The Fern House. 37 



soil thrown upon this rough bed. There is a trapped 

 sink leading to a drain in one corner of the house, and 

 all superfluous water finds its way there quickly, as the 

 pavement slopes gently to it. The finish of the work 

 I did myself, and it occupied me, at odd times, about 

 four months, the work being essentially amusing, though 

 attended with an occasional abrasion of the knuckles. 

 The task I had was to make the " pockets" — openings 

 for the purpose being left at intervals in the work. I 

 made the " pockets" and planted the ferns at the same 

 time. Some of the larger ones are planted in projecting 

 receptacles, just as the bricklayer left them; but gene- 

 rally speaking, I found it the best plan to stuff the 

 necessary soil into a chink or gap, then place the fern 

 in it, and, lastly, to introduce a piece of burr of suitable 

 size to close it in, and this was done with the help of 

 cement. I do not think I can profitably occupy further 

 space with remarks on the formative part of the affair; 

 details of this kind do not admit of being described 

 minutely ; all I can say in concluding this part of the 

 history is this, that I never did a better job in my life ; 

 for not only have the ferns and mosses planted in it 

 thriven amazingly, but the scene produced is exquisitely 

 beautiful and affords more than a suggestion of the 

 " Negligence of nature, wild and wide." 

 It is of' the utmost importance to inform the reader 

 that the house is not heated. It is remarkably 

 proof against frost, which I attribute to the fact that 

 the back wall (1) forms one side of the drawing-room, 

 which iskept at a comfortable temperature all the winter, 

 and of course the wall itself is in winter always warmer 



