The History of Terrariums



HOME	The History of Terrariums The bringing of the art of the terrarium is generally credited with a man called Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward. This came about with the publishing of his book called "On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases" which he published in 1842. The second edition of this book was published in 1852 and is readily available in the public domain. Google books has it available here In the preface to his first edition he cites an earlier reference where he wrote a letter that was published in the "Companion to the Botanical Magazine" which was published in the May 1836 issue. He also gives credit to an author named Mr. Ellis who published an article about growing plants in closed cases in an article in "Gardeners Magazine" in September of 1839. The publication of the "On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases" is considered to be the first substantial work that outlines the theory and keeping of terrariums. The story of how he first discovered the terrarium is rather interesting and Ward tells it in his book. He had the desire to watch an insect chrysalis transform into an insect so he placed it, along with some mould in a capped wide-mouthed glass bottle. He observed this bottle on a regular basis and noted how, because of the sun, moisture would be drawn to the top of the bottle during the day then circulate back down to the mould and soil in the evening. But his big surprise came when quite unexpectedly a seedling fern and a sprout of grass bloomed inside the bottle. He was very suprised by this because he had been unsuccessfully trying to grow these very things in his garden. He had surmised that pollution from local factories had been hostile to the plants and was killing them. This made him believe that the plants were doing well in his little bottle because they were sealed off from outside influences and protected from contaminants. He placed this bottle outside the window of his study and the plants inside continued to thrive for four years with no watering or outside intervention at all! From this he devised further experiments and thus his pursuit, and the science of the terrariums, was born. For a very long time these small glass enclosures were named Wardian Cases after him and even though the term is still in use today it is generally not well known and we just call them terrariums. Terrariums Grew In Popularity During the Victorian Era and predominantly in England terrariums or "Wardian Cases" became very popular and many people kept them in their homes. But over the course of decades the practice fell in decline and in todays world they have made a bit of a comeback but have never reached the every day popularity that they had achieved in the days of Ward. The Style of the Wardian Case still remains today This style of case which was created by Ward and was very popular in Victorian England was a series of sheets of glass framed together with metal. The picture at the top of this page gives you a good idea of this. And this Victorian style case has made quite a comeback over the past decade or so. Several companies now manufacture and sell them. I have plenty of tutorials on this website that will show you exactly how to make all kinds of terrariums from bottle, to plastic bottle to dish and even big ones in an aquarium! Have some fun with terrariums.
This is a Storm The Castle Project Terrarium Projects Terrarium Home Terrarium Basics Dish Terrarium Bottle Terrarium Large Glass Terrarium Creative Terrariums Terrarium Plants Soda Bottle Terrarium A beautiful Terrarium in one Hour! Make a carnivorous terrarium Terrarium Design basics Terrarium Animals Pickle Jar Terrarium Terrarium Products Terrarium Kits Need a terrarium? Terrarium Books Exotic terrariums Small Glass terrarium bowls Exo-terra-terrariums for pets and lizards Carnivorous Terrariums, plants and books Terrarium Moss I love Edmund Scientifics, They have lots of great projects OTHER PROJECTS How to make a video game How to Make a diorama Make a paper castle How to Make a Shoebox Diorama How to make a fantasy shadowbox How to Play Classical guitar Make Model Rockets How to Make a Trebuchet How to do Stop Motion Animation Make a catapult Art & Drawing For Writers For Webmasters Earn with your website WEBSITES Stormthecastle.com Castlefiction.com Epic Fantasy.com The Medieval Armory THe Fantasy Guide The Heroic Dreams Blog STORES Posters Dioramas and miniatures MORE Links Banner Exchange --------- All Materials, unless otherwise stated are Copyright©2001-2008 Kalif Publishing and StormtheCastle.com Hi, Thanks for visiting my website. My name is Will and if you have questions or would like to contribute you can --------- Earning money with your website