of the soil. The water in the dish does not become foul unless the flowers begin to decay; should this be the case, a little powdered charcoal will at once arrest the tendency.

We have found many flowers to last very long in perfection. Thus, camellias, two weeks; azaleas, from two to four weeks; daphne, ten days; allamanda, four days; the scarlet bracts of poinsettia, six weeks; heath, from one to three weeks; roses, five days; diosma (the green sprigs), four weeks; chorizema, one week; cyclamen, three weeks; mahernia, eight days; cinerarias, two weeks; calceolarias, one week; pinks, ten days; heliotropes, and other thin-petalled flowers, three to six days; geraniums, from six to ten days; orchids, such as Cattleya and Oncidium, from six to ten days. Care must be taken not to have the case so damp as to cause mould to collect on the flowers; experience will be the best teacher in this respect.

A very simple case may be constructed by procuring a shallow, round, glass dish, about two feet in diameter; set in this a glass dish two sizes smaller, and about three or four inches deep; fill the outer dish with water, the inner with earth, and plant your ferns.

Procure a

hemisphere of glass, large enough to cover the smaller dish, and to rest its rim on the water of the larger. The water prevents the admission of air, and the only care is to see that it never entirely evaporates from the outer dish. Your case is done; and with a little ventilation, your plants will grow with a vigor and freshness unknown to you before. These common cases may be made of any size, and any clear glass will do as a cover. The lower dishes may be common stone ware, and the cover one of the glasses used by confectioners to cover cake, or what is better, a common plain or tubulated receiver, which may be procured at any glass house, or of any dealer in chemical ware.

derstood. Ferns, and a few kindred plants, may be grown

in air-tight cases, but there is no objection to occasionally admitting air to a Wardian case.

The principal care necessary is to see that the case does not suffer from want of water. The moment the door is opened, or the glass raised, the moisture, which was suspended in the air, or condensed on the sides of the case, flies off, and an equalization of temperature begins between the air in the case and that in the room. That in the case soon parts with its moisture, and becomes dry and unfit to sustain the plants in health and beauty, unless the earth in the case is again watered. When too much water has been given (which is readily seen by the glass always remaining clouded), opening the door and admitting external air is necessary to the health of the plants. In this matter, experience will be the best teacher. Few cases are perfectly air tight, and usually enough air will be admitted through cracks and ill-fitting shades, for the health of ferns and lycopodia. The advantage of such cases is, that they are sufficiently close to exclude dust and noxious gases, yet admit of ventilation at times favorable for the operation.

For cases made on the ordinary principle, that is, as close as ordinary workmanship will make them, the best plants are ferns and lycopodia, because these naturally love a close, moist atmosphere, and whatever facilities the case may

afford for the admission of atmospheric influences, such flowerless plants need less ventilation than most other kinds; and even in the case of flowering plants, those which prefer moisture and partial shade are the most suitable.

Of course different ferns and plants require different culture, but most will thrive under one general system. The soil should be one part peat, one part leaf mould, one half part silver sand; small bits of charcoal should be mixed in. The soil should be broken, not sifted, and should be of such a consistency that when wet it should be crumbly, and not pasty. The materials should be well mixed by hand.

We have also grown ferns successfully in a soil composed of one part peat, one part sphagnum moss, chopped fine, and one part silver sand.

The planting of the case may be varied to meet the taste and fancy. The primary object is to secure perfect drainage; and for ferns, an admixture of broken potsherds with the soil permits a freer circulation of air around the roots, which conduces much to a healthy growth.

If your case is large, and sufficiently high, a miniature