CHAPTER XVI, 



VARIOUS FANCY WAYS OF GROWING FERNS. 



E SIDES the culture of Ferns on a somewhat large scale, as 

 treated in the previous Chapter, there are many other ways 

 of making the most of these charming plants, such as 

 growing them on cork bark, on hanging blocks, in suspended 

 baskets, in window-cases, and, above all, in glass cases in 

 the dwelling-room. Of these various ways, the last is probably the one 

 which deserves the greatest amount of attention, as it directly affects a 

 very numerous class of lovers of Ferns who, through living partially or 

 entirely in town, are, from want of space or other outside accommodation, 

 deprived of the pleasure of growing their favourites in any of the previously- 

 described ways. Persons of that disposition of mind, residing in the 

 country, may depend on continued enjoyment derived from seeing Ferns in 

 their native habitats ; but to many lovers of these plants the pleasure of 

 seeing them growing in their natural state is denied, and it is especially 

 for the benefit of these that the following particulars have been included 

 in this work. 



From a purely decorative point of view it may be said that, whether 

 in window-cases, on a rustic stand with a propagating-glass to cover 

 the plants, or in the more commodious Fern-case (the dimensions of which 

 must depend on the size of the room for which it is intended), there 

 are few objects more attractive, and, at the same time, more likely to 

 prove a constant source of pleasure and instruction, than a miniature 

 Fernery planted with judiciously-selected and well-grown Ferns. In such 



y 



