CONCLUSION. 59 



they have to combat the unfavourable atmosphere of 

 a town residence. The poet has justly said, that 



" Man, immured in cities, still retains 

 An inborn unextinguishable thirst 

 For rural scenes." 



And rural occupations might have been added, as it 

 is well known, that the most successful cultivators 

 of various fruits and flowers, are the weavers and 

 artizans of our manufacturing towns. To return, 

 however, to my subject, my design in making these 

 remarks, is to bring before my town readers a mode 

 by which a great variety of plants may be grown 

 more successfully than hitherto. This is by means 

 of the Wardian, or Portable Greenhouse, first brought 

 into notice, a few years ago, by Dr. Ward of London, 

 who has written a treatise on the subject. Perhaps 

 it is not generally known, that in many of the houses 

 in the west end of London, and also in Edinburgh, 

 a greenhouse has been formed by making double 

 windows, with a considerable space between the 

 interior and exterior ones, which have been found 

 very effectual for growing many kinds of plants. 

 The Wardian Case is constructed on a similar 

 principle, but of a different form. It may be made 

 of any size, but that usually adopted is such as will 

 fit well into the space occupied by a window. The 

 form of the base of such a case, should be that of a 

 trough, sloping from the top to the bottom, and it 

 should be supported by a table, such as is used for 



