FERN POTS, PANS, ROCKWORK, ETC. 
51 
course, a narrow, but, at tbe same time, a remarkably bandy, 
place for tiny plants wbicb it is desirable to instal out of 
the reach of worms. If two ridge-slates be screwed on to 
three triangular pieces of wood (oak is desirable), or wired 
on to three pieces of slate — one at each end, and one in the 
middle to stiffen — a removable pocket of the same type is 
produced, which can be hung up upon nails passing through 
the holes with which ridge- slates are already provided when 
purchased. Handy and inconspicuous shelves are also found 
to exist, ready made, in these ridge-slates, all they need 
being strong holdfasts as supports. 
For those who have not the leisure or the inclination for 
home-made contrivances of this sort. Booty’s Fern Wall- tiles 
will be found to answer admirably for covering wall surfaces; 
these are gracefully curved earthenware troughs, which can 
be easily fixed one above another, and to any desired length 
and extent. Fern-pockets can also be constructed of small, 
broken burrs and good cement, care being taken to leave 
drainage-holes. A few strong nails and holdfasts driven into 
the wall assist operations of this class immensely. 
This brings us to rockwork proper, or, rather, as near 
proper as ordinary purses and available materials permit. 
The imitation of real rocks we will assume to be too generally 
impracticable to be aimed at, involving, as it must do, if done 
at all well, considerable outlay as well as special knowledge. 
With the common refuse, however, of the brick kilns — ^.e., 
brick burrs, in which the more the bricks have lost their 
semblance the better, we have a material which, if it does 
not deceive the eye with the appearance of veritable rocks, is 
quite as congenial to rock-loving Ferns, affording the same 
protection to their roots and crowns in the chinks, nooks, 
and crevices which, with a little care, can be contrived. 
In forming an artificial rockery, beginners usually make 
the mistake of building up the burrs and filling in the soil 
as they go on, the result being, inevitably, a great settling 
of the whole fabric afterwards, and a series of unsuspected 
holes and hollows inside, which are very detrimental to the 
roots of the plants, and to their well-being generally. The 
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