The Fern House . 
37 
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 a piece 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 
