8o 



FERA^S IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. 



and trouble of a greenhouse need not be so great 

 with any one who has in his employ a faithful man 

 who can spare half an hour a day to its care, and 

 also turn his hand to potting, watering, and the 

 other requirements of the plants, under the eye 

 of the owner ; who, by the way, should know 

 something about these things himself. 



In this little fern-house, as in larger ones, care 

 has to be taken to screen the plants sufficiently 

 from the sun, as they are more easily burnt than 

 an inexperienced person would suppose. Part of 

 the house is kept shaded all the year ; but the rest 

 is not so protected until March, and the screens 

 are removed as early as the ist of October. The 

 coarse cloth called unbleached sheeting makes ex- 

 cellent screens, and may be used inside or outside 

 of the glass. The use of any sort of wash on the 

 glass, to abate the intensity of the light, gives the 

 place an untidy appearance, and, unless oil-paint 

 is employed, will soon be disfigured by streaks, 

 and come off at last entirely, as the moisture pro- 

 duced by sprinkling collects and runs down the 

 glass. A dark-green glass has, according to Smith, 

 been used in England. He says Ferns, British 

 and Foreign," p. 336), ''In former years, the fruit 

 and plant houses at Kew were glazed with a very 

 dark - green glass called Stourbridge - green, and 

 which was patronized by the late Mr. Alton. Fine 

 crops of fruit were produced under it ; also the 



