88 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. 



little groove cut for ornament three-fourths of an 

 inch below the bevel. Before nailing on, glue 

 around the edge of the bottom board a piece of 

 listing to make the joints tight when the hard- 

 wood strip is in place. This would make a 

 carpenter laugh ; but we are building a fernery 

 where we do not care to keep up a continual and 

 perhaps ineffectual use of the square. When all 

 is dry, give the inside a good coat of tar, or, if it 

 seem necessary, two or three. Of course you can 

 avoid all this trouble by being at the expense of a 

 zinc pan ; but the less costly plan is practically as 

 good. Now procure some German glass (as flat 

 as possible), — two pieces sJwrt 24 by 18 inches, 

 two short 18 by 18, and one 25 by 19. Set up the 

 first four pieces in the tarred tray, holding them in 

 place by books piled against them ; and paste over 

 the united edges at each corner outside (PI. 15, 

 Fig. 2) a tape one inch wide, turning it over only 

 a very little at the top, for the condensed moisture 

 will soon loosen any thing pasted inside. After 

 allowing the tape to dry, cover it with a strip of 

 dark paper ; and also bind the edges of the fifth 

 and largest glass, which is to lie flat and unfastened 

 on top as the cover, with the same. Remove the 

 books, and the fernery is completed as we see it in 

 PI. 15, Fig. I. Of course these proportions may 

 be varied ; and a portion of the glass which seems 

 wasted by going into the tray may be saved by 



