Editing Wardian case (section)

{{Short description|Early type of terrarium, a sealed protective container for plants}}
[[Image:Wardian Case.jpg|thumb|A Wardian case]]

The '''Wardian case''' was an early type of [[terrarium]], a sealed protective container for plants. It found great use in the 19th century in protecting foreign plants imported to Europe from overseas, the great majority of which had previously died from exposure during long sea journeys, frustrating the many scientific and amateur botanists of the time. The Wardian case was the direct forerunner of the modern terrarium and [[vivarium]] and the inspiration for the glass [[aquarium]].

It is named after [[Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward]] (1791–1868) of London, who promoted the case after experiments.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allaby|first1=Michael|author-link=Michael Allaby|title=Plants, Food, Medicine and the Green Earth|date=2010|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=9781438129679|page=103}}</ref> He published a book titled ''On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases'' in 1842.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thacker|first1=Christopher|title=The History of Gardens|date=1985|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=9780520056299|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofgardens00chri/page/237 237]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgardens00chri|url-access=registration}}</ref> A Scottish botanist named A. A. Maconochie had created a similar terrarium almost a decade earlier, but his failure to publish meant that Ward received credit as the sole inventor.<ref name=Atlantic2017>{{cite web|last1=Maylack|first1=Jen |title=How a Glass Terrarium Changed the World |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/11/how-a-glass-terrarium-changed-the-world/545621/ |website=The Atlantic|date=12 November 2017|accessdate=13 November 2017}}</ref>