10 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



a smaller scale. First among these in usefulness and 

 importance are Wardian cases. 



"Wardian Cases. — In the summer of 1829, Mr. 

 N. B. Ward, of "Wellclose Square, London, noticed a 

 seedling of the common Male Fern and a seedling of 

 one of the commonest British Grasses (Poa annua) 

 growing on the surface of some moist mould in a 

 large "bottle. Curious to observe how vegetation 

 would proceed in so confined a situation, he placed 

 the bottle, loosely covered with a tin lid, outside one 

 of his windows, with a northern aspect. This cover 

 allowed a sufficient change of air for the preservation 

 and development of the plants, and, at the same time, 

 prevented the evaporation of the moisture within. 

 These plants remained in the bottle for more than 

 three years, during which time not one drop of water 

 was given to them, nor was the cover removed. The 

 Grass flowered the second year, but did not ripen its 

 seeds. The Fern developed five or six fronds annually, 

 but did not produce any fructification. 



This led Mr. Ward to experiment on the growth 

 of plants in closed cases, and to advocate the use of 

 glazed boxes for bringing home plants from all parts 

 of the world, and also for growing many kinds of 

 plants in rooms, which could not otherwise be 

 grown in such an atmosphere. Thus every descrip- 

 tion of closed glass case used for growing plants, from 

 a simple bell-glass to the most elaborate miniature 

 green-house, came to be designated a Wardian case. 



This plan of cultivating plants in a room is natu- 

 rally more suitable for Ferns and for plants grown 

 for the beauty of their foliage than it is for flower- 

 ing plants, since the latter require a drier air in 

 which to display their beauty. The cheering in- 

 fluences of growing vegetation to an invalid are 

 better known and more fully recognised of late years 

 than they were formerly, and most physicians now 

 admit the beneficial effects, especially in cases of 

 mental depression or derangement. 



It should, however, be understood that every Fern- 

 case is not necessarily a Wardian case. The princi- 

 pal point in a Wardian case is, that it must be a dosed 

 case. It need not be hermetically sealed up, but it 

 must be so far closed that the moisture which evapo- 

 rates from the plants, and condenses on the sides of 

 the case, must run down into the mould again and 

 again. When the sun is allowed to shine upon such 

 a case of plants, evaporation naturally takes place 

 more rapidly than when the plants are in the shade. 

 There is also more evaporation going on in a warm 

 room than in a cold room. But, whatever may he 

 the climate or the aspect of the room, the atmosphere 

 in which the confined plants are growing must of ne- 

 cessity be a damp atmosphere. And further, it will 

 be evident that the quantity of moisture in this 



atmosphere depends upon the wetness or dryness of 

 the soil in which the plants are growing. This brings 

 us to the conclusion that, while it is simple enough 

 to have a very wet Wardian case, it is also prac- 

 ticable to have one in which there is very little 

 moisture, and, consequently, that an immense variety 

 of plants may be grown in different cases. 



As Ferns are better subjects for imprisonment in 

 glass cells than most plants, we deem it advisable to 

 furnish a goodly list of species from which to select. 

 In doing this we shall follow the advice given by the 

 veteran ex-curator of Kew Gardens, Mr. John Smith, 

 whose thorough acquaintance with the subject, both 

 botanically and horticulturally, has rarely been 

 equalled, and never surpassed. In his work " Ferns, 

 British and Foreign,'' he gives a list of species 

 suitable for Wardian cases of ordinary dimensions ; 

 but, inasmuch as the species are enumerated in their 

 botanical sequence, it is very difficult for any one who 

 is not an expert in pteridology to find out whether 

 any particular Fern is or is not suitable for a 

 Wardian case. The following alphabetical arrange- 

 ment of his list will obviate this difficulty : — 



♦Asplenium viviparum. 

 Asplenium zeylanicuni. 

 Blechnuin campylotis. 

 Blechnuni cognatum. 

 ♦Blechnum Lanceola. 

 ♦Blechnum longifoliuin. 

 ♦Blechnuin occidentale. 

 Ceratopteris tlialictroid.es. 

 ♦Cheilanthes alabamensis. 

 *Cheilanthes argentea. 

 *Cheilantlies capensis. 

 Cbeilantbes elegaus. 

 Cheilantb.es farinosa. 

 ♦Cheilanthes fragrans. 

 Cbeilantbes birta. 

 Cheilanthes lendigera. 

 Cheilautbes microphylla. 

 Cbeilantbes myriophylla. 

 Cbeilantbes multifida. 

 Cbeilantbes pedata. 

 Cheilantbes pulverlacea. 

 Cbeilantbes radiata. 

 Cbeilantbes tenuifolia. 

 Cheilanthes tomentosa. 

 Cbeilantbes vestita. 

 ♦Cheilantbes viscosa. 

 ♦Davallia bullata. 

 ♦Davallia canadensis. 

 ♦Davallia chcerophylla. 

 Davallia cristata. 

 Davallia beteropbylla. 

 Davallia birsuta. 

 * Davallia pentaphylla. 

 Davallia pulcbra. 

 *Davallia tenuifolia. 

 Doodia blecbnoides. 

 *Doodia caudata. 

 Dry m oglo ssnm pilosel- 



loides. 

 *Fadyenia prolifera. 

 Gleicbenia circinata. 

 Gleicbenia dicarpa. 

 Gleicbenia rupestris. 

 *Gynmogramme calomel- 

 anos. 



Gymnogramme caudifor- 

 mis. 



♦Gymnograinme cbryso- 



pbylla. 

 Gymnogramme Martensii. 



Acrosticbum auritum. 



Acrosticbum bifurcatum. 



Acrosticbum crinitum. 



Acrostichum lepidotum. 



Acrosticbum peltatura. 



Acrosticbum quercil'olium. 



Adiantum sethiopicum. 

 ♦Adiantum affine. 

 *Adiantum Capillus-veneris 

 *Adiantum caudatum. 

 ♦Adiantum chilense. 



Adiantum curvatum. 

 ♦Adiantum formosum. 



Adiantum fovearum. 



Adiantum fulvum. 

 ♦Adiantum bispidulum. 



Adiantum lucidum. 

 ♦Adiantum macrophyllum. 



Adiantum pulverulentum. 

 ♦Adiantum reniforme. 

 ♦Adiantum setulosum. 



Adiantum sulpbureum. 

 ♦Adiantum tenerum. 



Adiantum villosum. 

 ♦Anemia adiantifolia. 



Anemia f ulva. 

 ♦Anemia Phyllitidis. 



Anemia tomentosa. 



Aspidium anomalum. 



Aspidium falcatum. 



Aspidium Loncbitis. 

 ♦Aspidium mucronatum. 

 ♦Aspidium triangulum. 

 ♦Asplenium alternans. 

 ♦Asplenium Belangeri. 

 ♦Asplenium bracbypteron. 



Asplenium braziliense. 

 ♦Asplenium erectum. 



Asplenium firmura. 

 ♦Asplenium flabellifoliuin. 



Aspleniuni fontanum. 



Asplenium formosum. 



Asplenium fragrans. 

 ♦Asplenium Hemionitis. 



Asplenium macilentum. 

 ♦Asplenium marinum. 

 ♦Asplenium obtusatum. 



Asplenium pinnatifidum. 

 . Asplenium tenellum. 



Asplenium viride. 



