164 
WIXDOW GARDEXiyO 
if )'ou open tlie case every few days: It has the same efiecl as change of climate, 
or open air exposiiie to a sick person accustomed only to the air of the lioiise. 
The confinement of ferns in these close cases has the tendency to make theni 
delicate, and the sudden opening of llie case, with the introducuou of the hot, 
dry, dusty air from the rooms, is against all reason. 
It is sufficient to say, there- 
fore, that when once planted 
and closed, the fern case needs 
no ventilation. Let it live by 
itself. 
Drainage. 
This point comes up for dis- 
cussion, and the onl}-- answer 
we give is to ask another ques- 
tion : " Do plants need drain- 
age when the water is being 
constantly evaporated and 
thrown off in the open space 
above the plants ?" In other 
words, the phants are draining 
themselves constantly. Here 
is one great advantage of the 
fern case over the pot plant, 
the latter requires constant 
watering, the former none at 
all, for no water escapes. Then 
a fern case may be handled 
with impunity bj' one in whose 
hands we would not trust a 
row of pot plants, and so is 
beyond the reach of the care- 
less or forgetful. 
Management. 
Whether your case is of 
wood, glass, or metal, you will 
require a pan in which to hold 
Fl„. 44.-A Ffm Window and Aqnarimn. the plants. ZinC pans aUSWCT 
every purpose, combining economy and duraoility. Tin should not be jsed as 
It will soon rust and wear out. 
No pan should bo less than four inches deep, unless the plants are very dwarf 
specimens, and then an inch less in depth will do, though there might be some 
risk of crowding the roots too much. Tlicn, again, too great a dbpth is objec- 
