 ers and sash bars, the bars being gained into' 

 the facia cap and mitred against the rafters. 

 The position of these can be readily seen on 

 elevations. 



Either side of the short ridge are small 

 sash for ventilation hung to the ridge, and 

 are intended to open by means of ventilat- 



SiDE Elevation. 



ing machinery, which can be procured for 

 a small sum, of dealers in the same. 



The tables can be built of wood. They 

 should be strong and substantial, with a 

 band on the front projecting about two 

 inches above the table. 



A Fern That Walks. — Most ferns are 

 confirmed travelers. New fern leaves grow 

 out from the underground roots some dis- 

 tance away from the old plant. The average 

 observer scarcely notices this, but there is a 

 native fern that steps off at so lively a pace 

 that its odd habit has long furnished one of 

 the unceasing entertainments of the woods. 

 The walking fern often carpets ledges and 

 tops of shaded rocks. The slender, tufted 

 leaf fronds are singularly unfernlike in ap- 

 pearance. They squirm about and " walk " 

 by declining their taper tips to the soil and 



taking root there and growing. In time, 

 clusters of new leaf fronds spring from such 

 rooted tips. By-and-by some of these, too, 

 bite the earth and, taking root, start still 

 other colonies, which in turn will continue 

 the progress again and again. Naturally, 

 with the lapse of time, the connection be- 

 tween the older tufts and the younger be- 

 comes broken, yet one sometimes finds series 

 of three or four linked together, represent- 

 ing as many steps in the pretty ramble. — 

 Country Life in America. 



