WARDIAN CASES TOR AQUATICS. 
233 
to suit them admirably well. Pots of eighteen ; 
inches in diameter are not too large for the I 
full-grown plants. Plants thus treated the J 
one season, generally commence flowering in j 
June or July the following season, when they 
become a very graceful ornament in the 
greenhouse. They may also be planted out 
in any warm sheltered spot in the flower 
garden previous to their coming into flower, 
and will there produce a fine effect. 
PANSIES AND THEIR EAULTS. 
The prevailing fault with the pansy is 
the small portion of ground-colour — yellow 
or white — as compared with the size of the 
flower, and the consequent breaking through 
of the eye into the deep margin. It may be 
very convenient for dealers to uphold varieties 
so faulty, but the judges ought to look sharply 
after a fault which spoils the brilliancy. A 
fine eye is a great point in a variety, if other 
portions of the flower are in perfection ; but 
if there be not ground-colour enough to show 
it off to advantage, the eye had better be small 
than large, for it is a fatal blemish if the rays 
join the margin. It appears to us a strange 
fancy to select from a bed of seedlings varieties 
with striking faults, but the mischief arises 
out of the determination of certain dealers to 
send out some new ones every season, and 
they can do no more than take their best. 
There is no real blemish in a small centre, 
supposing the eye were small in proportion, 
and this shows at once the propriety of decid- 
ing that the mere quantity of ground-colour 
should form no part of the set properties ; it 
were far better to determine that the eye 
should never break through to the margin, 
for it is the disproportion of the eye to the 
white or yellow surrounding it, that creates 
the defect, and causes the entire centre to be 
a confused, ill-defined, ungainly feature. If 
the grower would but attend to the details of 
the properties, instead of just two or three 
main features, which they think alone essen- 
tial, they would show better taste. "We know 
there are persons who hold themselves very 
high as individual authorities, who like round, 
thick, and smooth petals, but who fancy other 
points mentioned in the properties of no con- 
sequence. It betrays great ignorance of effect, 
and an abuse of order and taste ; for if they 
would take the pains to place beside each other 
two moderately pretty flowers, one with the 
eye breaking through the margin, and one in 
which there is no such fault, they would see 
at once the importance of attending to those 
points which they considered of small conse- 
quence. If the eye is distinct, and there is a 
clear white or yellow beyond it all round, that 
is all that is required, for the size of the yel- 
low or white centre is determined more by the 
eye than by the margin ; that is to say, its 
size in proportion to the eye is more important 
than its size in proportion to the border or 
margin. It must be obvious that, where 
variety is required, any restriction as to the 
quantity of colour would be wrong. Upon 
the size and form of the yellow or white 
centre many of the variegations would naturally 
depend ; therefore it is only necessary to make 
some condition which shall be easier defined, 
and infallible as a test ; and this is done in the 
rule laid down, that the eye and its rays shall 
not break into the margin. The more this is 
attended to on the part of raisers the better, for 
it is a sad fault, and much too general among 
those we are obliged to admit in stands for 
want of better. There is another blemish, 
of which we have said so much that very few 
now venture to put forth a new flower that 
possesses it, — we mean the two colours on the 
ground, the two side petals a paler yellow 
than the bottom one, or, as in some flowers, 
the two side petals white ground and the 
bottom one yellow, or straw, or an undefined 
mixture of both. This is so serious a fault 
that it ought to banish them from every stand; 
or rather, it ought to disqualify a stand alto- 
gether, and put it out of competition. It is 
becoming rare among good fanciers, and will, 
we hope, soon be as unknown in competition 
as a foul-bottomed tulip or a run petal in a 
pink or carnation. 
WARDIAN CASES FOR AQUATICS. 
Oxe of the most beautiful and curious 
adaptations of the principle of the TVardian 
case, is that of growing small aquatic plants 
in bell glasses, so contrived as to exclude the 
external air. In this way a very elegant 
ornament for the window-sill or drawing-room 
table may be produced. In an ordinary War- 
dian case, the upper parts of the plants only 
— the stems, leaves, and flowers — are pre- 
sented to view, but the aquatic plants admit 
of a much more complete inspection ; the 
growth and development of the roots is pe- 
culiarly interesting and instructive, and this 
is readily observed when the plants are grow- 
ing in clear water contained in a clear glass 
vessel. 
The mode of constructing these TVardian 
cases is both neat and simple ; it is effected 
thus : — A piece of ornamental wood is 
" turned" into the shape of a v^ry dwarf 
pedestal, of a saucer-like or shallow cup-like 
form, into which the knob of an inverted glass 
dome is adjusted, so that it stands secure. 
The glass is then filled with water, and soma 
floating plants placed upon the surface ; 
