tL BLED, Ve tine ijl ttd ithe ot eT EE LLL a fPIEGG, Ai Widnes ive tte LALLY § \ 8 y. ‘ N N y. N N x N N S . ‘ S SY BY \ ‘Ss s N ' ‘ee N tS . ‘ee ‘eS Ns N WOOL EPELLILILLS CLEA ALIL LILIA LEG fo 7 SS Stith (ULLAL LSAT SLL Y Yi. Ue ~ ; SS ee ON ‘ ~ SSS SOOANO ¥ SS “9 7 sant anne Se Zz Pe tO nt Oe ear Vas. pas A BRAN S AS WS SUT TA ereete WS ws WON AH wy WS OO . Lebhibhinnehhnhne be abeehee bp enbbos Shisha bbhhhbnbcphb bbe S SR NSSs ¥ *N LV QS AMERY ~~ CAGE ae NN TERS EERE TEC CANE TEESE EN EE GEES: CAC IO KG x ~ “aus : a ne ; Re . WS Y SS FS BG SS ae SRN phy y od SS? 1 SRR \ — . WSs a SS SS @ a y S Wy . \ RK AG \\\ ESS VV LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, ae STATES OF AMERICA. 4 SRM HMw SS MMOH x6» AA AQ = SH FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. . } | AMERICAN ‘ NATURAL HISTORY SERIES. VOLUME I. Ferns in their Homes and Ours. By J. Robinson, Professor of Botany, Massachusetts Horticul- tural Society. With eight chromo-lithographs of rare ferns and © many other plates and illustrations. 12mo. Cloth. $1.50. VOLUME Il. The Structure and Habits of Spiders. By J. H. Emerton. Fully illustrated. r2mo. Cloth. $1.50. OTHERS TO FOLLOW. i | ia { ; \ | ; FRONTISPIECE. E. N. Peazpopy, PHoro. ? THE FERN CORNER In the writers Conservatory.—See Leseription of Plates. PEK NS Py THEIR HOMES AND OURS. 1306 JOHN ROBINSON, PROFESSOR OF BOTANY AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, BOSTON; IN CHARGE DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY, PEABODY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, SALEM. SALEM : S. E. CASSING, “PUBLISHER, NATURALISTS’ AGENCY. 1878. nem, CopyRIGHT, 1878, By S. jhe CASS: Stereotyped By C. $. Peters & Son, Boston. Bevication. I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE BOOK Co ftv Friend, EeOvIN: COURTEAND BOLLES, AS A SLIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENT FOR THE ASSISTANCE HE HAS SO KINDLY RENDERED ME IN ITS PREPARATION. LVNERODUCTION: ==F]ERN-CULTURE in America has still the char acteristics of novelty, although ferns have long been favorites in other lands; for some of our New-England species have been under cultivation in Old England for two hundred and fifty years. John Trades- cant introduced into Europe, in 1628, the Cystopieris bulbifera and the Maiden-hair (Adiantum pedatum) ; while other species, including the Walking-Leaf Fern (Camptosorus) and the Sensitive Fern ( Onoclea), soon followed. In the Kew Gardens at London, about the first of the present century, there were eighty-three spe- cies of exotic ferns under cultivation, while at the same time there were thirty species in the Botanic Garden at Berlin; and in 1866 the collection at Kew numbered more than a thousand species of exotic ferns. Besides the large collections of famous public institutions, there have been and are many private collections of ferns in Vil viii INTRODUCTION. — England which rival and even surpass them. ‘The com- petition is there so keen in obtaining fine specimens of rare ferns, that as much as fifty guineas ($250) has been paid for a single piant. It is not therefore to be wondered at, that, in countries where ferns have so long been under cultivation, numerous works upon the subject of their structure, growth, and culture, have appeared. In America there are but few large special collections of ferns, although there are many smaller ones as well as individual specimens of rare excellence. The beauti- ful ferns, palms, and other rare plants, exhibited by Mr. Such of New Jersey, in a side-room of the Horticultural Building at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, was the one redeeming thing among the contents of that great structure; at least, at the time of the writer’s visit in June, 1876. This was unfortunate, as it misrepresented the condition of American horticulture, besides being a severe criticism on the patriotism of American horticul- turists. There has not yet been published in this country any work devoted exclusively to the cultivation of ferns. | There is, therefore, less hesitation on the writer’s part in presenting to the public this little book, in which he has endeavored to adapt the subject and its illustrations to the wants of persons in the United States. He has, dur- ing the last ten years, followed in practice the theories and INTRODUCTION. 1X suggestions of the numerous English treatises on fern- culture ; and, without pretending to compete with these numerous and valuable as well as expensive works, he trusts that this volume may be of service to those in this country who desire to cultivate ferns, and need a guide especially adapted to the circumstances of their home. By introducing the subject with two chapters on the growth, structure, and classification of ferns, an attempt has been made to impress the mind of the beginner with an idea that a knowledge of these subjects will vastly add to his success. Numerous authors are quoted in the following pages, and it is believed that due acknowledgment has been made in every case where use has been made of the thoughts of others. The writer desires to express his gratitude to those who have aided and encouraged him during the preparation of the book. Among such friends are T. F. Hunt, Esq., who has kindly furnished the materials for some of the best designs given in the plates; and Dr. A. S. Packard, jun., who has not only furnished the valuable plate illus- trating the insects which destroy ferns, but has also kind- ly revised the chapter upon this subject, and added sev- eral points of value. Mr. Emerton has given great care to the drawing of the illustrations, and has certainly suc- ceeded in making them all that could be desired. x INTRODUCTION. The reader as well as the writer is much indebted to Rev. E. C. Bolles of Salem for his work in revising the writer’s manuscript. And last, but not least, the writer desires to express his appreciation of the liberality of the publisher, Mr. Cassino, who has without objection several times ainended the original plan of the book, although the changes have added considerably to the expense of publication. 2 CHESTNUT STREET, SALEM, June 1, 1878. CONTENTS. FERNS INTRODUCTION 3 : : F . List OF ABBREVIATIONS USED . A : List AND DESCRIPTION OF PLATES . f I. Tuer LIFE OF A FERN . : II. CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS . : III. DiIsTRIBUTION AND NOMENCLATURE OF TV. SOMETHING OF THE LITERATURE OF FERNS V. How To COLLECT FERNS FOR CULTIVATION VI. FERNERIES OUT OF Doors . Vili. Hints aspout SOILS AND POTS FOR FERNS VIII. TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES IX. FERN-CASES . ; : ‘ : X. FERNS IN THE LIVING-ROOM ‘ XI. SPECIAL WAYS OF GROWING FERNS XII. TREE-FERNS . , é ‘ a XIII. Goop FERNS FOR CULTIVATION . XIV. How To PROPAGATE FERNS . 2 XV. OTHER CRYPTOGAMS IN CULTIVATION XVI. SELAGINELLAS. ; 5 2 ; XVII. FLOWERING-PLANTS TO GROW WITH FERNS XVIII. FERN-PESTS j : ; ; 3 MX CONCLUSION... : 4 ; ‘ xi A BY Bernh. . Boisd. . Bre Cav. Col. Desv.. IR Orst.(. H. &G. ik. or Hook.” .. Ee Bak, Hort. Hoffm. sire Klf. or Kaulf. Kotz. = ior eainn: L. & F. amie 3. Wall: lbibahne 48 L’Hérit. Mett. —— SS] ——_ 5 5525 SS555== ———— mpbn EVLA TLONS: AUTHORITIES. Bet tei ot NR EAM s Bernhardi. Boisduval. Robert Brown. A. J. Cavanilles. W. Colenso. N. A. Desvaux. John Reinhold Forster. Hooker & Greville. Sir William Jackson Hooker. Humboldt, Bompland, and Kunth. Of garden origin. G. F. Hoffmann. John Smith. G. F. Kaulfuss. Dr. Klotzsch. Linnzus. Langsdorf & Fischer. J. Bapt. Monet de Lamark. J. J. Labillardieére. Linnzus’ son. C. L. L’Héritier. Dr. G. Mettenius. xiii xiv ABBREVIATIONS. Michxi. tsi ae sere, Muchas. Nutt. ae a ee nr a REECE RB wh s-sflose ef phe 2 ae Ee BR ICH Ei pw 5 Se. a cw, See eno ee Ieee OM... esl we ge tw 8 Oy SD James Midwated eee Spryor Sprengs + yoo. e able to support more, —in that respect analogous to only one ovulum being fertilized in the ovaries of many flowering plants. Admitting that, then how are we to explain, that, in removing the plant- bud, a new bud is formed, and that even as many as eight or ten have been obtained from prothallia of Hymenophyllum crinitum, each of which by proper care becomes a plant? Then, again, experi ments have shown that by dividing the prothallium from the base upwards, with a sharp instrument, into two or even four parts, each produces a plant- bud. Seeing this, it is reasonable to infer that prothallia have the power of producing plant-buds analogous to the leaves of Legouzas and other plants ; but whether such is the case, or each bud is the result of the action of spermatozoids upon latent archegonia, is not known.” To those who are in haste to cultivate ferns, either in the greenhouse, fernery, or out of doors, ASS\ FERNERY OUT OF DOORS. th Ws) PLATE I. Vena H } { { THE LIFE OF A FERN. 9 it may seem like dry work to linger in a careful study of their structure, growth, or habits. But to do good work in any thing, it is, as a rule, better to be well grounded at the outset in the fundamental principles of the subject. The culti- vation of ferns is no exception to this statement. In order to know the proper size and shape of pan into which a fern should be placed, it is quite important to understand the habit of the plant, — whether the roots are inclined to strike deeply into the ground from an erect stem, as in Lomaria gibba, or to spread laterally from a much-forked rhizome below the surface, as in Preris aguzlina, or to only penetrate slightly into the soil from a rhi- zome creeping over the surface. So let us consider the various parts of the fern as it grows. If a healthy specimen of one of the Maiden-hair ferns, growing in a pot, be inverted and carefully slipped out, it will be noticed, that, at the end of each of the little black, wire-like roots, there will be a portion, some two millimetres in length, which is light in color; indeed, almost white. The extreme tip of this appears brownish if examined with a pocket lens. An enlarged view of a section through the centre of a root-tip will be found Pl. 5, Fig. 11; and it will be seen that the browner portion, a, at the extremity, is composed of closer and tougher cells than the rest. It is, in fact, a cap; which, like the bark of a tree, grows and ae) FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. increases from within, and is continually worn away on the outside as it is pushed ahead by the lengthening of the root. The lightest portion of the figure marked 4c represents the true root; and the longitudinal growth takes place between the points 6 and ¢, this portion being the only part of the root capable of absorbing much nourishment. This absorption occurs through the outer cells and root-hairs. The darker parts of the roots do not continue to lengthen, —a fact obvious after a moment’s thought ; as, if they did, the whole mass of roots would become tangled and knotted, and healthy circulation made impossible for the matter which is absorbed at the tips. Now, it will be seen how.injurious it must be to roughly tear up, or pull to pieces, the mass of roots, when we are removing or transplanting ferns. These remarks may be applied as well to other plants; for it can be understood that if the only living portion of the root, so to speak, be torn off, the plants again reduced to the condition of an ordinary fresh cutting, which has again to go through the process of forming roots. The two extreme forms of the stem, or rhzzome, in ferns, may be illustrat- ed by Pterts aguilina (Pl. 5, Fig. 10) and any tree- fern (Pl. 7). The former apparently throws up its fronds here and there separately from some invisible point: the latter regularly unfolds its crown from immediately within the circle of fronds last unfolded. THE LIFE OF A FERN. II If we carefully (every thing in the study of ferns must be done with care) dig up, in August, a plant of Pteris aguilina, we shall find, that, beyond the base of the fronds perfected the pres- eme season (see ¢,.in, Pl. -5,: Big: 10), there: is a short, woolly-covered, rudimentary frond (6), which, if nicely dissected, will be found to have the beginning of the portion which is to expand next season closely folded over on its summit. Still farther on, along the underground stem, we shall discover at its extreme end (marked c) the rudiment of the frond for the third season, which is not to see the light for two years. At d is the continuation of the rhizome: in nature the stem will be more extended than in the figure, as the _ distances between the fronds will be proportionally greater. If we examine the crown of a tree-fern, or Aspidium spinulosum, or A. marginale, we shall find circle within circle of little heads, the rudi- mentary fronds for succeeding years. As the outermost of these develop year by year, fresh ones are formed at the centre to keep up the supply. If we now imagine the tree-fern laid upon its side just beneath the surface of the ground, and its crown turned up at the end so as toe allow the fronds to assume an erect position, we shall have something very much like the As- _pidium, or perhaps more like a Struthiopteris. To follow out the comparison still more, it is only 412 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. necessary to imagine that the crown, instead of being turned to an erect position, still remains upon its side, and that the fronds only become erect as they develop. We shall then have a plant of the character of Asplenium filix-femina, or Woodwardia Virginica,; and, to connect these ferns with the extreme form of the Péeris, it will be only necessary to suppose the loose crown of the Woodwardia so elongated that only one frond will be found to every inch of stem, and the terminal point of growth to keep at a given dis- tance below the surface of the ground. The importance of observation and the possession of knowledge upon these subjects is very great; as will be found when ferns are to be collected in the woods or fields for transplanting, or specimens are to be chosen from the greenhouse for the fernery, or especially when the species for basket - culture are to be selected. The leaves or fronds of ferns vary greatly in texture and cutting. Familiarity with their tex- ture will greatly aid the cultivator in determining the situation in which a new-comer must be placed when its proper natural surroundings are not al- ready known. If a bit of the under cuticle of a frond be examined by the microscope with a power of fifty to one hundred diameters, the stoma- ta or breathing-pores will be seen. They are the same as upon the leaves of flowering plants, and THE LIE OF AV PERN. 13 according to their greater or less number will the - fern require a moister or dryer atmosphere. Should the air of the fern-house or case become too dry, and the plant be insufficiently watered, the evapo- ration of water from the stomata will exceed the supply from the earth, and the fronds will soon become wilted. If a fern of less active habit be placed in too moist an atmosphere, and too pro- fusely watered, it will not endure the wrong condi- tion, but mould and die. Some ferns, however, possess the power of enduring great extremes of moisture and drought. Such is the case with many of our South-western species, where, in the dry season, the fronds curl up, and remain in that condition till again revived in the wet months by the rain. Their roots doubtless penetrate deeply into the crevices of the rocks where the plants grow; and great vitality is retained in the crown from which the fronds spring, and which, like the fronds themselves, is often protected by a dense coat of soft scales. The two species Cheilanthes lanuginosa (Pl. 10) and WNotholena dealbata (PI. 2) are examples of this habit. 7 The writer received from a friend a plant of Cryptogramme. crispa, which had been collected in California two months before. No pains had been taken to preserve the roots; there was no earth with it; nor had the plant received a drop of water during the entire time which it had spent 14 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. in travelling about the country ina trunk. From curiosity, the little crown of this fern was planted ; and it was matter of great surprise that in a few weeks it developed several fronds. In cul- tivation, all ferns of this habit require special treatment. The frond of a fern represents something more than the ordinary leaf of a plant. Often the merest rudiments only of the leaflets (pzzz@) are to be found in the young frond just unfolding; while, as the frond unrolls, they develop and grow to their perfect shape. Under favorable circum- stances, the frond of some species seems capable of indefinite development, as in Wephrolcpis exal- tata; and, again, there is in some genera (Glezche- nia, for example) a tendency to a dichotomous (forking) growth, which is often repeated from the same frond during a second season. Another remarkable feature of the fronds of some ferns is the development of viviparous buds, either from the under side, as in Cystopteris bulbifera, or above, as in Asplenium bulbiferum. In Cystopteris these bulblets fall off and grow during the second season; but in most species which have vivipa- rous bulbs they remain attached to the frond, and develop several leaves while still drawing their nourishment from the parent frond. This habit has a parallel in nearly all plants, from the lowest Alege to the highest Phanerogams. It might be LHE LIFE OF A FERN. 15 illustrated by the Zodspores or swarm-spores of the lower Alga, as in Conferva, the common green scum seen in stagnant water; or the ¢etra- spores of the Floridee, seaweeds of a higher grade. The gemme of the Hepatice and Mosses represent the same thing: in these the little seed-like buds are scattered, and reproduce the species which bore them, without any fertilization whatever. The Lycopodiums supply instances of this same phenomenon, and it is of quite common occur- rence among flowering plants. Illustrations are found in Segonia and Bryophyllum, and particu- larly in the familiar bulblets of the Tiger-Lily, which are found at the base of each leaf, and are to be considered as detached axillary buds con- densed in form as they are separated from the plant. A farinaceous substance, white or yellow, is sometimes developed on the under side of some ferns, and, in one or two varieties, on the other side also. It is often thick enough to cover and hide the fruit. This gives the popular names “Gold” and “Silver” ferns to such species. It occurs most frequently with Gymnogramme and Notholena (see Pl. 2). Occasionally upon the same plant of G. calomelanos will be found some fronds with white, and others with yellow farina. All plants of this habit should be carefully kept out of the way of dripping water, and should not 16 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. be syringed, as this will destroy their beautiful appearance. We now come to consider the fruit, which brings us around to the point from which we started. The spore-cases, as we have seen, vary in size and shape; but in all instances they arise from the outer layer of cells of the frond upon which they are borne. They hence represent what Sachs calls trichomes (hairs), being developed in the same manner from the external layer of cells as are the hairs on the root, stem, leaves, &c., of plants. Ifa careful examination be made, with the aid of a pocket lens, of a collection of spore- cases on the back of a frond, there will frequently be found among them some which have not devel- oped, and are still only hairs, sometimes jointed and club-shaped at the end. The condition of the frond on which the fruit is borne being changed from that of the sterile one, it would naturally result that the development of leaf-tissue would be sacrificed to produce the vast quantity of soré which most ferns have; and accordingly we find that the fertile fronds are usually distinguishable from the sterile ones, as being more contracted. To such an extent is this contraction carried, that we finally see the entire leafy portion disappear, and the fertile frond consist of a mass of spore- cases, connected and held together by the veins of the frond only, as in Osmunda, or by the small- NOTHOLANA DEALBATA, KUNZE. THE LIFE OF A FERN. EY est amount of tissue possible, as in the Oxoclea. Among plants of Osmunda cinnamomea a curious form is often found, where portions of the fertile frond have developed sterile leaflets (pzzne@), re- sembling somewhat O. Claytoniana in appearance, and showing that the fertile is but a differentiated sterile frond. ® 18 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. Table to show the position occupied by FERNS in the classification of Plants. Dicotyledons (Roses, Oaks, Composites, &c.). Phanerogams + Monocotyledons (Lilies, Palms, Grasses, &c.). | Gymnosperms (Pines, Spruces, Cycads, &c.). Selaginella. Lycopodiacez . | fyeopodiom, Isoétes. Marselia. Salvinia. Botrychium. Ophioglossum. Isosporous . 4 Equisetacee . { Equisetum. Heterosporous Rhizocarpez . Vascular Cryp- togams Ophioglossaceze } Polypodium. FILICES (ae &c. Sphagnum. Muscl °. 4, go oe ee Muscinez ° ° ° atonal Jungermannia, &e5&c. Chara. Nitella. [Lichens.] Truffles. Hepaticz Characeze : ow aie 2 ee aragers [Myxomycetes.] Mushrooms. Toadstools. Wheat-smut. Potato-rot. Mildew. Seaweeds. Conferve. cee | Diatoms. Fungi Thallophytes . e ° ° Algz ° Carre (2. CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. PAea.N order that we may better understand the 46 O34 position occupied by the ferns in the clas- sification of the vegetable kingdom, let us examine the table which precedes this chapter, and in which the groups, classes, and orders will be found carried out in the several columns. The arrangement is taken chiefly from Sachs’ invalu- able work, ‘A Text-Book of Botany.” The low- est vegetable forms are at the bottom of the page; and, as we ascend, we reach the higher ones. The column at the left contains the great groups, Pha- nerogams, Vascular Cryptogams, &c.; that is, the plants contained in these groups have sufficient differences to make it proper to arrange them in this manner. For instance, we can say that all Thallophytes possess characters which relate them to each other ; while none of them have woody bun- dles, a character which distinguishes Vascular Cryp- togams from the groups below them, and is com- 19 20 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. mon to all the divisions of Vascular Cryptogams. Again: it will be seen that there are differences between the Crvyptogams themselves (the four lower groups), as great as the differences between Cryp- togams and Phanerogams: i.e.,a toadstool (one of the Thallophytes) is as much below a Polypodium as the Polypodium is below a sunflower (one of the Phanerogams). In the second column we find the various classes into which the groups are divided. About mid- way in this column we find the ferns (/z/ices) as a division of the Vascular Cryptogams. It will be noticed that with the ferns, under the heading Isosporous, are the Equisetacee and Ophioglossacee. This signifies that these three clusters of plants produce but one sort of spores; which fact dis- tinguishes them from the Lycopodiacee and Rhizo- carpee@, which produce two sorts, male and female, and are denominated Heterosporous. The Lycopods and Rhzzocarps are thus more like the Phanerogams or flowering plants, which have pollen, the male, and an ovule, the female, element. Again: the ferns have upon their leaves stomata (breathing- pores), as do the flowering plants: hence they must be placed in advance of the mosses and Fungi, as these latter never have such organs. Between the Characee and Fungi will be found in brackets the Myxromycetes. These are plants hav- ing somewhat the character of Faugz, which flour- CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 21 ish upon old rotten logs, tan, &c. They have a peculiar jelly-like form, and are capable of slow motion, absorbing their nourishment, as they pro- ceed, from the substance on which they live. They are not yet well enough understood to be definitely placed in the system of classification. Passing to the fungi and Alge, we observe that these are two classes of plants possessing certain parallel char- acters of development: thus the lower Alee have certain characters in common with the lower Pung ; while the higher Fuge and Alge, though vastly more developed than the lower ones, have similar features, each to each. This relates particularly to their methods of producing fruit. It has there- fore been proposed that they should be considered to be two groups, parallel and equally advanced, called the colored (A/g@) and the colorless (Fung7). This brings us to the Lzchens, which unite the last two groups in their organization. The Lzchens are now considered by the most emi- nent botanists to belong rather to the Fungi than to any other class. Their nature is thus stated by Sachs: “There can no longer be any doubt that the lichens are true fungi, but distinguished by a singular parasitism. Their hosts are alga, which grow normally in damp places, but not actually in water. The fungi (the lichen-forming fungi) them- selves are not found in any other form than as parasites on algze; while the alge which are at- 22 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. tacked by them are known in the free condition without the fungus.” Nothing more than this clear statement is needed to explain the position of these plants. As most books now in use pass hastily over the Ophioglossace@, and place them at the end of the list of ferns, it may be well to ask what are the differences between this order and the true ferns. They are placed in a division by themselves, as equal in value to the ferns, and in some directions are more highly developed than the £guzsetacee, which follow them in the list. First, the Egz- setacee and Ophioglossacee all have their mode of vernation identical with that of Phanerogams ; i.e., they all come up stvazght from the ground; while all ferns are civcizate, or unroll from the base upward. Again: the fruit of the Ophzoglossacee arises from the transformation of leaf-tissue; while in the ferns it is an outgrowth from the leaf. Other characters of root, bud, and mode of reproduction, which need only this allusion here, combine with those described to show that the Ophzoglossacee are in advance of the Lguzsetacee and the ferns. Glancing at the third column in the table, it may be noted, that of the Vascular Cryptogams, Muscinee and Characee, the principal genera are given ; while among the Phanerogams and Thallo- phytes only enough examples are given to enable the reader to understand the divisions. We have CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 23 sufficiently discussed the arrangement to see that ferns belong to the zsosforous division of the group of Vascular Cryptogams. They have, therefore, but one spore, and possess woody bundles in their tissue. And, as we have examined the growth of a fern in Chapter I., we have also discovered that ferns have a visible alternation of generations, as it is called. This means that they are not directly produced from the seed as are flowering plants, but their fertilization takes place by means of free moving bodies (antherozoids) upon minute shield- like structures (prothalli), which were themselves developed directly from the spore, without any fertilization having taken place. We now come to look more closely at the ferns themselves. The class fzlzces is divided into orders, genera, and species. This suggests a pro- found question, which has puzzled wiser heads than will evér trouble themselves to read this book, and one which has been discussed by Dar- win, Huxley, and almost every eminent scientist in the world: What is a sfeczes? As it is the unit by which we count in studying any classifica- tion, we need to understand it as clearly as possi- ble. Smith, in his “ Historia Filicum,’’ London, 1875, says, “The difficulty of defining a species becomes evident on taking a view of the numerous forms which connect one species with another. It will be found beyond human power to ascertain 24 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. whether the several gradations of allied forms are descendants of primitive specific creations, or are, according to the Darwinian theory of the ‘origin of species,’ only derivations from primordial crea- tions endowed with a protean principle which becomes manifest during the lapse of ages, and controlled by the different climatic and local influ- ences under which the progeny of the original have become established, and which now form the flora of the earth.” The definition given of a species, “‘a collection of individuals identical one with another, and capable of reproducing their like from age to age,” is quite in contrast with what has just been quoted. Therefore, when we find that “doctors disagree,” it does not require much courage to say of a species that it is to be treated as genera, orders, and classes have long been, and is what we choose to make it; and also that the best way to decide upon the merits of any one case is to accept the _ judgment of the most eminent authors who may © have given special study to its forms as to what the limits of the species shall be. Let us there- fore, for convenience’ sake, consider that a species is a collection of individuals varying but slightly one from another, and capable of producing their like; and that the limits of the species shall be according to the best judgment of those having the advantage of the most specimens for compari- PLATE III. FERN GROWTH. CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. . 25 son; and, lastly, that it is as yet but a group of individuals placed together for convenience in ar- ranging a systematic classification of the whole. Taking an average among authors, we may say that there are 2,500 species of ferns. Hooker’s “ Synopsis Filicum,” in its first edition, gives 2,228 species: in the second, by Baker in 1874, there are mentioned 2,646. Linnzus knew but 190 species. These species are united, according to various authors, into genera, which number from eleven to two hundred and thirty, as follows :— TUDES TSS) awed ig ene pnes Gee ia name RMA 6 Presi. : é 2 . : é «2 2230 Fee (i852) a - . : : : Shag or Moore (1857) . - : “ Seek fo Hooker and Baker a 874) : ayes : 76 J. Smith (1875) “ : 5 : : «220 There is much to be said against multiplying species ; but it is certainly fair to admit with Smith that it is easier to remember six or eight genera, each containing fifty species, than to carry in the mind the four hundred and forty-eight species of Polypodium as given by Hooker and Baker in 1874. The various genera are constructed upon the different modes of fruiting, and the position of the fruit upon the frond: as, for instance, whether or not there be a covering (zzdusium) to protect the spore-case8; whether the fruit be at the middle 26 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. or termination of a vein, &c. These genera are again united into orders, based upon the form of the spore-case and the position of the ring of cells which is found upon most sporangia. Hooker (‘Synopsis Filicum”’), the authority most frequent- ly quoted, has five orders, or sub-orders, as, accord- ing to his mode of dividing, they become. Aside from the Ophzoglossums, they run thus :— (Ring horizontal) I. Gleicheniacez (2 gen., 24 sp.) (Ring vertical) II. Polypodiacez (13 tribes) (59 gen., 2,098 sp.) (Ring at one side) III. Osmundacez (2 gen., Io sp.) (Ring apical) IV. Schizzeaceze (5 gen., 60 sp.) (No ring) V. Marattiacez (4 gen., 20 sp.) This very unequal division gives the Polypodiacee five-sixths of all the genera and twenty-six twenty- sevenths of all the species. Hooker and Baker also divide the genera into tribes, andin the large genera distribute the species among sections or sub-genera. Smith, in the “ Historia Filicum,” divides the ferns thus: I. Evemobria, those ferns whose fronds are articulated along a creeping stem, and break off, leaving a scar, like the leaves of deciduous trees in autumn (example, Polypodium) ; 11. Desmobria, ferns whose fronds remain attached, and are pro- duced from a crown (Asfzdium) ; and, III. Scapho- brya, fronds terminal, rising from between two appendages, and articulated witn the caudex (AZ/a- vatitza). Those sections he then subdivides into CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 27 twenty-nine tribes, arranged according to natural characteristics, and broken up into twa hundred and twenty genera. Although this arrangement is very little in use, the division of species in it is much more equal and less artificial than the other system, and is to be strongly commended. Mr. Smith’s long service at Kew Gardens, where he had under his care and constant observation some- times a thousand species of ferns, and where he had the use of the largest herbarium of ferns in the world, gives his opinion great weight. Sachs, complaining of the artificial manner in which the /72/zces are divided by various authors, proposes a classification in which the ymenophyl- laceé (Yilmy Ferns and Bristle Ferns) shall be placed at the bottom, instead of the middle of the list as with most authors, because these are ferns peculiar for their small size and thin fronds, and are more nearly related to the mosses than are other ferns. His orders are, — 1. Hymenophyllacee. 4. Osmundacez. 2. Gleicheniacee. 5. Cyatheacee. 3. Schizeacez. 6. Polypodiacez. Marattiacee, included in Hooker’s classification, he says should, on account of the formation of its fruit, be placed beside the Eguzsetacee and the Ophtoglossacee. We have now learned what place ferns occupy in a general classification of plants, and how they 28 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. are themselves divided into species. Now, the species are again divided into varieties. Where there does not seem to be sufficient reason to make a separate species for it, the new fern to be described is placed as a variety of some already existing species. Here authors differ as much as anywhere else. Forinstance, Hooker, in “Synopsis Filicum,” unites under Ophzoglossum nudicaule six species of other authors, he considering them vari- eties only. Besides the ordinary varieties found in nature, the desire for new ferns has given rise to an enormous number of cultivated or gar- den varieties. These are “sports” from plants, carefully preserved and perpetuated by nursery- men and gardeners. A few among these are perhaps beautiful or curious; but the great majori- ty are horrible deformities of the original species from which they started, and serve no useful purpose whatever, except perhaps to prove how much a species may be made to vary in a short time, and to compare this with what might be done in one of the earth’s great periods. The writer has before him the catalogue of a dealer who advertises fifty-one varieties of Asplenzum Filixfemina! Cooke, in his little book, “A Fern Book for Everybody,” remarks that some painstaking people have hunted up and described eighty-five varieties of Scolopendrium vulgare, — “love's labor lost,” or at least fearfully wasted. CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 29 Some of these cultivated varieties are so different from their progenitors, that even the genus to which they are supposed to belong is with difficulty suspected. It is as if we were to encourage and produce a quantity of malformed dogs and cats, or children it may be, and revel in their hideous shapes and disguised forms. The writer may be influenced by prejudice against this sort of cul- tune; buf it seems fo him like trifling with the good and beautiful gifts which Nature has_be- stowed. There may be hybrids among ferns. foCoe ae aon Nee Ob. = ae = ? = Se ERS . oe A Y : ey ama \ HHO OO F PLaTE IX. WINDOW JARDINIERE, TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. 73 ered with Se/aginella ; and these cause the walk to wind round about them, and down into a valley with a small lake, in which are many choice aquatics, the fine pendulous tufts of grass-like foliage of the Egyptian paper-reed (Papyrus antiquorum) making a beautiful contrast with such plants as Dracena terminalis, grandis, and Cooperi, various Marantas, many ferns, both arborescent and dwarf-growing species, Cyanophyllum magnificum, Alocasias, a stately Lheophrasta tmperialis, and many other plants with fine foliage and flower which surround it. The crevices of the rocks are planted with vast quantities of dwarf ferns, and Selaginellas luxuriate in every possible place; whilst peeping out from amongst them here and there are such plants as Goodyera pubescens and discolor, Cephalo- tus follicularts, some handsome-leaved Evanthe- mums, and many other little gems, which are thriving splendidly. “Passing out into a fern-clad recess, and cross- ing some water by a rustic bridge, you are in the temperate house. Here also ferns are grow- ing in the greatest luxuriance, the walk winding round masses of stone arranged in a perfectly nat- ural manner, over and amongst which the water _ splashes and tumbles like a mountain rill. You descend into a valley, and under some splendid specimens of such ferns as Dicksonia antarctica, Cyathea medullaris, Dicksonia squarrosa, Alsophila 74 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. excelsa and australis; and then you are led up so as to get a sight of the tops, which is quite en- chanting. The crevices of the rocks have mosses growing in them most luxuriantly ; a large number of species, many of them rare, having been col- lected from their various habitats specially for this purpose. TZodeas also are the near neighbors of these, and many species of 7richomanes and Hy- menophyllum are beginning to make themselves conspicuous. There are also to be found hanging from the roof in company with ferns, and in vari- ous other parts of the house, many orchids from the temperate regions of Peru, Guatemala, Mexico, &c., and thriving well: indeed, the whole collection is in excellent health and keeping.” Shirley Hibberd speaks of several interesting collections; but the establishment which pos- sesses the most merit for originality is that of Alfred. Smee, Esq., of Carshalton: ‘“‘Giitegamaies are formed of solid banks of: peat, which extend on either side of the plate on which the rafters rest, so as to form borders within and without. The house may be about eighty feet in length. The banks on either side are varied in outline; and there is in one spot a basin tenanted with gold- fish, and surrounded with ferns of peculiarly novel aspect, which are constantly bedewed by the spray from a fountain. The roof is a span running east and west: the south side of it is covered with felt, . —S TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. 75 and the north side with glass,—a plan which admits abundance of light, and renders shading wholly unnecessary. The whole structure is placed on a slope, the lower part being consid- erably below the outside ground-level. At this lowest part is placed the furnace, and there is an extra service of pipes there to maintain a stove temperature. At the upper end, the pipes suffice only to keep frost out. Thus in one house the ferns of tropical, temperate, and frigid zones are all accommodated ; and though the whole structure is rough, and has been constructed on the most economical principles, the interior presents at all seasons a grand spectacle, and affords a most de- lightful promenade.” — Fern Garden, pp. 98, 99. Of course, to grow to perfection any of the taller species of arborescent ferns, a very high roof, ora dome on some portion of the structure, will be re- quired. Alsophila excelsa at the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Mass., has now reached the glass at the highest part of the house, some twenty-five feet above the floor. This plant is many years old. Our greenhouses are usually built in summer; and, for this reason, there is danger of our uncon- sciously making them too weak to endure the strain of ice and heavy snows which the winter of our rigorous Northern climate will bring. Between May and October, it is*very hard to realize that those charming designs contained in the English 76 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. periodicals will never do for us. Even the archi- tects and builders among us, who ought to know the conditions of climate which are to try their work, frequently seem to ignore them. The unex- pected expenses of repairs and alterations soon serve as practical instructors. The trouble with a poorly-constructed plant-house generally begins with copings and joints; and the best rule in build- ing is, to make every thing outside as strong and simple as possible. If the house is very high, there should be a gallery or something of the kind within ; for some of the best views of the plants. can be only obtained from above. In houses where valuable plants have grown so tall that the glass of the roof endangers their beauty, pits may be dug, rather larger than is sufficient to contain the tubs in which the plants grow. These should be lined with brick. There are several of these pits in the plant-houses of Mr. Such at South Amboy. The temperature of the tropical house should average, in summer, about seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit ; but, during intensely hot weather, it will be impossible to prevent its running much higher. In winter the mercury should be kept at seventy degrees, and never, by any accident, suf- fered to fall to a lower point than sixty degrees. In the temperate house, the thermometer should mark, as nearly as may be, forty-five degrees in . TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. 77 winter ; never, if it can be prevented, over seventy- five degrees in summer. But, not to speak any longer of such expensive fern-houses as wealth only can construct, there are many persons who can afford a house of modest cost; and, even if they are obliged to place in it all their winter stock of garden-plants, there is no reason for their being discouraged, and giving up their ideas of raising fine specimens of ferns. A house with a span-roof is to be preferred: but on some accounts, for the mixing of flowering plants and ferns, one with a single slope will do almost as well; for a wide shelf at the upper part of the back will hold all the plants requiring bright sun, while at the same time it shades the lower portion of the house. If primarily the house is intended for ferns, it should face the north if the roof is a single slope, or run east and west if it is a span. A good size to easily manage for one’s self, or with the assistance of one man who is supposed to do the general outside work of the garden as well, will be 30 by 20 feet, with a pitched roof, whose height may vary from 10 to 20 feet, according to the owner’s fancy and the height of the plants to be cultivated. In the colder sections of the country, if the drainage of the land upon which the house stands is good, the walls should run much below the surface, and the house become as nearly as possible a roofed pit. The work spent 78 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. upon a house should be chiefly to secure comfort to the plants, and security against sudden changes of the weather; and all ornament is purely a matter of pleasure to its owner. In town, where the house is in a conspicuous situation, it may be worth while to consider the addition of any deco- rations that will not detract from its usefulness ; although it must be said that most of the fret- work and jig-saw “trimmings” seen on so many such buildings are an offence to the eye, as they are expensive to the purse. Unless it is certain that the money set aside for adornment will be most judiciously employed, we had best be on the safe side, and do our own decorating with good climbing-plants, trained on the ends of the house exposed to view. Nothing can excel the beautiful work of such natural decorators as Asmpelopsis Vetchiz (or our own A. guznguefolia), Wistarza, and many other climbers which are hardy in the North- ern States. In the more genial warmth of the South, there is almost an endless list of plants available for this purpose. For the shelves of the house, wood must gener- ally suffice. To save trouble, and give the chance for greater evaporation, an inch of sand on the shelves, as a bed on which to set the pots, is serviceable. For more elaborate shelving, slate is the best material. Common roofing-slates set on the beams make a good foundation for a bench for UROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. 79 bottom heat. The sides can be of wood, and the trough thus made filled with sand. The centre of the house may be made into a raised bed in which to plant out the large specimens, or they may be placed upon it in their pots. If we do not care to grow the plants separately, so that they may be moved for exhibition or other purposes, the house, or as much of it as can be spared, may be con- verted into a natural fernery, and rocks, water, wire screens, &c., may be introduced. The writer’s fern-house may illustrate these suggestions for buildings of limited cost and pretensions. It was not originally built for the particular culti- vation of ferns, and is a single-slope house, 21 by 17 feeerane 13 feet hich at the back:- It faces the south ; yet, with care, as fresh and healthy ferns can be grown in it as in a place better suited in plan to their special needs. And, what is more, very fair success has attended the cultivation of a collection of Cactt, Aloes, and Agaves, upon a shelf four feet below the top, at the back wall. This house has had only an amateur’s care, and has been left, much of the time, to a young man, who, previous to this work, had no knowledge of plants. Although the general out-door duties of the place have also come to him to do, he has given the house such thoughtful attendance, that any thing worthy the name of a loss has rarely occurred. So it seems possible that the fear of the expense 80 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. and trouble of a greenhouse need not be so great with any one who has in his employ a faithful man who can spare half an hour a day to its care, and also turn his hand to potting, watering, and the other requirements of the plants, under the eye of the owner; who, by the way, should know something about these things himself. In this little fern-house, as in larger ones, care has to be taken to screen the plants sufficiently from the sun, as they are more easily burnt than an inexperienced person would suppose. Part of the house is kept shaded all the year; but the rest is not so protected until March, and the screens are removed as early as the Ist of October. The coarse cloth called unbleached sheeting makes ex- cellent screens, and may be used inside or outside of the glass. The use of any sort of wash on the glass, to abate the intensity of the light, gives the place an untidy appearance, and, unless oil-paint is employed, will soon be disfigured by streaks, and come off at last entirely, as the moisture pro- duced by sprinkling collects and runs down the glass. A dark-green glass has, according to Smith, been used in England. He says (“ Ferns, British and Foreign,” p. 336), “In former years, the fruit and plant houses at Kew were glazed with a very dark - green glass called Stourbridge - green, and which was patronized by the late Mr. Aiton. Fine crops of fruit were produced under it; also the CHEILANTHES LANUGINOSA, Nutt. TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. SI tropical plants in the Botanic Garden flourished without the aid of canvas or shade of any kind. Not many years ago, solitary squares of this glass might be seen in the roofs of the old hot-houses, which strongly contrasted with the modern clear glass. My experience with this glass led me to recommend green glass for the palm-house, which was adopted; but the modern-made green tint does not appear to be so fixed a color as the old Stour- bridge-green.” Various kinds of mats and screens will suggest themselves to every greenhouse-owner, and the most convenient things can readily be turned to account. As for heating-apparatus, there will be no trou- ble in finding forms enough to select from. It is important to choose one not unnecessarily large for the work it has to do, and yet not so small as to require forcing in very cold weather, or to de- mand attention during the night. Large furnaces, like most bodies of size, are steadier in their work- ing, and can be as well managed to give a small amount of heat as those of less capacity. The writer has used for several years, in his fern-house, a small Whitely hot-water furnace. It has a “shaking” grate; and has never, even in the cold- est weather, required attention between seven P.M. and seven A.M. Several others of the same pattern have been observed to be successful in their work- ing; and this form of heater may especially be 82 FERNS ITN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. recommended for a small house. In the larger establishments. near Boston, the Hitchings and Smith & Lynch boilers are most frequently em- ployed. The old-fashioned ‘“saddle-back”’ boilers are fast disappearing from use. If the chimney is first made to pass through the house in the form of a brick flue, much heat from the smoke is saved; but the danger of the leakage of the prod- ucts of combustion, which might, in half an hour, allow gases enough to escape to destroy the whole collection, may be an argument against this econ- omy. It creates the necessity of a constant watch to guard against such a result; and the few dollars saved are more than balanced by the difficulty, in dull days, of kindling a fire with the draught of so long and crooked a chimney. ae GHAPTER, hx: FERN-CASES. pores TIE conservatory and the enclosed window 6 ead are beyond the reach of many people who a love ferns, and would be glad to make their homes beautiful by the cultivation of these delicate plants. The desires of such can be an- swered by ferneries or Wardian-cases, which sup- ply, to a sufficiently large extent and with the least possible requirement of daily care, the domestic means of growing ferns. In dwellings heated by steam, and into which gas and furnaces have not been introduced, a few species of ferns will con- sent to grow at the northern windows. There is so small a number of these, that they may receive only this allusion. The purpose of this chapter is to explain how, in spite of “modern conven- lences’’ and their continual war against nature, we may contrive to introduce and keep a bit of perpetual summer in our homes. The fernery, or Wardian-case as it was first 83 54 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. called, is only an adaptation of the cover-glass al- ways used by gardeners to protect delicate plants ; and is only doing, on an enlarged and more elegant scale, what our grandmothers used to do to strike cuttings under a tumbler. The lovers of house- plants, however, owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. B. N. Ward of London, who was the first to sug- gest the present in-door method of treating ferns. The amateur of unlimited means may order from his cabinet-maker, without consideration of form or price, what will be called in the bill “one fernery ;”’ but it is only a single mechanic in the hundred who will properly construct it. The usual and fatal mistake in building fern-cases is to em- ploy far too much woodwork, and too little glass. Eastlake’s favorite word for all furniture is “ sin- cere;’’ and to the fernery this word should be applied with its full force. The fernery should be made for the purpose which its name implies, and not to be an elegant parlor-cabinet. The simpler its form, the better, so long as its proportions are well chosen. All unnecessary mosque-like domes, all jogs, breaks in the curves, and mouldings, should be carefully avoided. It has been observed, at the exhibitions of the Boston Horticultural Society, that during the last five years the styles of fern-cases have steadily improved. One case can, however, be called to mind, that resembled a child’s coffin more than any thing which could FERN-CASES. 8s suggest the idea of a fernery, which was not very long ago placed on view by a proud contribu- - tor, and which, it is to be regretted, obtained a prize. Six months later the owner was forced to remove the cover, that the plants might rise to any thing like their natural height. This planting of ferns which soon become too large for the case is, by the way, one of the most common mistakes made by the inexperienced fern-grower. To form the frame of the case, iron is preferable to wood; both for strength and lightness. Many styles of cases with iron frames have been recently put upon the market. Plate I1 is a representa- tion of a case which Messrs. M. D. Jones & Co. of Boston manufacture for $30. The base is six inches deep (inside measure) ; and the legs, which are 30 inches high, are strongly braced. The case itself is 35 inches by 20 inches, and is 22 inches high from the base to the summit of the curved glass top. The panels in the base are the only woodwork about it, and are ebonized, or may be painted dark Pompeian red, and the ironwork painted red and black, at the owner’s fancy. The case may be lifted from the base; and at each end is a door, which, instead of moving on hinges, is arranged to lift out. The top may also be con- structed so that it can be elevated for ventilation. Mr. Emerton in his drawing has filled the case with Wephrolepis exaltata, Blechnum Brastlense, 86 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. two species of Adzantum, and a few small species which were growing at the time in another fernery. The zinc pan, which is usually the receptacle in ferneries for the plants, may be painted inside with a coat of tar (do not use gas-tar), or several coats of shellac. It must be so fitted to the table, that the moisture running down the glass inside shall fallinto the pan. If the fern-case is so constructed that this water can find its way outside, the metal will rust, and the woodwork decay; and, in a few seasons, a case which might have lasted a lifetime will be ruined. In Pl. 13 is represented what we shall venture to call the Eastlake Fernery. The frame is of ash, stained dark: the ornamentation is simple tooling and chamfering. The sloping top furnish- es a good opportunity for ventilation. There is a door in one side only; and the top lifts from the base, as in the iron-framed case. Mr. J. W. Ayers of Salem, who has given special attention to the manufacture of Eastlake furniture, will make a case of this pattern 24 inches by 16 inches, with a height, including the table, of 49 inches, as seen in the plate, for $25. The ferns in this case are Aspidium molle, Pteris cretica albo-lineata, Adian- tum Capillus-Veneris, Polypodium Californicum, Nephrolepis exaltata, with Selaginellas. Any one who is fortunate enough to possess a fair degree of mechanical skill can easily make for FERN-CASES. 87 himself a case which shall meet all the require- ments of fern-growing, and in which the cost shall be reduced to the very lowest possible figure. For a case 24 by 16 by 18 inches in length, breadth, and height respectively, the expense for wood, glass, putty, filling, oil, pan, &c., would cost no more than $7, while the cabinet-maker’s charges would be at least $15. Cases with a pitched roof should have one side of the top hinged, so that this can be raised by a chip or a bit of paper for ventilation ; and every fernery should be so con- structed that it may be easily raised from its base. The writer, who is zot a good mechanic, wishing to multiply his ferneries without in the same pro- portion increasing the expense, devised the fern- Gasesrepresented in Pl. 15. Many other people may have themselves invented the same; but, as the design is not patented, we shall not infringe upon each other’s rights. The following directions may be useful to some readers : — First procure an inch-thick pine board, 24 by 18 inches in size. As our large pines are so rapidly disappearing, it is most likely that this can only be obtained by gluing several narrow boards together. Around this bottom board, and at right angles with it, nail a strip of hard wood (say ash or -walnut) four to six inches wide. The top of this strip, or the edge which will come on top, may be bevelled: (Pliv15, Fis. 4); and have, perhaps, a 88 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. little groove cut for ornament three-fourths of an inch below the bevel. Before nailing on, glue around the edge of the bottom board a piece of listing to make the joints tight when the hard- wood strip is in place. This would make a carpenter laugh; but we are building a fernery where we do not care to keep up a continual and perhaps ineffectual use of the square. When all is dry, give the inside a good coat of tar, or, if it seem necessary, two or three. Of course you can avoid all this trouble by being at the expense of a zinc pan; but the less costly plan is practically as good. Now procure some German glass (as flat as possible), two pieces short 24 by 18 inches, two short 18 by 18, and one 25 by I9. Set up the first four pieces in the tarred tray, holding them in place by books piled against them; and paste over the united edges at each corner outside (PI. 15, Fig. 2) a tape one inch wide, turning it over only a very little at the top, for the condensed moisture will soon loosen any thing pasted inside. After allowing the tape to dry, cover it with a strip of dark paper; and also bind the edges of the fifth and largest glass, which is to lie flat and unfastened on top as the cover, with the same. Remove the books, and the fernery is completed as we see it in Pl. 15, Fig. 1. Of course these proportions may be varied; and a portion of the glass which seems wasted by going into the tray may be saved by ‘i 7 ‘* § 7S, ters Sra dias a. Ney . JAN 2 owl Dan FH IRON-FRAMED FERN-CASE. PEATE Sol a FERN-CASES. 8y fastening blocks of wood inside the tray, —one at each corner, and one in the centre of each side and end. The glass will rest on these, only being allowed to come sufficiently below the upper edge of the tray to keep the case firmly in position. As nearly as can be estimated, the cost of such a fernery will be, — Three feet pine, sawed into shape 4 2 PO.25 Three feet walnut, bevelled and grooved . 5 Tar - : : : : : : ; 10 Glass’. : : ; F : : J eige2s Two yards tape . : : : : : .08 One sheet paper . sek! : . ° 10 Nails fa - - 5 : : : ; 2OF Total . : - $4.58 The listing and glue should always be at hand in every house. This fernery has all the essentials of the $30 case shown in Pl. 11; and the plants will thrive in it as well, perhaps even better. Instead of flour-paste for fastening the binding- tape, the rubber cement made by dissolving pure rubber in benzole or chloroform may be used, or even shellac varnish; which latter may be improved by the addition of a little of the rubber solution. Or, again, the glass may be set in an inexpensive zinc frame soldered at the corners. Ifa zinc pan is desired for a case of this description, the joints in the base need not be made tight; but, the list go FERNS IN THEIR. HOMES AND OURS. and glue being omitted, the moulding or strip of hard wood may be nailed directly to the bottom board as shown in the section, Pl. 15, Fig. 3. The examples so far given are only to show the extremes in expense of fern-case manufacture. The space to be occupied by the fernery, the height of the window at which it is to stand, &c., must, in each instance, be considered. As the window is high or low, the supports of the fernery must be long or short, so as in either case to bring the pan to a level with the window-sill; for, al- though ferns do not endure the direct rays of the sun, they do not flourish in a dark room. Be- sides, a situation in a living-room, which may seem to us very well illuminated, may not possess the quality of light in which plants thrive the best. A good illustration of this point, regarding the actinic power of light, is at hand. The photo- graph which forms the frontispiece to this book was taken in a greenhouse whose top of glass is exposed to the south, and required an exposure of two and one-fourth minutes in the camera. Imme- diately afterwards, on the same day, a view was taken in a well-lighted room of the dwelling-house adjoining. The exposure here required with the same lens was twenty-six minutes. It is probable that the same quality of light required to produce a good negative is also necessary to produce good plants. FERN-CASES. gi As a general thing, very large cases are more difficult to manage than smaller ones. There is a possibility of getting them too large. To counter- act some of the troubles which attend over-sized ferneries, they are sometimes artificially heated. This may be done by applying heat to pans of water in which the fern-pan is placed, or by coils of piping passing under and around the pan. The water in either case may be warmed by a lamp or stove outside, or connected with the water-heating apparatus of the dwelling. The writer has had no experience with cases so warmed; but, in his judgment, coil-heating is to be preferred, as it will render it less troublesome to move the case, and aapele varainage io: the fernery “can! be better effected between the heating-pipes at the bottom than through a reservoir of warmed water which covers the entire under surface of the case. Shir- ley Hibberd, in “The Fern Garden,” proposes a plan for draining a fernery warmed in the latter Was; outs the ‘coil system seems the” best) All this piping should be done by an experienced plumber, as it requires considerable skill so to adjust every thing that the water shall flow with regularity. Mr. W. H. Halliday of West Street, Boston, has given much attention to the construc- tion of fern-cases, having dealt in them for several years. Ina paper read before the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society in January, 1876, 92 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. he gives the following account of some of his experiments : — . “T had two large windows facing the south; but a build- ing obscured the rays of the sun part of the time. In the windows I placed two cases, each forty inches long by eighteen inches wide. The box was six inches deep, with an inner box fitting loosely to receive the soil. An inch moulding fitted around, projecting half an inch above the box, to receive the sash. The sash was on two sides four- teen inches high, the ends solid, and the inside faced with mirrors. You will readily see that I introduced the mirrors to double the effect, and render the whole more beautiful. Upon this sash was a top ten inches high, sloping on the two sides, which fitted to and was kept in place by an inch moulding. This top could be removed to reach the plants, or tilted up a little if ventilation was desired. One of these cases I devoted to native plants, the other to exotics. I made many trips to the woods, and my case of natives was soon in a prosperous condition. I filled it with all sorts of plants that happened in my way, among which I remember the blood-root, hepatica, trailing arbutus, pitcher-plant, lyco- podium, MWitchella repens, Polypodium vulgare, and Adian- tum pedatum. All these did remarkably well; but I found,, when winter came, that many of them dropped off to sleep, and the curtain fell for the season. “Having had such good success with these cases, I thought I would try one on a larger scale. The plan was soon in the hands of the cabinet-maker, and in due time made and set up in its allotted place. This was made very large, for an experimental case. Many of you will remember it, as it was exhibited in this hall, four or five years ago, at the Annual Exhibition. It was nearly four feet square, and stood six feet high from the floor to the top of the roof. The box FERN-CASES. 93 stood two feet high, set on heavy casters, and moving on a pivot, so that it could be readily turned to the light as the plants required. The inner box was half an inch smaller than the outside all round, eleven inches deep, thoroughly covered with white-lead paint, and perforated through the bottom with inch holes for drainage. The glass case, thirty inches high, fitted into a moulding projecting above and around the top of the box. The sash was made very strong, with iron braces set into each corner. Each of the four sides consisted of two panes of glass, two panes on two sides serving as doors. The roof was formed of four slop- ing sides, surmounted by a flat cap of wood twelve inches square, tapering upward, with a turned point twelve inches high. This cap fitted on like a cover, and could be easily removed if necessary. The case was thoroughly painted with three coats of white lead, and cost, when completed, seventy dollars.” This introduction of mirrors would only be proper when the fernery was so placed that the ends were hidden from view. The remarks con- cerning native plants in the fernery cover the ground ; for, if we desire to have growing plants in winter, we must take species from the tropics, which need little or no rest. Native plants are best out of doors; or they should be suffered to remain over winter in a cool place, and only brought in early in the spring to unfold. They are therefore particularly suited, if kept in this way, for the open in-doors fern-stand. Farther on in his essay Mr. Halliday says, — “ But, after a while, the case did not work as well as I 94 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. expected. The ferns did not do well at all, but damped off, - till I grew quite discouraged. I continued to replace the decayed plants by others, with no better results. I thought the trouble might be caused by want of heat, as the room at night and on Sundays, when I was not on hand to look after the fires, might become quite cool. With this thought came the idea of heating the case. I had made at the tin- man’s a small boiler holding a gallon of water. Behind the case, near the floor, I placed a gas-jet, and over this the boiler, rentoving a panel from the box of the case, then fitting it so that it could be opened or closed at pleasure. The inner box, containing the soil, being eleven inches deep, left a space of twelve inches underneath: in this space I placed tubing enough to extend completely round the case, and to connect with the boiler outside. All seemed to work like a charm. I then went to work to ventilate the case, giving a little air at a time; till at last I removed the square of wood from the roof, and replaced it with a piece of plate-glass, which I could remove wholly or in part; and this, with the aid of the panel which was opened for heat, furnished the means for ventilation. I soon saw that it was the one thing needed. Every thing worked well from this tame.” The subject alluded to here, that of ventilation, must receive especial attention. Some have the erroneous idea, that, to fully carry out the theory of a fernery, we must almost hermetically seal the case. But, while a few species of Hymenophyllum and Zrichomanes may live under such conditions, the majority need air in limited quantities. A lit- tle slide in either the woodwork or the glass below, with one also at the top to permit a FERN-CASES. 95 gentle circulation outward, will supply all that is necessary. Too much air is as bad as too little: so, like every thing else connected with fern or plant culture, judgment must be used. It is absurd to try to grow plants by an inexorable rule, without varying their treatment according to the circumstances and requirements of each; just as the same inflexible system would fail to succeed with children of different constitutions and capaci- ties. Ifa person, moreover, has no love for plants, no intuitive sense of how to manage them, he will undertake a hopeless task in the endeavor to culti- vate them because it is fashionable, or because of their artistic effect in the house. A kind of combined greenhouse and fernery is sometimes made by devoting an entire window to this purpose, either by constructing a “bay,” or building up on the inside an enclosure suffi- ciently deep to hold as many plants as are desired. Ventilation or heat can be supplied by openings near the top and bottom. A zinc pan will be needed on the floor, and some little distance up the sides, to catch superfluous water, which now and then can be drawn off through a pipe and faucet from the lowest corner, and opening into the room. Ivies, climbing-plants, and plants in hanging-baskets, flourish well in such a place, as do also all ferns which would be suitable for a large fernery. The inner glass should be set in 96 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. large doors, so that the whole may be thrown open towards the room, and all the plants be reached at any time. For circular ferneries, any bell-glass or glass cover on any kind of dish has all the practical value of any of the most elaborate and expensive parlor stands. Broken retorts from the laboratory have been converted into charming fern-cases. But best of all is the glass dome which has for years cov- ered the fast-dropping bouquet of wax flowers in the best parlor. ‘This, in connection with a deep old Delft plate from the cupboard, may become of some real service, and, filled with pretty ferns, make the living-room smile with its suggestions of tropi- cal warmth. The black glass or “slag”’ ware makes the clean- est base for the circular fernery. It is sold in all sizes at a very reasonable price. Great care must be taken that the glass cover fits loosely into the base, as it is likely to snap if it is held too tight- ly. Pl. 17 shows a fernery whose base is cf this ware. It seems as good as ever, after a service of many years. The terra-cotta or earthen-ware bases, some which are well decorated, are very pretty ; but in time the absorbed moisture causes the paint to peel off, and they become hopelessly shabby. In the paper previously referred to, Mr. Halliday describes a hanging-fernery, which the writer remembers to have been especially attrac- Live ¢—— PLATE XII. CHEILANTHES CALIFORNICA, METT. | FERN-CASES. 97 “The hanging-fernery I designed to take the place of the hanging-basket, which so seldom appears in good condition in the home. The base was turned from walnut, several pieces being glued and nailed together to get the proper depth, and also to keep the wood from warping. It tapered to a point at the bottom, to give lightness to its appearance. A zinc pan, with a rim to receive the shade, fitted the base loosely enough to be readily removed when watering was necessary. ‘This, as first constructed, was covered with a shade eight inches in diameter and ten inches high, and was suspended by silvered copper wire. The case first exhibited had a shade twelve inches in diameter, and fourteen inches high; was elaborately turned from maple and walnut, orna- mented with ebony trimmings, and filled with the following- named plants: Onychium Faponicum, Adiantum assimile, A.cuneatum, Selaginella Wildenovit, Panicum variegatum, Fittonia Pearce, F. argyroneura, Lycopodium denticulatum var., and Mitchella repens, some lichens and wood-mosses. * This case, when taken from the hall, was suspended in my window, where it received the morning sun for about an hour each day, and was not disturbed again till January, ex- cepting when it was occasionally turned to the light. It was amass of green. I noticed considerable soil on the glass, carried uf by slugs in their nocturnal rambles; also some decayed fruads of the Adiantum. Altogether it was as much of a success as a close case could be, and would probably satisfy most people who grow plants for home decoration.” He also says, — “ The great difficulty I have always found in ferneries is to reach the plants after they have filled, or partly filled, the case. It is easy enough to remove the shade; but to replace it, so that the plants may retain their former position, is not so easy. Frequently I have been forced to allowa 98 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. large slug to have his own way, rather than disturb the shade when the case was looking finely; and, in many instances, have allowed decayed fronds to remain, rather than run the risk of destroying the arrangement by removing the shade. It was almost as much on this account as for ventilation that I constructed the dome-top or ventilated fern-case, which is as easily managed as an ordinary Wardian-case. Lifting the dome does not disarrange the plants, as they are all con- fined within the cylinder, which need never be disturbed for this purpose. This case is constructed as follows :— ** The case or stand is of wood, six inches deep, and rest- ing upon three small feet. There is a large opening under- neath, covered with a movable slide to admit or exclude the air. It has a zinc pan one-half an inch less all round than the wooden case. This half-inch space is covered all around at the top of the pan, which leaves a flat surface of zinc one inch wide, with an outside rim to receive the glass cylinder. This flat surface of zinc is pierced with half-inch holes in its entire circumference about three inches apart. When the glass cylinder is in place, the half-inch holes are inside the case. The cylinder, of annealed glass, fits neatly into the zinc rim, and is fifteen inches in diameter by fourteen inches in height. Encircling the upper edge of the cylinder is a copper rim, one inch wide, with edge turned downward on the outside, a quarter of an inch wide, to fit on to the cylinder. The flat surface of the rim is perforated with quarter-inch holes ; and the inner edge turns up a quarter of an inch to receive the dome, or cover, which is eight inches high, and twelve and a half inches indiameter. The holes in this cop- per rim are on the outside; so that, when the valve in the bot- tom of the case is open, the air passes up through the holes round the zinc pan, and out at the copper rim. The whole case, when complete, stands twenty-nine inches high.” The ventilation of the circular fernery is more FERN-CASES. 99 difficult than that of the larger cases of wood or iron. It will often be enough to tilt the shade up on one side by inserting a chip under it, so that a little air may be admitted. An excellent plan, as the writer can certify from trial, is suggested by Shirley Hibberd :— “In the case of fern-shades which fit into glass dishes, and which, as long as there is water lodged in the rim into which the lower edge of the shade rests, are air-tight, air must be given three times a week by removing the shade altogether for an hour orso. This allows the excess of water to dry off the foliage, and prevents mould; and, the glass getting dry in the mean while, it is prepared to take up afresh supply of moisture from the soil when replaced, which is equivalent to a circulation of water as well as a change of air. This air-giving, however, must be regulated by dis- cretion; for, if the air of the room is hot and dry, sudden exposure of the plants to it may do them harm. Moreover, it is a very easy matter to remove the glass, and forget it, the result being perhaps complete destruction of all the more tender fronds, and the disfigurement of the affair for a fort- night. Now, a very simple and expeditious and effectual mode of ventilating consists in taking off the glass, wiping it dry and bright, and replacing it at once. There is then no fear of forgetting it.” Fernery-bases may be made of any required size and depth at almost any pottery; and if, like a flower-pot, they have holes pierced in the bottom, and are fitted with saucers, their contents may be treated exactly like potted ferns in the greenhouse. They are more clumsy in appearance, but have 100 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. many good qualities. It is to be hoped, that, out of the prevailing mania for decorative art, some designs for pretty and useful fernery-bases may be evolved. . The illustration (Pl. 18, Fig. 2) is a pretty Jap- anese design from an English work. The shelf below holds a jar; and the base of the fernery is a shallow Chinese bowl, such as one often sees in the old houses in Salem and Boston. PI. 18, Fig. 3, is an original design. The base is a Russian bowl, of the same sort as is recom- mended by Clarence Cook for a hands-basin in the hall, and is secured to the legs, which are made from a bamboo fishing-pole, by bolts with nuts inside the bowl. A wire runs through the legs, where they cross, to make a firm joint. Within the bowl there should be a zine pan in which to plant the ferns. The cost of the whole, without the glass shade, was two dollars and fifty cents. As regards drainage, the case may or may not have an outlet. Under proper ‘care, 1¢ does@maue need one. But, to insure complete drainage under any circumstances, it is well to have an opening wherever it can be conveniently ar- ranged. A common kerosene-lamp bulb, such an one as is placed in the usual iron bracket-ring support, is as good as any thing for the receptacle for superfluous water. A burner may be found to FERN-CASES. IOI ieene screw collar of the bulb: then all of the burner must be cut away except its ring or tube carrying the thread of the screw which fits the bulb-collar. Now solder this remaining portion of the burner to an opening made in the bottom of the fern-pan, so that the tube with its thread projects below., Lo this: the bulb can, then be screwed, and will serve as a reservoir for the drainage of the pan. Exactly such an arrange- ment may be found on a German student-lamp to catch the drip of oil from its wick-holder. The bottom of the pan should be sloped, or indented with grooves, to direct the flow of water towards the opening to which the bulb is fastened. If such drainage cannot be arranged, and it is sus- pected that the fern-case is suffering from too much water, and that the drainage-material in the bottom of the pan is filled up, a hole can be pierced in the bottom, near one corner, and some vessel placed or hung permanently underneath to receive surplus water; and, if now the case be so tilted that the water will run toward the opening, all excess will soon be drained away. In filling the case or pan, it will be found that fragments, the size of a half-dollar and smaller, of broken flower-pots or similar material, will be best for drainage-purposes. There should be enough of them to cover the bottom at least two inches deep; and to prevent the earth with which the 102 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. pan is to be filled from washing into this drain- age, and choking it up, a very thin layer of Sphag- mum moss or hay should be placed over it. Should broken flower-pots not be at hand, any earthenware might be made to answer, or even small broken stones, or even pebbles, as a last resort. As circular ferneries are generally con- structed for sale, we seldom find any provision for the escape of surplus water: greater care is there- fore to be taken with such, to guard against over- watering. Good drainage is of equal importance for ferns in pots or window-boxes. A short expe- rience will teach us that it is the most important thing to be considered, and quite as essential to the health of the plants as a good system of sewer- age is to that of the human family. Ferns, in general, should be often sprinkled on their tops; but their roots should only be watered when the earth in the case seems to be growing dry. If we have Gold-Ferns or Maidenhairs, we must keep water away from their fronds. A clothes-sprinkler is a good apparatus to use for fern-watering, as with it we can see exactly how much water is applied, and know that we are not giving an excessive supply. Williams gives the following advice regarding ferneries: ‘Do not keep your ferns too wet. To grow ferns in per- fection in glass cases, they ought to have fresh soil every year; and the best time to effect this FERN-CASES. 103 operation is in March or April.” Much less fear may be felt of changing the earth of ferneries, or transplanting plants in the greenhouse, than of doing the same to plants under ordinary window- culture or out of doors, because the glass keeps the air stationary about them, and prevents that evaporation of moisture which the lately-disturbed rootlets have not recovered sufficiently to supply, while the circulation of air around plants growing out of doors or in the dry atmosphere of the liv- ing-room is almost sure at times to baffle our at- tempts at transplanting. Very pretty effects may be produced in a fern- case by the use of pumice-stone broken into rea- sonably small pieces. Druggists sell this material for about ten cents a pound. In small ferneries, a few fragments may be used to form a rockery for the creeping ferns; and, ina large case, arches, walls, and ruins may be built with it very easily. Common cement, mixed as if for mending walls, may be used to lay the pumice in; and, as this sets quickly, almost any design can be very soon built. The whole structure should be finally washed with a thin mixture of cement, to give it the proper color. Old logs look well in a fernery; but they are so apt to introduce insects and fungi, that we should not be in too much haste to insert them. If the case is a lofty one, we may, with good effect, 104 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. hang up a basket of cocoanut shell or husk, or of bark, with a fern growing in it. The 7Zzllandsza (often miscalled Southern long soss) sometimes grows well thus suspended from the top. Orchids are very interesting, but require more room than can generally be spared for them; and, besides, they are too valuable to risk in a fernery, if we have a greenhouse in which they may be kept. Whatever is added, do not introduce too great a variety of objects. Remember that it is a fernery, not a curtosity-box, of which we are speaking. In allusion to the ornaments which are often placed in ferneries, Williams says, “Care must be taken, however, that such things are not studied at the expense of the ferns or other plants. The error of fitting up a fern-case with a quantity of ob- jects of curiosity, such as fossils, shells, minerals, &c., is one too often fallen into, and the ferns become only of secondary importance.” Eastlake would give us the same advice, not only in regard to the contents of the case, but its construction as well. If the case is to be a fernery, build it, no matter how little or how great you make its cost, Zo contain ferns, so that they will be the ob- jects first considered when looking at the case. Over-adornment, inside or out, is in bad taste; and too much woodwork in proportion to the glass shows wrong ideas in construction. Fern- gyi wl Ui H Y 4 y t iA 4 ; Z 4 4 Y 4 ¥ 4 y Y Zi | AN eit TL POLL Le SS SESS SS PLATE XIII. EASTLAKE FERNERY. in FERN-CASES. 105 cases are sometimes seen in which there is so little glass, that it seems like a panel of some choice material set for display in a splendid mould- ing, as costly tiles might be mounted in the jav- dintére. Now, the less conspicuous the material which forms the frame to hold the glass, whether it be wood, iron, or paper, the better it is. And, even when made as light as possible, it should be painted or stained a color which may still farther reduce its prominence as seen among the plants. For this purpose, chocolate, or brick-red with black, will do as well as any thing. The chocolate- color recommends itself also for the interior of a greenhouse, as it is complementary to green, and plants and fronds look well against it. For the same reason also, black-walnut, dark mahogany, or other deep-reddish woods, are most suitable in color for the construction of the frame of the fern- case. Other plants than ferns can be successfully grown in cases; but they are comparatively few. A list of the best will be given at another page of this book. For circular ferneries, the most beauti- ful of all such plants are the Selaginellas. They grow best when left to themselves, and, as they do not mind close quarters, will not require that the shade be lifted for a long time, — sometimes for months. Finally, keep the fern-case near the light, but 106 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. not in the sun. Eastern, northern, or western windows are better than a southern exposure. Above all, do not attempt to manage by rule; but be moderate in all things, and continually use common sense. CHAPTER, X. FERNS IN THE LIVING-ROOM. of ideas, having had for its first suggestion the plan of a window in Mr. E. C. Gard- ner’s very attractive and sensible book, “ Home Interiors.” Mr. Emerton has added the jardini- éve and appropriate wall-decorations. The jardiniere has two compartments, the. one next the window being ten inches higher than the one below. In the former it is intended to place the sun-loving plants, — Pelargoniums, Petunias, Fuchsias, Dracenas, &c.; and in the lower portion, where they will be in partial shade, the ferns are to be grown. The interest of the design does not end with the plants themselves. The frieze around the room has a Camptosorus for the figure, and India palm-leaf fans are fastened along it at in- tervals. The wall-paper is of a morning-glory pattern, with a border of butterflies at the top, and, at the bottom, one of spiders; for which 107 108 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. last decoration Mr. Emerton is responsible. The tiles in the jardinzére are supposed to have been adorned by the lady-owner with a conventional Sagittarza ; and the whole represents, in part, what a true lover of flowers, who is also something of an artist, has made of the living-room. Ferns are not often found under cultivation in the dwelling-house. Their successful growth with- out the protection of glass presents so many diff- culties, that efforts in this direction are not much encouraged. They dislike dry air, dust, and gas; and therefore they do not flourish under the ordi- nary circumstances of our houses. In rooms mod- erately heated, where no gas escapes from stoves or furnace, and especially where the pressure from the gas-meter is not so great as to drive half- consumed burning-gas into the air at evening, many species may be made to do well in pots. But little need be said regarding the management of ferns grown in this way, besides repeating the injunctions already given more than once con- cerning good drainage, — water at the roots when dry, sprinkling, and northern window, or partial shade. Pl. 21 is taken from an elegant Chinese stand and jardiniére. It was originally designed for the — cultivation of bulbs, of which the Chinese are par- ticularly fond, and with which they have marvel- lous success. But, asa fernery, it is very beautiful ; FERNS IN THE LIVING-ROOM. 109 and, as the receptacle for the plants is of soapstone, it may be sprinkled without injury. Among the ferns suitable for open in-door cul- tuLE are —— Nephrolepis exaltata. Nephrolepis tuberosa. Onychium Faponicum. Adiantum formosum. Adiantum hispidulum. Gymnogramme chrysophylla. Gymnogramme calomelanos. Davallia Canariensts. Pteris tremula. Pteris serrulata. Pteris guadriaurita, var. argyrea. Platycertum alcicorne. E Very pretty arrangements of our native ferns and mosses are made by many persons of taste during summer journeys among the mountains or other places where these plants abound. For this work tall-growing plants should not be chosen, but the collection made of the smaller species ; nor should the charming little “Solomon’s Seal,” ‘“ Trienta- lis,” ‘‘ Gold-thread,” &c., be excluded because they are not ferns. The extemporized frames in which these are arranged will probably be box-covers, or whatever is accessible at the time, and probably, too, be covered with birch-bark. A friend who had, one autumn, two such stands of ferns and mountain- plants, found that, as winter came on, the ferns lost IIo FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. their beauty, and the whole became disagreeably brown. The boxes were taken out, and placed under some shrubbery, where they remained in snow and ice till a mild day in February; when they were taken into the house, and thawed out. In March the boxes were a mass of beautiful young fern- fronds, Avise@mas, Coptis, Smtlacinas, &c. The ex- posure had somewhat broken the boxes ; but a little birch-bark on the outside easily restored their good appearance. Whenever our native fernsare grown in this way, it must be remembered that they need their natural winter’s rest. Char PER Xi: SPECIAL WAYS OF GROWING FERNS. Sati ordinary treatment in the greenhouse or fernery, under which most plants will flourish, will not answer for certain ferns. Their special wants must receive particular con- sideration. Foremost among-these exceptional lmrsane the Gold’ and “Silver” Ferns, ‘They are chiefly species of Gymnogramme, Notholena (Ei 2). Chedlanthes (Pl. 6 and 10), and Pellze (Pl. 4). Nearly all are ferns which appear to have the power of living a part of the time where the air is dry. The genera to which the Gold and Silver Ferns belong contain also other species which have no white or yellow powder upon their fronds. Almost all the ferns of the above genera can be cultivated in the temperate house, al- though some species may seem to flourish better imethe tropical heuse;. but) as they prefer less moisture overhead than most ferns, the temperate house will, on the whole, be the best place for III Ii2 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND. OOS them. They require only the same soil that is suitable for other ferns, and must, during their season of active growth, receive plenty of water at the roots; but a drop must never touch their fronds, as, if sprinkled like others, they will imme- diately cease to be gold and silver ferns, and only. look like poor examples of other species which have caught the drippings of the white or yellow wash of some fresco-painter. Ferns of this class re- quire less shade than most other species, but will even thrive under a little direct sunshine, provided it be not at noon nor in hot weather. When well grown they are very elegant, and are particularly adapted to exhibition-purposes. They are not, as a rule, good for the fern-case. The following list contains many of the best Gold and Silver Ferns for cultivation, and also of the forms which have no white or yellow powder, but belong to the same genera, and require the same treatment as the first :1— } I. With Vellow or White Powder. Gymnogramme chrysophylla, Kaulf. (Lowe, vol. i., Pl. 1, under G. Martensii). From the West Indies: powder yellow; fr. 10 to 20 inches long. G. chrysophylla, var. Laucheana, Hort. is a cultivated variety of the last, with powder of a deeper yellow. G. Peruviana, Desv. From Tropical America: powder 1 For all abbreviations used in the lists in this book, see explanation following Table of Contents. SQ PLATE XIV CAMPTOSORUS RHIZOPHYLLUS, Linx. (WALKING LEAF FERN.) SPECIAL WAYS OF GROWING FERNS. EER white, and covering both the upper and under surface of the fronds; fr. 10-20 inches long, appearing mouse-colored. G. pulchella, Linden (Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 74). From Venezue- la: powder white; fr. dark green above, 10-30 inches long, 12 inches broad, often forking. A beautiful plant. ‘Ge sulphurea, Desv. (Lowe, vol.i., Pl. 5). From the West Indies : powder bright yellow; fr. 6-10 inches long. G. triangularis, Kaulf. (Eaton’s Ferns of N. A., to be fig- ured: Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 10). From California: powder yellow, rarely white; fr. raised on stalks 3—Io inches long, triangular, I-3 inches wide. This species requires great care in cultivation. G. calomelanos, Kaulf. (Hk., Gard., F., Pl. 30). From the West Indies: powder white; fr. 1o—30 inches long, 3-8 inches broad. One of the commonest in cultivation. LVotholena nivea, Desv. (Lowe, vol. i. Pl. 19). From Mexico, &c.: resembles /V. dealbata, Pl. 2 of this book; powder white; fr. 4-10 inches long. Easily managed. LV. flavens, Moore (Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 47). From Central America: powder yellow; fr. 6-10 inches long. The same as JV. chrysophylla, Hort. Chetlanthes farinosa, Kaulf. (Hk. and G., Ic. Fil., Pl. 134). From the tropics: powder white; fr. 6-15 inches long. Adiantum sulphureum, Kaulf. (Lowe, vol.ix., N.and R. F., Pl. 61). Hooker considers this to be a variety of A. A thiopicum, L. From Chili: powder yellow; fr. 6-12 inches long. Difficult to manage. Il. Fronds without any Powder. Gymnogramme tomentosa, Desv. Fr. 10-20 inches long; dark, hairy. Notholena Newberryi, Eaton (Eaton’s F. of N. A., fo be figured). From United States: fr. white, woolly, 6-12 inches long, about 2 inches broad. A charming plant. 114, FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. LV. sinuata, Kaulf. (Eaton’s F. of N. A., to be figured). From New Mexico: fr. 12-30 inches long, scarcely I inch broad. Very graceful. Cheilanthes myriophylla, Desv., var. elegans (Hk., Sp. Fil., vol. ii., Pl. 105). From Mexico: fr. 6-12 inches long, — rusty with scales beneath, finely cut. Very graceful. C. hirta, Swartz (Hk., Sp. Fil., vol. ii, Pl. ror). From Cape Colony, &c.: fr. Io-20 inches long, dark green, glandular. Another form of this fern with broader fronds is frequently in cultivation. C. Coopere, Eaton (Pl. 6, this book). From California. Somewhat resembles C. vestita of the Middle States. C. lanuginosa, Nutt. (Pl. 10, this book). From Wisconsin, &c.