156 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
gardenless dwellings, and look ont from sunless 
windows. The mansions of the rich, and thou¬ 
sands of houses of the well-to-do, and of the 
middle classes, are necessarily, in great London 
and in other cities and towns, placed where the 
sun cannot exert his charming, life-giving in¬ 
fluence. Many a window of a grand house looks 
out upon nothing but brick walls, which tower up 
high and blot out the sun’s rays. The occupants 
of these houses are often bound, by the exigencies 
of business, to make their homes for weary 
months in these shadowy dwelling-places. 
Why, then, do they not bring the beautiful 
Ferns into requisition ? What exquisite grace 
would be shed over every room in a house, if 
every available space were occupied by the 
feathery fronds of these beautiful plants!—on 
tables and sideboards; on mantelpieces; in fire¬ 
grates surmounting trailing sprays of ivy; on 
window-sills; hanging from window-rods ; on the 
landing of the stairs; in the hall; in the bed¬ 
rooms—everywhere in fact. Why not ? Without 
any curtailment of necessary space, without any 
inconvenience, these beautiful plants might be so 
