118 Plant-growing in Wardian Cases. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



PLANT-GEOWING IN WARDIAN CASES. 



HE "Wardian case is one of the great inventions 

 of modern times, called forth by our increasing 

 love for flowering plants and ferns, and a 

 very good illustration in itself of the height of per- 

 fection to which we have arrived in the art of plant- 

 growing. With their aid we can now have a selec- 

 tion of our favourite plants as our daily companions 

 in our rooms, always beside us to be admired and 

 made much of, and the objects of our daily care and 

 attention. Situated thus they become, by-aud-bye, 

 part and parcel of our very existence, associated with the 

 love of our friends and companions and ranking among 

 the necessary requirements of our homes. "We hail with 

 pleasure the appearance of a fresh bud and the unfurling 

 of each tiny, tender leaf. Day by day, and week by 

 week, we mark with patient hope the rate of progress 

 every shoot is making, till at last, oh, joy of joys, the 

 flower bud appears, and ere long displays to our delighted 

 eyes the long-hidden charms of rich and gorgeous hues 

 and fairy forms of which we often dreamed. Thus, 

 they weave around the heart a host of tender associa- 

 tions, ever dear to the memory because of the loved 



