V * 
CHAPTER II. 
DESCRIPTION OF FERN-CASES. 
Mighty Flora, goddesse of fresh flowres, which clothed hath the soyle in lusty green 
Made buds to springe, with her sweet showers, by influence of the sunne shine ; 
To doe pleasannce of intent full cleane, unto the states which now sit here, 
Hath Ver downe sent her own daughter deare ” 
Lydgate 
D HAT is the simplest form of fern-case ? A flower-pot, 
with a bell glass to fit close down upon the soil within 
the rim of the pot, in which one fern alone is 
planted. And a very pretty ornmanent such a 
simple fern-case may be, with a fine plant of the 
erect variety of Asplenium marinum , or one of the 
tasseled kinds of Scolopendrium vulgare , to occupy 
it. Next to this is the “ Fern Shade,” a contri¬ 
vance consisting of a circular pan about a foot in 
diameter and six inches deep, and having a narrow 
groove inside the rim for the reception ot a glass 
shade. The exterior of the pan is generally adorned with rustic figures, 
and covered with a brown glaze. The glass shade, of course, is movable, 
thus affording easy access to the plants and permitting the necessary 
watering and airing to be carried out without much difficulty. Drainage, 
