The Fern House . 
3 ? 
soil thrown upon this rough bed. There is a trapped 
sink leading to a drain in one corner of the house, and 
all superfluous water finds its way there quickly, as the 
pavement slopes gently to it. The finish of the work 
I did myself, and it occupied me, at odd times, about 
four months, the work being essentially amusing, though 
attended with an occasional abrasion of the knuckles. 
The task I had was to make the “ pockets” — openings 
for the purpose being left at intervals in the work. I 
made the “ pockets” and planted the ferns at the same 
time. Some of the larger ones are planted in projecting 
receptacles, just as the bricklayer left them; but gene- 
rally speaking, I found it the best plan to stuff the 
necessary soil into a chink or gap, then place the fern 
in it, and, lastly, to introduce apiece of burr of suitable 
size to close it in, and this was done with the help of 
cement. I do not think I can profitably occupy further 
space with remarks on the formative part of the affair ; 
details of this kind do not admit of being described 
minutely ; all I can say in concluding this part of the 
history is this, that I never did a better job in my life ; 
for not only have the ferns and mosses planted in it 
thriven amazingly, but the scene produced is exquisitely 
beautiful and affords more than a suggestion of the 
" Negligence of nature, wild and wide.” 
It is of the utmost importance to inform the reader 
that the house is not heated. It is remarkably 
proof against frost, which I attribute to the fact that 
the back wall (1) forms one side of the drawing-room, 
which is kept at a comfortable temperature all the winter, 
and of course the wall itself is in winter always warmer 
