The household (of the Detroit free press)

into the soil. They will sometimes grow right merrily, and, if trained about the basket, beautify and illuminate it in a very dainty and exquisite fashion. In lieu of the stakes and grape vine (wild grape vine can nearly always be procured in abundance) a basket which has lost its bottom may be used, which, if not already browned by exposure, may be painted any desirable color. If the fern basket is sufficiently protected in the fall with leaves, it may be relied upon for a thrifty crop of ferns the following summer. GROWING FERNS IN-DOORS. Most ferns grown in-doors are raised in Wardian cases. A simple one may be made by taking five panes of glass of any size pleased ; four to form the sides, one for the top ; fasten the glass together with a light wooden frame ; then take any tin dish, like a baking pan, or if round a tin plate or jelly cake pan, or a tin dish can be made to fit for a trifling sum of money ; paint the tin green on the outside. Many people have what are called " fern rooms," and which anybody with taste and a little money can easily make. These are made by setting up a square, five feet high, of glass set in a frame work of wood or iron, and of which the shape best sets off the ferns. " These are kept slightly moist by the water in a small tank of tin around which they rise or fall, according to the variety to which they belong, and has for its sole ornament these tiny feathery ferns. It should be put upon rollers so that it can be moved from room to room. Decayed wood (not pine) mixed with about half its bulk of good fibrous loam from an old pasture, and very small proportion of welldecayed stable manure, makes a good compost. Now collect some pieces of broken flower pots, or still better, bits of marble, granite or any stone and scatter them around the bottom, placing in the center some moss-grown stump or stick, and pile the stones around it; then collect from the woods, ferns, mosses, partridge vine with its bright red berries — any plant will grow in these ferneries which can be found in moist places in the woods ; take up a little of the leaf mold in which they grow — they need but little soil — arrange your plants spreading the roots carefully over the stones, scattering a little leaf-mold on them, and placing your mosses around the whole. The tallest plant should be placed in the center and good taste shown as to the arrangement. A small piece of looking-glass placed in the bottom and the edges covered with moss and tiny shells will prove an effective miniature lake. Before placing the globe or glass frame over the fernery, sprinkle the plants' thoroughly, then cover with the glass and let it remain a few days in the shade. Keep them in a shady place where the sun touches them but a short time. Do not water them too often, once a month is sufficient in winter, a little oftener in the summer ; if too wet they will UNIQ UE FERN BASKETS. 87