THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 



perfection, the water lodging among the gravel 

 till the wants of the plant in the superior mould 

 require it. Over this box is placed a close-fitting 

 glass cover, which completes the apparatus. The 

 lighter and thinner the glass-frame, and the finer 

 the glass, the better are the plants exposed to 

 view, and the more readily do they receive the 

 sun's light. This plot of soil, with its glazed 

 framework above, forms a little world of itself, in 

 which the plants grow and flourish. When the 

 moisture of the soil within is vaporised by the 

 heat of the sun, it collects on the inside of the 

 glass, and trickles down again, so that the plants 

 are never subjected to irregular or capricious 

 watering. The case is not absolutely air-tight ; 

 if it preserves a certain regular amount of moisture 

 and warmth, while it excludes dust, soot, smoke, 

 and other noxious fumes, it does all that is re- 

 quired. The Ward's Case may be large enough 

 only to cover a single plant, or to become a 

 domestic conservatory. 



Cases of the kind described may be used either 

 for indoor or open culture, and answer as well for 

 a little front-plot or back-court as for a drawing- 

 room. They can be also conveniently put up in 

 balconies, or even over the entire window, so that 

 the panes may serve for one side of the conserv- 

 atory. Many such are now to be seen in our 

 large towns, even in the smokiest and least invit- 

 ing quarters. This sort of double window, if we 

 may so speak, is admirably adapted for tall plants 

 and flowering shrubs, or for suspending pots, and 

 is altogether a very pretty annexation to a dwell- 

 ing. Lofty and partially close cases of this sort 

 are fitted for almost every species of greenhouse 

 plant ; natives of damp and shady situations 

 grow and bloom in them to perfection ; but the 

 moistened and shaded atmosphere of a small and 

 closely fitted case is destructive to many flowering 

 plants. Among those most suited for Ward's 

 Cases are many lovely and rare plants, which will 

 amply repay the attention of the case-grower ; such 

 as ferns, lycopodiums, and mosses. 



Rare exotics need not, however, be sought after. 

 'The plants to furnish it,' says Mr Ward who, 

 however, uses cases of large size 'can be pro- 

 cured abundantly in the woods in the neighbour- 

 hood of London. Of these I will mention a few. 

 The common ivy grows most beautifully, and can 

 be trained over any part of the case, agreeably to 

 the pleasure of the owner. The primroses, in 

 early spring, will abundantly repay the labour of 

 fetching them, continuing for seven or eight weeks 

 in succession to flower as sweetly as in their 

 native woods. So likewise does the wood-sorrel, 

 the anemone, the honeysuckle, and a host of other 

 plants, independently of numerous species of 

 mosses and of ferns. Some of these latter are 

 more valuable than others, in consequence of the 

 longer duration of their fronds, such as Lastnca 

 dilatata, and its numerous varieties. There are 

 likewise many cultivated plants procurable at 

 little or no cost, which grow without the slightest 

 trouble ; such as the Lycopodium denticulatiim, 

 the common musk-plant, myrtles, jasmines, &c. ! 

 All the vacant spaces in the case may be employed ' 

 in raising small salads, radishes, &c. ; and I 

 think that a man would be a bad manager who 

 could not, in the course of a twelvemonth, pay 

 for his case out of its proceeds. These remarks 

 apply chiefly to situations where there is but little 



solar light. Where there is more sun, a greater 

 number and variety of flowering plants will be 

 found to thrive ; such as several kinds of roses, 

 passion-flowers, geraniums &c. with numerous 

 beautiful annuals namely, Ipomcea coccinea, the 

 species of Nemophila, Convolvulus, and a host of 

 others : the vegetation, in fact, can be diversified 

 in an endless degree, not only in proportion to the 

 different degrees of light and heat, but likewise 

 by varying the quantity of moisture ; thus, with 

 precisely the same aspect, ferns and bog-plants 

 might be grown in one case, and aloes, cactuses, 

 mesembryanthemums, and other succulent plants 

 in another.' 



Case-grown plants, after the first preparation,, 

 require little or no care ; the case need only be 

 opened for the removal of dead leaves, or for a 

 little trimming when required. Plants in open 

 flower-pots are exposed to the vicissitudes of 

 change of climate, and require constant watering ; 

 but the plants in these cases seem to be inde- 

 pendent of any change of temperature in the air, 

 and water themselves. The moisture rises by the 

 sun's influence from the moistened earth, refreshes 

 the leaves of the plants in its aerial condition, and 

 during the cool of night, falls to the earth again 

 like rain or dew. In this manner there is a con- 

 stant succession of rising and falling of moisture, 

 in imitation of the great processes of nature daily 

 going on in the fields around us. 



WALLS AND TRELLISES. 



Where it is objectionable to fasten climbing- 

 plants to walls, a light trellis-work of wood or iron 

 wire may be employed ; permanently fixed where 

 the climbers are perennial, but movable where they 

 are grown merely for summer purposes. By being 

 removed in autumn, and kept dry, a wooden trellis, 

 originally of small cost, will last for a number of 

 years ; while its removal, along with the withered 

 branches of the plant, is a positive improvement 

 to the appearance of the dwelling. Nettings of 

 string or wire make very convenient leaders when 

 other material cannot be had ; and these may be 

 woven along the outside of doors and windows, 

 where other frameworks might not be permitted. 



Among the hardy species adapted for trellis- 

 work and walls are the honeysuckle, the ivy, many 

 varieties of the rose, the jasmine, the small and 

 other kinds of clematis, the Pyrus Japonica, 

 Lathyrus, or even the hop, where an easily nur- 

 tured and quick-growing climber is wanted. For 

 summer purposes merely, a selection from the 

 following genera may be made : Cobaea, several 

 species ; Convolvulus ; Lathyrus, several ; Lopho- 

 spermum, several ; Maurandya Barclayana ; Tro- 

 pasolum, several ; Passiflora caerulea. 



It has been often remarked that, of all flowering 

 plants, climbers present the most graceful forms 

 which can be contemplated under the open sky ; 

 but true as this may be, the tender varieties are 

 not the less graceful when cultivated in the green- 

 house. Grown in pots, and sustained by appropri- 

 ate frameworks, they can be trained to almost any 

 shape, be it urn, vase, obelisk, or pillar a screen 

 of living network, or a fairy arbour. Trellises 

 affixed to the outside of pots can be had of a 

 thousand designs, and they may be constructed of 

 wicker, slender painted rods, cord, or copper wire, 

 which is one of the most pliable and durable of 



573 



