94 
LADIES 7 FLOWER GARDENER. 
ties and holes through their centers to permit the moisture to per¬ 
colate freely through the whole of the mould. The bottom being 
properly fitted, the sides are fixed to it with brass nails—-no iron 
being used in any part. When completed and filled with plants, 
the apparatus appears something like the cut on p. 93. 
At the upper edge of the box a groove is sunk to receive the 
lower edge of the glass roof which rests securely in it. This 
groove is lined with brass; its inner lip is one sixteenth of an 
inch lower than the outer, and at each end is a notch one fifth of 
an inch only above the bottom of the groove to allow the con¬ 
densed moisture which trickles down the inside of the glass to 
flow back into the mould. 
The frame-work cover of which we have now to speak is made 
of bi •ass, with a door on one side, made to fit close. The glass 
used for it may be of flattened crown-glass ; that for the dooi 
should be plate-glass. The panes must be fitted in the frames 
with gra&t care, and with a putty specially made for the purpose, 
which should, when dry, receive three coats of paint. Along the 
top of the roof, hooks or brass rods may be placed, from which 
small pots may be suspended. The whole of the frame-w r ork 
should be well fitted, and nicely put together, so as to preclude 
as far as possible all interchange between the air in the case and 
that in the room. 
We now come to the preparation fcr the plants. Lay the 
Dottom of the box with pieces of broken earthenware, to a depth 
of two inches, as an open subsoil. Next, lay a stratum of turfy 
loam one inch deep, and fill in the remainder of the space with 
soil, composed of equal portions of peat and loam, mixed with 
about one-twentieth part of rough white sand, free from iron 
The artificial garden-plot is now ready to receive the plants. 
Plant these in the usual manner, and then shower over them, with 
a fine roc3 watering-pot, from three to four gallons of water, till 
