Dictionary

Wardian case en · NOUN

Etymology

Named after its inventor, Nathaniel B. Ward, + -ian.

Meanings

1. An early kind of protective container for transporting plants etc.
   • We had brought with us from the Botanical Gardens in Queensland several Wardian cases filled with banana suckers, mangoes, and other varieties of fruit trees, as well as a supply of vegetable seeds - melons, pumpkins, and cucumbers, all of which, in due time, partially supplied the want experienced by every member of the community of a supply of kitchen garden produce. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 121:

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