Wardian Cases are boxes covered with tight-fitting frames of glass, under which plants are successfully raised that could not be grown in the vitiated atmosphere of some cities or dwellings. They are named after N. B. Ward, a surgeon of London, who first announced his discovery to Sir William Hooker in 1836. Plants have been successfully transported long distances packed in these cases. By means of them Mr. Fortune conveyed 20,000 tea plants from Shanghai to the Himalaya, and they have enabled the transport to be effected of the cinchona tree from South America to India.
