Popular Ways of Growing Ferns. 
59 
In this ventilation is provided by means of a 
movable or sliding strip of glass at the npper part, 
where the two bent pieces of glass meet, and also 
through both the ends, which, being hung on hinges, 
can be opened to admit the exact amount of air re- 
quired. In this structure all possible light is saved, 
as there are neither cross-bars nor uprights in the 
way, each side and each end, as well as each half of 
the curved top, being individually of only one piece 
of glass. The base part of the case is separated from 
the soil by a false bottom made of perforated zinc, 
the intervening space serving as a receptacle for the 
Fig. 35. A favourite shaped Fern=case for Ferns made by 
Eade and Son. 
water that is applied to the plants. At one end is 
a small tap or hole, through which, by a slight tilt- 
ing of the case from the opposite end, all superfluous 
water is easily disposed of. On the perforated zinc 
bottom should be arranged a couple of inches of 
crocks, and these covered with a layer of sphagnum, 
or (better still) of very fibrous peat, to prevent the 
drainage from becoming choked. The bottom of 
the case is then filled to a depth of about 6in., with a 
mixture of soil suitable to the species and varieties 
to be planted. For Filmy Ferns two parts peat, one 
