Enclosed Window Gardens . 
115 
or tufa might also be introduced here and there in the soil, to give the 
surface an undulated appearance, suggestive of a miniature rockery; ferns 
of various kinds might then be planted thereon, leaving spaces for adding 
a few plants in flower from time to time, or if desired, planting the whole 
with ferns and foliage plants. 
As a rule, there are no plants to equal ferns for these cases, and as they 
will afford more space for them to grow than ordinary fern-cases, some 
species of large size may be introduced. It will be understood, however, 
that a sunny south window is not the place for ferns ; there, indeed, another 
course must be pursued. These window gardens or cases may, if desired, 
be heated in a similar manner to that described for fern cases. But when not 
so aided, the hardier kinds of ferns should alone be planted in them. Ferns 
that are adapted for cool houses and cool cases are just such as are required 
here. 
One form of case combines an aquarium with a fernery. Here the lower 
half or a third of the window space should be blocked with a slate slab, which 
forms the back of the tank, the glass front being within the room. It has 
been shown in the chapters on the aquarium that it is not generally advisable 
to allow the light to stream through a tank, and therefore an opaque back is 
preferable to glass. In furnishing a case of this description, the common 
English ivy, Hedera helix , in the normal condition in which we usually find it 
in hedgerows, would be most valuable, as it thrives in closed cases and can be 
trained up to form a most elegant green tracery. Those beautiful climbing 
ferns, Lygodiuin scandens , and Lygodium Japonic a, are also well adapted for 
the same purpose, and must have copper wires fitted to train them to. But 
here is a golden opportunity for growing the lovely filmy ferns, such as 
Trichomanes radicans and Hymenophyllum Tnnbridgense , with other moisture- 
loving kinds,.such as Asplenium fontanum^nd. many of the larger varieties of 
mosses met with in bogs and the neighbourhood of fountains. As to the 
aquarium, it is advisable to introduce small fishes only, and those should be 
varieties of carp, the gold carp being the most generally useful. To every two 
gallons capacity of the tank one small carp may be allowed, and no more. 
The water should never be changed unless some accident renders it necessary 
to clean out the tank, and cleanse it thoroughly. All snails, and in fact all 
the small animals commonly used as “ scavengers,” are best dispensed with; 
they are simply a nuisance. It is also a fallacy to introduce water-plants, but 
Vallisneria spiralis is an exception, as it generally thrives if planted in a bed 
