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ADIANTUM     CAPILLUS-YENERIS.  ^ 


THE 


Fern   Garden.- 

HOW  TO  MAKE,  KEEP,  AND  E^70V  IT  ;     ' 
OR,         K 

FE^N   CULTURE,JVIADE  EASY, 


BY 

SHIRLEY     HIBBERD, 

Author  of  "  The   Rose    Book,"    "The   Amateur's  Greenhouse   and 
Conse>vatory,"  ','  The  Amateur  s  Floiuer  Garden"  etc.,  etc. 


NEW     EDITION. 
ILLUSTRATED 


LONDON : 
W.    H,  AND    L.    COLLINGRIDGE, 

148  &  149,  ALDERSGATE   STREET,  E.C 


LONDON  : 

PRINTED    BY    \V.    H.    AND    L.    COLLINGRIDGE, 

ALDERSGATE    STREET,    E.G. 


PREFACE. 


Beginnees  in  Fern  culture  are  very  much 
perplexed  by  the  abundance  of  books  on  the 
subject,  and  their  general  unfitness  to  afford 
the  aid  a  beginner  requires.  Almost  everybody 
has  written  a  book  on  ferns,  it  having  become 
the  fashion  to  consider  a  knowledge  of  the 
subject  rather  a  disquahfication  than  otherwise. 
When  the  blind  attempt  to  lead  the  blind  the 
result  can  be  safely  predicated,  and  no  doubt 
the  myriads  of  bad  books  on  ferns  that  swarm 
in  the  cheap  book  shops  have  done  their  full 
share  of  mischief.  "We  have  fortunately  plenty 
of  good  books  on  the  subject,  but  for  the 
most  part  they  are  technical  and  elaborate,  and 
shoot  over  the  heads  of  beginners.  Some  of 
ray  fern-loving  friends  have  persuaded  me  to 


It  Preface, 

try  my  hand  on  a  small  volume  adapted  for  the 
induction  of  the  unlearned  and  unskilled  in 
this  pursuit,  and  here  it  is.  Whether  it  will 
supersede  any  of  the  bad  books  or  take  lowest 
rank  amongst  them  is  for  me  a  solemn  problem. 
But  I  send  it  forth  in  hope  that  after  a  quarter 
of  a  century  of  hard  work  in  the  practical  part 
of  the  subject,  I  may  be  better  qualified  to  make 
a  little  book  than  some  of  those  who,  previous 
to  writing,  had  acquired  only  a  week  or  so  of 
experience,  and  a  very  dim  knowledge  of  about 
half  a  dozen  species.  As  almost  every  fern  in 
cultivation  has  names  enough  to  fill  a  small 
volume,  I  have  in  every  case  adopted  the  names 
by  which  those  recommended  are  best  known 
in  nurseries  and  gardens.  The  fearful  question 
of  nomenclature  is  thus  avoided,  and  every 
fern  may  be  found  by  the  name  it  bears  in  this 
epitome. 

S.  H. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 


FeENS   is  GBHEBAIi 


CHAPTER  II. 
Feen  collecting 

CHAPTER  IIL 

How  TO  POEM  AN  OUTDOOE  FeENEET 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Cultivation  op  Rock  Feens 

CHAPTER  V. 
Cultivation  op  Maesh  Feens  . 


Feens  in  Potb 


The  Feen  Housb 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Feeneet  at  the  Fieeside 

CHAPTER  rX. 
Management  op  Feen  Cases 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Aet  of  Multiplying  Feens 


PAGE 

I 


11 


19 


24 


26 


83 


42 


56 


64 


▼I 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  XL 


British  Pebits 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CULTITATION  OP  GeEENHOUBB  AND    oTOVE    FEBlTi      • 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
PiPTT  Select  Geeeithouse  Feens  .  • 

CHAFfER  XIV. 
Thibtt  Select  Stotb  Feens     .  •  • 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Gold  and  Siltbe  Feens 


PAGE 

.      73 


.      95 


.    105 


.  ii: 


.    124 


Tbsb  Fbbns  . 


Fbbn  Allijb  . 


CHAPTER  XVL 


CHAPTER  XVIL 


.    128 


.    181 


COLOURED    PLATES. 


ADIANTUM    CAPILLUS-VENERIS        -         -     Facing  Title  Page. 
ASPLENIUM    VIRIDE Page  64. 


*=§^        <=5c        ci^o 


PAGE    PLATES. 


Page 
A     SHADY     CONSERVATORY     CORNER,     PRETTILY 

PLANTED    WITH    FERNS,   Etc. I 

ASPLENIUM    FLABELLIFOLIUM 116 

GLEICHENIA    RUPESTRIS    GLAUCESCENS      ...  95 

LOMARIA    CILIATA                73 

NEPHRODIUM    (LASTREA)    MONTANUM        ...  18 

SCOLOPENDRIUM  VULGARE  CRISPUM  MULTIFIDUM  26 


THE  FERX  GARDEN: 

HOW  TO  MAKE,  KEEP,  AND  ENJOY  IT ; 

OB, 

FERN  CULTURE  MADE  EASY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

FBRNS    IN    GENERAL. 


HAVE  a  fine  opportunity  now  for  a  dry 
chapter.  I  have  a  good  mind  to  hang  up  a 
tuft  of  straw  to  indicate  that  the  way  is 
dangerous,  and  to  warn  the  reader  not  to  proceed  a 
line  further.  Ferns,  my  friends,  belong  to  the  sub- 
kingdom  of  vegetables  termed  Cryptogamia,  a  sub- 
kingdom  so  named  because  it  is  the  custom  of  the 
population  to  celebrate  marriages  in  the  dark,  so  that 
it  can  scarcely  be  averred  of  them  to  a  certainty  that 
they  really  marry  at  all.  In  this  sub-kingdom  there 
are  several  large  tribes,  such  as  the  mosses,  the  horse- 
tails, the  lichens  and  liver  worts;  but  the  ferns  or  filices 
are  the  most  noble  of  all,  associating  with  others  freely, 
but  towering  above  them  in  apparent  consciousness  of 
right  to  rule. 


2  The  Fern  Garden. 

All  the  cryptogams  are  destitute  of  flowers ;  that  is 
one  of  their  most  noticeable  distinctions.  But  though 
flowerless  they,  for  the  most  part,  produce  seeds  in 
plenty.  Look  on  the  under  side  of  a  ripe  frond  of 
almost  any  fern  you  can  get  hold  of,  and  you  will 
observe  sharp  lines,  or  dots,  or .  constellations  of  red, 
brown,  or  yellow  fruit  or  spore  cases ;  within  these  are 
the  spores  or  true  seeds,  by  the  germination  of  which 
the  race  is  multiplied. 

Ferns  differ  from  flowering  plants  in  the  principles 
of  their  construction  and  growth.  If  we  examine  the 
base  of  a  leaf-stalk  of  a  tree  we  shall  find  a  bud  there, 
which,  if  left  alone,  will  produce  a  branch  or  a  cluster 
of  fruit  the  next  season.  There  are  no  such  buds  in 
the  axils  of  fern  leaves,  not  even  in  those  of  the  brake, 
which  is  peculiarly  tree-like  in  its  growth.  The  growth 
of  a  fern  is  a  sort  of  perpetual  lengthening  out  at  both 
ends.  The  upward  growth,  which  is  more  frequently 
the  subject  of  observation  than  the  growth  of  the  roots, 
consists  first  in  a  process  of  unrolling,  and  then  of 
expansion  and  maturation  of  the  leaves  and  stems. 
Because  of  these  and  other  characters  which  obviously 
and  without  reference  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  their 
fruit  distinguish  them  from  flowering  plants,  the 
several  parts  of  a  fern  are  named  differently  to  the 
corresponding  parts  in  flowering  plants.  Thus,  the 
true  stem  or  root-stock  of  a  fern  is  called  a  caudex, 
the  true  leaf  is  called  a  frond,  the  stem  which  bears 
the  leaf  is  called  the  stipes,  and  the  ramifications  of 
the  stipes  through  the  leafy  portion  corresponding  to 
the   leaf-stalks    of    other   plants    bears  the   name   of 


Ferns  in  General.  8 

rachis.  These  are  all  the  technicalities  ^e  need  be 
troubled  with,  save  and  except  as  we  go  on  the  names 
of  the  ferns  themselves.  From  the  sublime  to  the 
ridiculous  is  but  a  step.  I  have  just  made  that  step 
while  walking  through  the  fern-house  to  obtain  the 
needful  inspiration  to  write,  this  little  book.  There  I 
saw  my  plumy  emerald  green  pets  glistening  with  health 
and  headings  of  warm  dew,  and  I  thought  it  might  help 
me  if  I  read  their  names.  Here  are  a  few  of  them — 
Acrostichum  Kequienianum,  Alsophila  Junghuhniana, 
Anemia  Schimperiana,  Aspidiam  Karwinskyanum, 
Polystichum  Plaschnichianum,  Asplenium  Gaudichan- 
dianum,  Euphegopteris  hexagonopterum,  Dictyopteris 
megalocarpum.  You  must  endure  this  sort  of  thing 
if  you  purpose  giving  the  slightest  amount  of  attention 
to  fernSj  for  only  a  few  cut  of  thousands  have  English 
names,  and  to  translate  the  botanical  names  into  English 
would  be  very  imprudent,  not  to  say  sometimes  im- 
possible. But  I  assure  you  the  names  do  not  spoil  the 
plants,  they  only  compel  fern  books  to  be  ugly  and  ' 
forbidding.  Carolina  "Wilhelmina  Amelia  Skeggs  was 
an  unamiable  person,  but  my  Mohria  thurifraga  var. 
Achillisefolia  is  as  sweet  a  bit  of  vegetable  jewellery  as 
you  are  likely  to  meet  with  in  a  dar's  march,  and  I  am 
sure  you  will  admire,  when  you  find  it,  Didymoglossum 
o*"   yel  Trichomanes  radicans. 


The  Fern  Garden. 


CHAPTER  II. 

BELIEVE  no  one  can  thoroughly  enjoy  or 
understand  ferns  until  after  having  actually 
hunted  for  them  in  hedgerows,  woods,  and 
amongst  rocks,  and  rivulets,  and  waterfalls.  The  lady 
fern  may  be  allowed  to  sing,  as  Madame  Vestris  did 
once  upon  a  time  : 

Througli  the  woods,  through  the  woods. 

Follow  and  find  me. 

Search  every  hollow,  and  dingle,  and  dell, 

I  leave  but  the  print  of  my  footstep  behind  me ; 

So  those  who  would  find  me  must  search  for  me  well. 

I  cannot  afford  space  to  enlarge  upon  the  joys  of 
fern -collecting,  the  pic-nicing,  archseologico-exploring, 
and  holiday  perambulating  that  may  be  associated  with 
the  sport.  Kindly  imagine  all  this  and  save  me  the 
expenditure  of  space  on  anything  but  the  business  in 
hand.  Ferns  are  so  widely  distributed  that  wherever  a 
rural  walk  is  possible,  it  is  almost  certain  that  some- 
where in  the  district  ferns  may  be  found.  The  south- 
western counties  of  England  constitutethe  homeparadise 
of  the  fern  collector,  but,  as  we  must  find  our  happi- 
ness where  our  lot  is  cast,  it  is  better  to  make  the  most 
of  the  ferns  within  our  reach  than  to  repine  if  Cornwall 
and  Devon  happen  to  be  terra  incognita.  In  the  neigh- 
hoiu'hood  of  London  are  many  localities  rich  in  ferns. 


Fern  Collecting,  5 

but  as  these  are  for  the  most  part  pretty  well  known  I 
shall  not  enumerate  them^  but  proceed  at  once  to  make 
some  remarks  on  collecting  ferns  for  cultivation.  It  is 
only  during  the  height  of  summer  that  the  deciduous 
kinds  ca,n  be  readily  found  by  inexperienced  collectors, 
and  it  is  at  that  season  that  fern  hunting  proves  a 
particularly  agreeable  pastime.  It  would  be  better 
always  if  the  ferns  could  be  removed  from  their  native 
sites  when  first  about  to  commence  their  new  growth 
in  the  spring,  and  this  can  be  done  sometimes  by 
searching  in  woods  and  hedgerows  for  old  fronds,  and 
tracing  them  to  their  source.  The  roots  should  then 
be  taken  up  without  injury  to  the  crowns,  and  be  at 
once  planted  or  potted  as  required,  and  assisted  with 
shade  and  shelter  until  established  in  the  places 
assigned  them  in  the  garden.  Experienced  collectors 
may  hunt  for  ferns  during  the  winter  to  great  advan- 
tage in  districts  where  they  are  known  to  abound,  as 
in  the  event  of  a  mild  season  many  of  the  deciduous 
kinds  will  be  still  green ;  and  evergreen  kinds,  such  as 
hartstongue  and  common  polypody,  may  be  better  lifted 
in  winter  than  at  any  other  season.  But  as  a  rule  fern 
hunting  is  a  recreation  for  summer  time,  and  any  fern 
may  be  taken  up  in  the  height  of  summer  and  be  kept 
with  the  utmost  certainty  for  cultivation;  the  worst 
that  is  likely  to  happen  is  the  loss  of  all  the  fronds  they 
carry  at  the  time  of  taking  up ;  but  a  new  crop  will 
soon  succeed  them  if  proper  care  be  taken.  The  fern 
collector  should  be  provided  w^ith  aids  and  implements 
adapted  to  the  county  in  which  he  is  about  to  make 
explorations.      Where  only  terrestrial    and  hedgerow 


6  The  Fern  Garden. 

kinds  are  expected  to  be  found,  a  large  basket,  or  better, 
a  pair  of  baskets  of  moderate  size,  such  as  can  be  car- 
ried one  in  each  hand,  will  be  necessary.  They  should 
have  close  fitting  lids,  because  if  ferns  are  taken  up  on 
a  hot  day  and  exposed  for  some  hours  to  the  atmo- 
sphere, the  crowns  and  roots  will  be  so  much  exhausted 
that  some  may  die,  and  all  will  be  injured,  whereas  by 
packing  them  close  with  a  little  moist  moss  amongst 
them,  the  roots  and  crowns  will  be  kept  tolerably  fresh 
until  they  can  be  potted  or  planted  out.  A  short- 
handled  three-pronged  fork  and  a  trowel,  and  a  strong 
clasp  knife,  will  be  needful ;  and  in  some  instances  it 
will  be  necessary  to  borrow  a  spade  or  digging  fork  near 
the  spot  where  operations  are  to  take  place,  for  fine  old 
roots  of  royal  osmund  and  other  large-growing  ferns 
will  defy  the  leverage  of  all  small  hand  tools.  When 
ferns  of  large  size  are  taken  up  in  the  height  of  summer, 
it  is  best  to  cut  away  all  or  nearly  all  their  fronds  at 
once,  and  use  those  fronds  as  packing  material. 

On  reaching  home,  the  best  treatment  to  subject  them 
to  is  to  pot  them  all  separately  in  the  smallest  pots 
their  roots  can  be  got  into,  with  cocoa-nut  fibre  alone 
or  the  fibre  of  good  peat  or  leaf-mould,  and  shut  them 
up  in  a  frame,  and  keep  only  moderately  moist  until 
they  start  into  growth.  As  at  this  early  stage  of  the 
study  I  may  suppose  you  do  not  know  how  to  pot  them 
and  restore  their  energies,  I  will  endeavour  to  point  out  a 
simpler  mode  of  procedure.  Find  a  very  shady  place 
in  the  garden  and  there  make  a  bed  of  leaf  mould  or 
peat  soil,  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse,  and  plant  the  ferns 
in  it  as  close  together  as  possible.     Then  cover  them 


Fern  Collecting.  7 

with  bell  glasses  or  common  hand  lights,  and  sprinkle 
them  with  water  every  evening,  but  take  care  not  to 
make  them  very  wet  at  the  roots.  They  will  soon 
begin  to  grow.  In  the  spring  following  you  may  plant 
them  in  the  fernery. 

Small  ferns  found  growing  on  rocks  and  walls  must 
always  be  carefully  dealt  with.  The  little  maidenhair 
spleenwort  will  sometimes  send  its  black  wiry  roots 
quite  through  the  substance  of  a  nine-inch  or  fourteen- 
inch  wall,  and  to  remove  it  with  complete  roots  is  then 
quite  out  of  the  question.  By  loosening  a  portion  of 
its  hold  just  below  the  crown  of  the  plant,  roots 
may  generally  be  obtained  sufficient  to  enable  it  to 
re-establish  itself  under  cultivation.  A  strong  chisel 
and  a  hammer  will  be  required  in  undertakings  of  this 
sort,  and  it  may  be  well  to  add  a  little  discretion  also, 
especially  as  to  extent  to  which  walls — the  property  of 
somebody — are  to  be  injured  for  the  sake  of  a  tuft  of 
fern  worth  but  a  few  pence,  and  of  which  specimens 
may  be  obtained  more  easily  by  further  search  without 
any  necessity  for  the  infliction  of  damage.  Ferns  found 
growing  on  and  amongst  rocks  should  always,  if  possi- 
ble, be  obtained  with  portions  of  the  rock  to  which  they 
are  attached.  If  this  cannot  be  accomplished,  care- 
fully tear  the  plant  from  the  rock  in  a  way  to  injure 
the  roots  as  little  as  possible;  good  pieces  will  soon 
emit  roots  and  fronds  if  properly  treated,  especially  if 
kept  moist  by  packing  in  moss  or  sphagnum  from  the 
first  moment  of  obtaining  the  specimen.  Allow  me  to 
remark,  further,  that  the  passion  for  fern  collecting  has 
in  many  instances  been  carried  to  a  ridiculous  excess 


8  The  Fern  Garden* 

by  persons  who  merit  the  title  not  of  fern  collectors  so 
much  as  fern  destroyers.  Let  every  genuine  lover  of 
ferns  be  on  his  guard  both  to  discourage  reckless  fern 
collecting,  and  protect  as  far  as  possible  the  few  re- 
maining localities  of  scarce  British  ferns.  It  is  nx)t 
many  years  since  I  saw  amongst  a  heap  of  dried  mosses, 
ferns,  grasses,  &c.,  in  the  possession  of  a  lady,  a  sheet 
of  Tunbridge  fern  nearly  a  yard  square.  This  had  been 
torn  from  its  native  site,  carefully  rolled  up  like  a  piece 
of  old  blanket,  and  put  away,  and  was  afterwards 
brought  forth  as  a  trophy,  and  preserved  as  a  memo- 
rial of  the  days  "  when  we  went  gipsying.^^  The  value 
of  that  sheet  when  fresh  might  have  been  about  £5, 
and  no  doubt  any  nurseryman  could  make  a  larger  sum 
of  a  good  square  yard  of  the  Tunbridge  fern.  Such  reck- 
less destruction,  such  base  contempt  for  the  value  set 
upon  a  rare  fern  by  those  who  understand  its  history 
and  its  habits,  and  appreciate  the  interest  that  arises 
out  of  its  beauty  and  rarity  combined,  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  crime ;  and  though  there  is  no  law  to 
punish  the  perpetrator,  except  in  cases  where  there 
mi  gilt  be  an  action  for  trespass  or  wilful  damage,  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  conservator  of  our  native  flora  to  visit 
crimes  of  this  kind  with  the  sternest  disapprobation, 
accompanied  with  truthful  explanations  of  the  injury 
done  alike  to  natural  scenery  and  to  science  by  such 
acts  of  spoliation. 

If  you  can  dig  up  ferns  in  early  spring,  you  may 
plant  them  in  your  fernery  at  once,  and  if  shaded 
for  a  time  and  frequently  sprinkled  with  water,  taking 
care  always  not  to  make  the  soil  about  them  very  wet, 


Fern  Collecting.  9 

they  will  soon  begin  to  grow  vigorously,,  and  after  that 
patience  is  the  only  quality  required  on  your  part  to 
ensure  your  proper  reward. 

You  will  soon  learn  to  distinguish  ferns  from  all 
other  plants  when  you  meet  with  them.  When  you 
find  a  fern,  take  notice  of  the  soil  and  situation  it  is 
growing  in,  and  in  attempting  its  cultivation  imitate 
those  conditions  as  nearly  as  possible.  The  pretty 
wall  rue  spleenwort  loves  to  grow  in  the  full  sun,  upon 
and  amongst  sandstone  rocks.  You  will  see  plenty 
of  it  on  the  approaches  to  the  Suspension  Bridge  at 
Clifton,  and  vou  mav  find  the  common  maiden-hair 

y  w  •■ 

spleenwort  keeping  it  company  if  you  look  sharp.  It 
is  in  the  shady,  dank,  almost  dripping  hollow,  or  on  the 
slope  of  a  water- course,  that  you  are  most  likely  to 
find  the  lovely  lady  fern,  the  hard  fern,  and  the  royal 
Osmund,  yet  these  will  sometimes  make  a  bonuy  show 
upon  dry  banks  beside  a  dusty  highway,  where,  perhaps, 
for  miles  the  common  lastrea  is  the  prevailing  fern  of 
the  district.  In  Epping  Forest  there  are  thousands  of 
pollard  trees  on  the  awkward  stems  of  which  are 
perched,  like  wreaths  of  honour,  tufts  of  the  common 
polypody.  I  used  when  a  boy  to  tear  them  ofi"  to  line 
my  basket  with  when  birdnesting,  for  that  forest  was 
my  playground.  If  you  want  to  see  the  bracken  you 
need  not  travel  far,  but  if  you  would  cultivate  it  you 
must  notice  that  it  grows  to  its  grandest  stature  on 
mellow,  yellowish  loam,  and  is  rather  poor  and  stunted 
on  sand  and  peat,  though  not  always  so.  Observe 
always  how  they  look  when  they  are  at  home,  and 
thereby  learn  to  persuade  them  to  believe  themselves 


10  The  Fern  Garden, 

at  home  when  you  have  planted  them  in  the  garden. 
Some  thrive  on  perpendicular  walls  of  stone  and  brick, 
others  in  the  moist  woodland  shade,  others  on  the  bleak 
mountain  top,  and  many  a  glorious  group  may  be 
found  on  the  sides  and  roofs  of  caverns,  which  they 
make  like  fairy  palaces  with  their  green  feathery 
plumes  and  golden  dottings  of  mysterious  fruit. 
However  many  lessons  you  may  learn  of  the  habits  of 
the  several  kinds  of  ferns,  there  should  be  one  lesson 
impressed  upon  your  mind  more  deeply  than  any — it 
is  this,  that,  much  as  they  love  moisture,  it  is  a  most 
rare  thing  to  see  a  fern  growing  with  its  roots  naturally 
in  water.  When  they  congregate,  as  it  were,  to  drink 
of  the  brook  that  passes  by,  they  keep  their  feet  clear 
away  from  the  current,  and  lodge  safely  on  the  slopes 
that  dip  towards  the  water;  or  stand  proudly  upon 
little  islets  that  compel  the  stream  to  sing  as  it  passes 
them ;  or  on  banks  and  hummocks  round  about  where 
they  can  enjoy  the  tiny  splashes  the  trout  make  when 
they  leap  for  flies,  and  the  soft  nourishing  vapour  that 
rises  day  and  night  amongst  their  shining  fronds. 
Yes,  it  is  upon  slopes  mostly  that  ferns  love  to  grow ; 
in  places  where  water  rarely  lodges,  but  where  moisture 
is  abundant,  and  there  is  some  shade  against  the  noon- 
day summer  sun.  Note  all  you  see  of  the  whereabouts 
and  ways  of  your  favorites,  and  you  will  find  that 
there  is  a  better  book  on  fern-growing  than  the  one 
you  are  now  reading — it  is  the  Book  of  Nature. 


How  to  form  an  Outdoor  Fernery,  11 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  TO  FORM  AN  OUTDOOR  FERNERY. 


O  keep  up  your  interest  in  the  subject,  make  a 
fernery  at  the  very  outset,  even  if  you  do  not 
know  the  names  of  half  a  dozen  ferns.  If 
you  cannot  go  collecting  you  may  be  able  to  dip  into 
the  tempting  basket  of  the  itinerant  fern  vendor,  who 
is  sure  to  be  able  to  supply  you  with  the  Male  fern, 
or  Lastrea  Filix  mas,  which  is  the  hardiest  of  all,  and 
will  grow  almost  anywhere;  the  Lady  fern,  or  Athyrium 
Filix  foemina ;  the  Hard  fern,  or  Blechnum  spicant;  and 
the  Hartstongue  fern,  or  Scolopendrium  vulgare.  With 
these  four  you  can  make  a  good  beginning.  It  is 
usual  to  construct  the  outdoor  fernery  of  some  sort  of 
"  rockwork/'  and  for  two  good  reasons^  first,  because 
the  forms  and  hues  of  ferns  are  more  effectually  dis- 
played when  their  bright  green  tufts  rise  out  of  grey 
stones  or  dark  burrs  from  the  brick  kiln;  second, 
because  they  thrive  better,  when  planted  in  gardens,  if 
their  roots  are  protected  from  excessive  evaporation  by 
the  covering  of  the  soil  with  stones  and  vitreous  masses. 
Many  a  tiny  fernery  do  I  see  in  my  travels  placed  at 
the  entrances  to  country  villas  and  cottages,  where  I 
should  never  think  of  placing  them,  yet  they  look 
quiet  and  pleasing,  and  suggest  to  all  passers  by  that 


12  The  Fern  Garden. 

those  who  planted  them  did  their  best  to  vindicate  the 
quiet  beauties  of  God's  great  harvest^  knowing  that  for 
more  demonstrative  forms  of  vegetable  splendour  vindi- 
cation was  unnecessary.  When  little  ferneries  like 
these  are  constructed^  only  the  commonest  and  most 
robust-growing  ferns  should  be  planted  in  them.  Gene- 
rally speaking;  the  common  soil  of  the  place  will  do^  but 
if  a  quantity  of  leaf  mould  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  can  be 
mixed  with  it  the  better.  If  there  is  any  doubt  about 
the  soil  of  the  place  being  suitable;  get  some  sandy  or 
peaty  earth  from  a  common  where  ferns  and  heather 
are  found  in  plenty^  and  have  enough  to  raise  the 
position  above  the  general  level,  then  cover  it  with 
stones  or  burrs,  and  plant  the  ferns  between.  There 
are  sorts  well  adapted  for  this  simplest  form  of  fernery, 
namely,  the  four  just  named,  as  likely  to  be  found  in 
the  fern  dealer's  basket,  and  the  following : — tlie 
Bracken  or  Brake,  Pteris  aquilina,  the  Broad  Prickly 
Buckler  fern,  Lastrea  dilatatay  the  royal  Osmund,  Os- 
munda  regalis,  the  common  Polypody,  Polypodium  vuU 
gare,  the  Common  Shield  fern,  Polystichum  aculeatum. 
Many  more  may  be  added  if  the  soil  is  a  mellow,  frial)le 
yellow  loam,  with  plenty  of  sand  in  it,  but  it  will  be 
well  to  get  a  little  used  to  ferns  before  launching  out 
into  grand  speculations.  AVhen  you  have  had  some 
practice  in  this  humble  way,  and  have,  perhaps,  suc- 
ceeded in  growing  a  few  ferns  in  pots  in  a  frame  or  in 
a  fern  case  in  the  drawing-room,  you  "-vill  become  am- 
bitious, and  resolve  on  having  a  grani  fernery,  with, 
perhaps,  a  model  of  a  ruin  for  the  main  feature  of  the 
scheme. 


How  to  form  an  Outdoor  Fernery.  13 

Outdoor  ferneries  are  usually  formed  of  tree  roots 
and  banks  of  earth,  picturesquely  disposed  and  planted 
with  ferns  severally  adapted  to  the  sites  and  positions 
the  schenie  affords.  Where  there  are  living  trees  on 
or  near  the  spot  (and  the  shade  of  large  trees  is  desir- 
able), the  use  of  roots  is  objectionable,  because  of  the 
quantities  of  fungi  which  are  sure  to  be  produced,  the 
mycelium  from  which  may  find  its  way  among  the 
living  roots  and  commit  vast  havoc.  But  even  this 
danger  is  worth  risking  sometimes  in  cases  where  roots 
and  butts  are  plentiful  on  the  spot,  and  it  is  undesirable 
to  incur  any  great  expense.  The  foundation  of  all 
banks  and  earth-works  for  ferns  should  be  good  loam 
or  clay,  into  which  many  of  the  stronger-growing  kinds 
will  send  their  roots  when  well  established.  But  the 
upper  crust  and  the  stuff  for  filling  in  between  roots, 
burrs,  &c.,  should  consist  of  half  peat  and  half  silky 
yellow  loam,  or  some  mixture  which  nearly  approxi- 
mates in  character  to  such  a  combination.  Thus,  good 
loam  with  well-rotted  cocoa-nut  fibre,  or  loam  mixed 
with  yellow  leaf-mould  and  manure  that  has  lain  by  three 
or  four  years  till  rotted  to  powder.  It  is  best  to  com- 
plete the  structure  and  fill  in  all  the  more  important 
places  intended  for  soil  before  inserting  any  of  the 
plants,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  work  must  be 
firm,  the  soil  well  rammed  in,  and  the  whole  of  the 
scheme  so  substantial  that  there  will  be  no  fear  of  any 
portion  shrinking  away  afterwards,  and  leaving  the 
roots  of  the  ferns  without  soil,  or  causing  hollows  and 
crevices  between  the  blocks  and  the  banks  into  which 
they  are  set. 


u 


The  Fern  Garden. 


How  to  form  an  Outdoor  Fernery. 


15 


My  own  outdoor  fernery  was  figured  and  described 
in  the  'Floral  World ''  of  January,  1867.  It  consists 
of  walls  and  arches  forming  a  sort  of  ruined  bastion. 
It  is  entirely  built  of  '^  burrs  ^'  from  the  brick  kiln, 
which  is  the  best  material  for  the  purpose  in  districts 
where  rough  stone  is  not  to  be  obtained.  All  the  walls 
are  double,  and  filled  in  with  strong  loam,  and,  of 
course,  are  roughly  built,  with  many  crevices  and  hollows, 
in  which  the  ferns  are  planted.  These  walls  may  be 
likened  to  cases  containing  earth  which  is  fully  exposed 
on  the  summit  to  the  weather,  and  consequently  may 
be  regarded  as  another  kind  of  banks.  The  annexed 
diagram  will  give  an  idea  of  the  principle  of  construc- 
tion, though  straight  lines  of  course  convey  no  idea 
of  their  form. 


GEOr>"T> 


inrE. 


Where  the  walk  passes  through  the  bastion,  the  walls 
rise  clear  out  of  the  srravel,  but  all  round  in  the  bavs 
and  inlets  mounds  of  earth  are  raised  against  them,  as 
would  be  the  case  in  a  real  ruin,  from  the  accumulation 
of  rubbish.  As  a  hint  of  the  rough  construction  of 
the  walls,  and  the  nature  of  the  effects  produced,  here 
is  a  "  bit "  of  scenery  from  the  bastion,  from  a  "  photo," 


16  The  Fern  Garden. 

shoTring  how  the  bracken  grows  on  the  rubbish  heaps  in 
nooks  amongst  the  walls.  The  whole  scheme  is  planted 
with  ferns,  and  various  flowering  Alpine  and  rock 
plants,  every  position  having  forms  of  vegetation  suited 
to  it.  Thus,  at  the  base,  where  the  walk  passes  through, 
there  are  great  tufts  of  lastrea  and  lady  fern ;  on  the 
summit^  crowning  the  work,  and  rooting  into  the  great 
mass  of  earth,  the  common  polypody  thrives  as  bravely 
as  on  the  pollard  alders  and  oaks  in  Epping  Forest. 
High  up  in  dry  positions,  on  the  face  of  the  wall,  grow 
the  Wall  Rue,  Asplenium  rut a-mur aria,  the  Maidenhair 
spleenwort,  Asplenium  trichomanes ,  with  many  varieties 
of  sempervivum,  sedum,  thyme,  and  other  plants  that 
love  such  positions.  On  the  smaller  knolls,  and  in 
half-shaded  bays,  where  there  is  a  good  depth  of  earth, 
may  be  seen  lovely  tufts  of  the  Parsley  fern,  Allosorus 
crispus,  the  most  choice  tasselled  varieties  of  Harts- 
tongue,  the  delicate  Bladder  fern,  Cystopteris  fragilis. 
On  the  banks  around,  the  giant  bracken  towers  up 
a^ove  our  heads,  and  other  ferns  of  large  growth  con- 
gregate in  rich  masses. 

My  bastion  is  part  of  a  screen  formed  to  separate  the 
pleasure  division  of  the  garden  from  the  experimental, 
and  with  it  are  connected  a  number  of  features,  such 
as  a  rustic  house  used  as  a  summer  reading-room,  a 
bee-house,  some  great  tree  butts  planted  with  ferns, 
ivies,  and  grasses.  I  am  satisfied  that  where  space  can 
be  afforded  che  imitation  of  a  ruin  is  the  best  possible 
central  idea  out  of  which  to  develop  a  fernery. 

We  shall  have  to  refer  to  rockeries  again  in  various 
ways,  but  as  I  am  resolved  to  make  no  long,  tedious 


How  to  form  an  Outdoor  Fernery,  17 

chapters  if  I  can  help  it,  I  will  here  offer  a  few  general 
advices  on  the  formation  of  ferneries  out  of  doors. 

Provide  as  many  aspects  and  degrees  of  declivity  as 
possible  within  certain  limits.  One  slightly  irregular 
bank  is  to  be  preferred  to  a  number  of  paltry  ins  and 
outs^  but  if  you  have  space  and  materials  sufficient,  let 
the  work  be  somewhat  intricate  in  order  to  obtain  a 
variety  of  conditions  to  suit  the  various  habits  of  the 
ferns  you  intend  to  grow. 

Large  bodies  of  soil  are  absolutely  necessary,  as  it 
is  impossible  to  keep  the  roots  moist  enough  during 
the  hottest  months  of  the  year  if  they  are  in  shallow 
soil,  of  which  a  large  surface  is  exposed  to  the  atmo- 
sphere. It  is  particularly  important  to  bear  this  in 
mind  in  constructing  the  walls  of  a  ruin,  if  it  is  in- 
tended to  plant  ferns  on  or  in  the  walls.  A  space  of 
one  foot  clear,  filled  in  with  earth,  between  the  two  faces 
of  the  wall,  is  the  least  that  should  be  allowed  in  the 
smallest  construction  of  the  kind ;  two  or  three  feet  of 
earth  will  be  required  in  a  ruin  of  dimensions  large 
enough  to  serve  as  a  garden-house  or  reading-room. 

Aim  at  wildness  and  apparent  neglect  in  the  arrange- 
ments up  to  a  certain  point.  Dirt  and  disorder  are 
as  injurious  to  the  ferns  as  to  the  morals  of  those  who 
encourage  such  things,  but  primness  is  not  desirable 
in  a  fernery ;  the  effects  should  tend  towards  the  rustic 
rather  than  to  the  refined,  and  the  materials  used 
throughout  should  be  of  the  quietest  colours ;  no  ^qw 
gaws,  no  plaster  casts,  no  blocks  of  coral  or  shiny 
shells  should  be  mixed  up  with  the  work. 

Robust-growing  ferns  planted  on  banks  and  mounds 

2 


18  The  Fern  Garden, 

of  good  mellow  loam  will  scarcely  want  cultivating. 
Pretty  well  the  best  vou  can  do  for  them  is  to  leave 
them  alone.  But  those  elevated  on  pinnacles  and  in 
other  positions  where  they  are  likely  to  get  very  dry 
must  have  the  aid  of  water,  not  only  in  summer  but  in 
winter,  also  on  every  occasion  when  dry  weather  prevails 
for  any  length  of  time.  Many  plants  so  situated  perish 
by  desiccation  during  the  prevalence  of  east  winds  in 
March,  when  because  the  weather  is  gold  and  they  are 
not  growing,  the  cultivator  is  apt  to  think  water  un- 
necessary ;  or  rather  he  is  apt  not  to  think  about  the 
ferns  or  the  water  at  all. 

Small-grrowinc^  delicate  habited  ferns  that  are  in  ex- 
posed  positions  on  rockeries  should  have  protection 
during  severe  frost.  A  flower-pot  may  be  inverted 
over  them  or  a  little  clean  hay  may  be  placed  over 
their  crowns  and  kept  from  blowing  away  by  means  of 
a  few  pegs,  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  or  sand  may  be  heaped 
up  round  and  over  them,  to  be  taken  away  of  course 
when  the  crowns  begin  to  throw  up  new  fronds  in 
spring.  Always  wait  for  mild  moist  weather  to  remove 
such  protection,  for  if  the  swelling  crown  is  suddenly 
exposed  to  a  cutting  east  wind,  it  may  shrivel  and 
perish,  instead  of  throwing  up  its  emerald  tassels  in 
token  of  the  return  of  the  tender  spring. 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  outdoor  ferneries  as 
superstructures.  TV'e  might  have  regarded  them  as 
substructures.  At  all  events,  I  should  like  for  an  old 
quarry  to  become  mine  some  day  that  I  might  make  a 
fernery  of  it ;  and  perhaps  lacking  a  quarry,  I  may  be 
tempted  to  throw  myself  into  a  gravel  pit,  and  by  a 
little  hard  work  and  patience  make  a  fern  garden  of  it. 


Cultivation  of  Rock  Ferns^  19 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CULTIVATION    OF    ROCK    FERNS. 

JOU  have  taken  notice  when  fern  collecting  that 
many  of  the  smaller  kinds  are  only  found  on 
rocks  and  old  walls,  or,  at  all  events,  are  never 
found  in  damp  hollows  or  in  places  over  much  sheltered 
from  the  sun  and  the  breeze.  Now^  all  such  ferns 
require  peculiar  treatment,  and  as  you  advance  in 
practice  the  rock  and  wall-loving  varieties  will  probably 
interest  vou  more  than  all  the  rest. 

The  first  requisite  to  success  is  to  plant  them  where 
it  is  impossible  for  water  to  become  stagnant  about 
their  roots.  In  planting  them  on  a  rockery  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  take  out  a  quantity  of  the  soil  frcnn  the  place 
where  the  fern  is  to  be,  and  introduce  soil  specially  pre- 
pared for  it. 

In  preparing  the  stations  put  a  lot  of  broken  bricks 
or  broken  flower-pots  and  small  stones  into  the  holes, 
and  upon  these  let  there  be  full  nine  inches  depth  of 
the  compost,  and  let  it  be  raised  into  a  hillock. 

Nearly  all  the  ferns  of  this  class  will  thrive  in  a 
mixture  of  equal  parts  of  yellow  loam  of  a  silky  nature, 
fibrous  peat  or  the  top  crust  of  sandy  soil  from  a  com- 
mon where  the  ling  and  the  brake  grow  together.  There 
must  be  full  one  fourth  of  sand  in  the  mixture,  but  the 


20  The  Fern  Garden. 

loam  or  peat  may  contain  as  much  as  that,  and  no  more 
need  be  added.  If  the  loam  and  the  peat  are  both  of 
an  unctuous  nature,  add  sharp  sand  in  quantities  equal  to 
one  fourth  or  even  one  third  of  the  bulk,  and  mix  all  well 
together.  Never  use  sifted  soil  for  ferns  (except  in  the 
case  of  seedlings,  to  be  spoken  of  in  a  future  chapter), 
but  have  all  lumps  broken  to  the  size  of  walnuts  or 
hazel  nuts,  and  mix  fine  and  coarse  together. 

In  planting  the  ferns,  those  that  have  a  creeping 
rhizome  or  root  stock  must  be  slightly  covered,  and  it 
may  be  necessary  to  fix  them  in  their  places  with  a  few 
pegs.  Do  not  cover  them  deeply,  only  so  much  in  fact 
as  to  prevent  exhaustion  of  the  rhizomes  by  drying 
winds  until  they  can  make  fresh  roots,  by  which  time 
the  frequent  sprinklings  they  are  subjected  to  will  have 
washed  the  mulching  ofi^  the  rhizomes,  which  will  then 
be  left  in  their  natural  position  on  and  not  in  the  soil. 

It  will  be  well  perhaps  to  make  a  few  remarks  on 
the  species  which  come  into  this  group.  Allosorus 
crispus,  the  mountain  parsley  fern,  makes  a  charming 
tuft  on  a  rockery ;  it  is  fond  of  stone,  and  abhors 
damp.  I  find  that  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  peat,  de- 
cayed cocoa-nut  fibre,  and  broken  pots  or  broken  hearth- 
stone suits  admirably.  It  must  be  shaded,  or  the  new 
growth  soon  goes  rusty. 

Asplenium  adiantum  nigrum,  the  black  maidenhair 
spleenwort,  is  rarely  met  with  but  in  positions  elevated 
above  the  ground ;  it  greatly  needs  shade  and  shelter, 
and  will  thrive  in  any  peaty  mixture,  or  in  broken 
pots  alone. 

Asplenium  ruta  muraria,  the  wall  rue,  requires  a  very 


Cultivation  of  Rock  Ferns.  21 

dry  and  open  position,  and  will  do  well  in  a  mixture  of 
two  thirds  broken  bricks  and  chalk,  and  one  third 
sandy  peat.  Stagnant  moisture  will  be  speedy  death 
to  this  fern,  but  it  must  have  daily  sprinklings  while 
growing  to  promote  free  growth. 

A.  septentrionale,  the  forked  spleenwort,  should  always 
be  grown  in  an  elevated  position  for  the  sake  of  the 
protection  thereby  afforded  it  against  slugs  and  wood- 
lice,  which  rarely  get  into  the  higher  parts  of  mural 
ferneries.  Being  very  small,  it  may  be  easily  lost  when 
planted  on  banks  or  level  ground ;  but  in  a  suitable 
pocket  in  a  sheltered  nook  in  a  wall  or  ruin,  it  makes 
a  very  pretty  and  interesting  patch. 

Asplenium  trichomanes,  the  common  maidenhair 
spleen  wort,  and  A.  virides,  the  green  spleenwort,  are 
superb  wall  ferns,  and  in  fact  they  rarely  do  well 
under  cultivation  except  when  planted  out  in  an 
elevated  and  well-drained  position.  The  soil  should  be 
equal  parts  sandy  peat,  yellow  loam,  and  broken  bricks, 
and  the  plants  should  be  planted  firmly,  with  their 
crowns  slightly  above  the  surface. 

Ceterach  officinarum,  the  scale  fern,  is  essentially  a 
wall  or  rock  fern,  and  a  very  beautiful  and  interesting 
species.  Confinement  and  damp  are  most  prejudicial 
to  this  fern,  and  when  planted  on  a  rockery  under  glass 
the  most  airy  position  safe  against  drip  should  be  chosen. 
Any  good  sandy  soil  will  suit  it. 

Cystopteris  montana^  the  mountain  bladder  fern,  re- 
quires peculiar  care.  Select  for  it  a  position  thoroughly 
sheltered  and  shaded,  and  prepare  for  it  a  station  with 
a  stratum  of  broken  bricks  for  drainage,  and  over  that 


22  The  Fern  Garden. 

six  inches  of  a  mixture  consisting  of  sandy  peat,  sphag- 
num, and  broken  sandstone  or  common  hearthstone. 
Plant  in  the  centre  of  the  station,  and  place  a  bell- glass 
over ;  keep  constantly  moist,  and  give  air  periodically. 
When  it  is  well  established,  remove  the  glass,  and  leave 
it  to  take  care  of  itself.  If  the  fernery  is  supplied  with 
a  stream  of  water,  Cystopteris  montana  is  one  of  those 
which  should  be  planted  on  a  ledge  of  rock  where  it 
can  have  the  benefit  of  a  daily  trickling  of  water  over 
its  rhizomes. 

Lastrea  montana — the  hay-scented  fern,  better  known, 
perhaps,  as  L.  oreopteris — requires  similar  treatment  to 
that  recommended  for  Cystopteris  montana,  but  should 
have  a  soil  more  inclining  to  loam.  It  can  scarcely 
have  too  much  water,  provided  the  position  in  which  it 
is  planted  admits  of  it  readily  flowing  away. 

Polypodium  vulgare,  the  common  polypody,  will  grow 
in  almost  any  position  except  in  a  sheer  marsh,  and 
there  it  soon  perishes.  When  growing  wild  in  the 
woods,  whether  on  pollard  trees  or  moist  banks,  it  is 
invariably  found  rioting  in  deposits  of  leaf-mould  and 
wood  rotted  to  powder.  Pure  cocoa-nut  fibre,  or  equal 
parts  of  the  fibre  and  mellow  loam,  pure  leaf-mould, 
and  very  dry,  tough,  fibry  peat,  in  which  there  are  old 
hummocks  of  grass,  are  soils  that  suit  this  fine  fern  to 
perfection.  It  will  bear  sunshine  well,  but  grows  more 
luxuriantly  in  the  shade.  In  a  very  dry  position  where 
no  water  can  lodge  about  it,  but  sprinkled  daily  all  the 
summer,  this  fern  will  attain  to  grand  dimensions,  and 
be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  collection  all  through 
the  autumn  and  winter  months. 


Cultivation  of  Rock  Ferns. 


23 


Polypodium  Robertianum,  the  limestone  polypody, 
requires  a  dry  position,  and  a  mixture  of  sandy  loam 
and  chalk. 

Woodsia  ilvensis,  the  oblong  AVoodsia,  must  have 
shade  and  shelter :  and  the  most  perfect  drainaoe. 
Make  a  little  hollow  of  broken  bricks,  or  other  porous 
substances.  Fill  with  a  mixture  of  yellow  loam  and 
silver  sand.     In  this  the  plant  will  luxuriate. 


G-EOrP    OF    S:C0T.OPEVT>"RTr:\I'=!    ox    EOCir-TVOElI. 


24  The  Fern  Garden. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CULTIVATION    OF    MARSH    FERNS. 

HIS  will  be  a  very  short  chapter,  just  because 
there  are  no  marsh  ferns.  I  remarked  as  much 
in  Chapter  III,  and  pointed  out  that  the  most 
moisture- loving  of  them  managed  usually  to  keep  out 
of  the  water.  But  you  may  wish  to  plant  some  ferns 
beside  a  stream,  or  on  an  islet,  or  near  a  fountain,  or 
in  some  other  peculiarly  damp  position,  and  it  will  be 
proper  here  to  name  the  most  suitable. 

Osrtiunda  regalis,  the  royal  fern,  delights  in  moisture, 
especially  if  it  is  growing  in  a  great  bed  of  spongy 
peat.  "With  such  aids  and  a  warm  climate  it  will 
overtop  the  tallest  man,  but  if  it  only  attains  a  height 
of  five  feet,  it  is  a  noble  object,  as  much  like  a  palm 
as  any  plant  of  English  growth. 

Athyrium  FUix  foemina^  the  lady  fern,  delights  in  a 
similar  position.  This  has  no  palm-like  aspect,  but  is 
rather  to  be  compared  with  a  plume  of  ostrich  feathers 
of  the  most  intense  and  delicate  tint  of  yellowish  green. 

Lastrea  thelypteris,  the  female  buckler  fern,  is  another 
charming  species  for  a  very  damp  position,  and  it  spreads 
fast,  literally  carpeting  the  ground  with  pale  greyish- 
green  most  delicately  textured  fronds. 

Blechnum  spicant,  the  hard  fern,  will  attain   grand 


Cultivation  of  Marsh  Ferns. 


25 


dimensions,  and  produce  abundance  of  fruitful  fronds 
in  damp  spongy  peat.  I  never  saw  this  and  the  Osmunda 
grow  so  grandly  as  in  a  wet  gully  I  struck  upon  once 
when  fern  hunting  in  a  wood  near  Oakshot  in  Surrey. 
There  the  Osmund  was  my  equal  in  stature,  and  the 
fruiting  fronds  of  the  blechnum  just  reached  my  chin. 
It  was  a  very  damp  spongy  spot,  yet  the  ferns  stood  a 
little  above  the  water  line. 

Charming  plants  to  associate  with  the  moisture-loving 
ferns  are  the  Equisetums  or  Horsetails.  Get  Equisetum 
sylvaticum  if  you  can,  and  plant  it  in  wet  spongy  peat 
in  a  sheltered  nook,  and  you  will  have  a  bit  of  vegeta- 
tion that  will  make  you  proud  of  the  land  of  which 
it  is  a  native, — that  is,  if  you  happen  to  be  a  true 
Britisher,  which  the  plant  is, — if  not,  be  glad  now  and 
then  that  you  came  here,  for  if  this  is  not  in  anv 
especial  manner  the  land  of  ferns,  it  is  at  all  events  the 
land  of  people  who  love  them. 


ATHYEiril    TELIX    FCEMINA,    YAK.    FEIZELLI^. 


26  The  Fern  Garden. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FERNS    IN    POTS, 

|ET  US  now  make  another  advance  in  practice. 
Ferns  are  beautiful  objects  when  well  grown  as 
pot  plants.  To  grow  them  well  in  pots  de- 
mands more  care  and  skill  than  growing  them  in  the 
rockery,  because  there  they,  for  the  most  part,  take 
care  of  themselves.  But  pot  plants  are  at  all  times 
more  dependent  on  the  cultivator,  and  must  have  con- 
stant attention.  If  you  fail  at  first  do  not  be  dis- 
couraged, for  the  practice  is  attended  with  but  few 
difficulties.  Begin  with  a  few  of  the  commonest,  and 
do  not  make  a  rush  at  rare  varieties,  until  you  have 
got  your  hand  and  your  mind  in  the  work.  It  is  a 
great  secret  of  success  in  cultivating  any  particular 
class  of  plants  to  get  used  to  them. 

There  is  a  whole  volume  of  philosophy  in  the  last 
sentence,  and  it  applies  directly  and  peculiarly  to  the 
subject  now  before  us.  Whoever  hopes  to  succeed  in 
fern  growing  must  first  grow  a  few  in  order  to  get 
used  to  them,  and  having  got  used  to  them  opera- 
tions may  be  extended  and  money  may  be  spent 
with  some  prospect  of  remuneration;  but  whoever 
attempts  too  much  at  first  will  find  that  eff'ort  and 
money  and  hope  and  enthusiasm  have  been  wasted, 
for  disappointments  in  the  early  stages  of  a  pursuit 


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Ferns  in  Pots.  27 

are  ten  times  more  dispiriting  than  when  they  occur 
after  we  have  been  rewarded  with  many  successes. 

Suppose  the  beginner  in  fern  growing  to  take  in 
hand  a  dozen  species  only;  what  shall  they  be?  I 
should  recommend  the  following  : — Lastrea  Filix  ?nas, 
Lastrea  dilatata,  Polystlchum  aculeatum,  Polystichum 
angulare,  Poly  podium  vulgare,  Polypodium  dryopteris, 
Athyrium  Filix  foemina,  Asplenium  marinum,  Scolo- 
pendrium  vulgare,  Cyrtomium  falcatum,  Woodwardia 
radicans,  Lomaria  chiliensis.  These  are  among  the 
cheapest  and  most  easily  procured.  The  first  eight  of 
them  are  British^  and  the  remaining  four  foreign. 
Supposing  them  to  be  all  small  nursery  plants,  they 
might  all  be  potted  in  five-inch  pots,  or  what  are  termed 
48's,  but  the  size  of  the  pot  must  depend  upon  the 
size  of  the  plants,  and  that  size  will  suit  which  will 
take  their  roots  without  cramping  them,  and  allow  very 
little  space  beyond.  Fine  specimens  can  be  grown 
with  more  certainty  by  shiftinor  them  into  largrer  and 
larger  pots  as  the  plants  increase  in  size,  beginning 
with  pots  as  small  as  possible  without  cramping  the 
roots,  than  by  putting  them  into  large  pots  in  the  first 
instance.  The  soil  that  would  suit  all  these  would  be 
such  a  mixture  as  the  following :  one  part  peat,  con- 
sisting of  the  top  slice  of  turf,  and  which  consists 
chiefly  of  the  fibre  of  fine  grasses,  the  roots  of  heaths, 
decayed  moss,  &c.  This  must  be  chopped  up  the  size 
of  walnuts.  One  part  friable  yellow  loam  of  a  clean 
silky  texture,  such  as  will  crumble  to  powder  between 
the  fingers,  and  yet  scarcely  soil  them  even  when  it  is 
moderately  damp.     If  this  is  full  of  fibre  of  grass  turf, 


28  The  Fern  Garden, 

and  has  the  fleshy  roots  of  brake  intermingled  with  it, 
all  the  better.  Such  loam  as  this  is  very  abundant, 
indeed  it  generally  prevails  where  the  brake  grows 
luxuriantly  in  the  hedgerows.  One  part  thoroughly 
decayed  leaf  mouldy  which  should  be  black  and  gritty, 
free  from  fungus,  and  from  bits  of  iron  and  other  rub- 
bish which  gardeners  too  often  allow  to  get  mixed  up 
with  it.  One  part  silver-sand.  Mix  these  ingredients  well 
together;  break  all  lumps  to  the  size  of  walnuts;  do 
not  sift  it,  and  do  not  on  any  account  endeavour  to 
make  it  fine  like  dust.  Indeed,  a  compost  as  fine  as  dust 
will  not  grow  any  plant  to  perfection.  When  prepared, 
the  sand  should  be  visible  throughout  the  mass,  giving 
it  a  grey  hue  and  a  granular  appearance.  It  should 
be  only  moderately  moist,  not  wet,  free  from  large 
stones,  and  have  a  pleasant  feel  in  the  hand.  Now 
draw  to  one  side  a  heap  of  the  toughest  and  largest 
pieces  of  fibre  and  loam  from  the  mixture;  this  we 
shall  call  rough  stuff.  Next  lay  ready  for  use  a  small 
heap  of  green  moss,  or,  if  not  green,  tolerably  tough 
and  fresh,  that  is  to  say,  not  rotten.  Next  break  up 
a  lot  of  flower-pots  to  the  size  of  crown-pieces,  and 
another  lot  to  the  size  of  peas.  The  last  job  prepara- 
tory to  potting  is  to  have  new  or  quite  clean  pots.  If 
they  are  not  clean  inside  and  out,  the  ferns  will  not 
thrive,  and  if  they  did  we  should  not  like  them  for  it. 

The  process  of  potting  is  very  simple,  yet  it  is  usually 
badly  done  by  beginners.  First  place  over  the  hole 
in  the  pot  a  picked  potsherd,  hollow  side  downwards ; 
then  lay,  also  hollow  side  downwards,  a  few  pieces  all 
round,  to  cover  the  bottom  of  the  pot,  and  then  add  a 


Ferns  in  Pots.  29 

good  handful  of  the  smallest  potsherds.  Next  spread 
a  thin  layer  of  moss^  then  a  thin  layer  of  the  rough 
stuffy  and  then  take  the  fern  in  the  left  hand  and  place 
it  with  the  crown  in  the  centre,  level  with  the  rim  of 
the  pot,  and  allow  the  roots  to  spread,  so  that  when 
earth  is  put  upon  them  they  will  not  be  cramped  up  in 
a  bunch.  Take  the  compost  in  the  right  hand,  and 
pour  it  in  all  round  till  the  pot  is  full,  and  then  with 
the  thumb  of  each  hand  press  it  down,  turning  the  pot 
round  in  so  doing,  adding  more  soil  as  required,  so 
that  when  finished  there  will  be  half  an  inch  of  space 
between  the  soil  and  the  top  edge  of  the  pot.  There 
is  a  golden  rule  for  success  in  growing  any  kind  of 
plant  in  a  pot,  and  it  is  to  pot  firm.  Do  not  be  afraid 
to  press  the  earth  in  round  tbe  roots,  and  give  the  pot 
a  tap  on  the  board  at  the  finishing  touch ;  when  potted 
loosely,  no  plant  can  thrive. 

Now,  what  are  we  to  do  with  this  dozen  of  ferns  ?  I 
propose  that  we  fit  up  a  frame  to  face  the  north  in  some 
quiet  corner  of  the  garden,  and  that  we  make  no  boast 
about  our  ferns  until  they  have  had  one  yearns  growing 
at  least.  We  want  a  dry  spot,  rather  sheltered;  the 
soil  on  which  the  frame  is  to  stand  should  be  covered 
with  coal  ashes,  and  be  easy  of  access  at  all  seasons. 
Suppose  we  have  potted  them  from  the  30tli  of  IMaroh 
to  the  1st  of  May — ferns  may  be  potted  at  any  time, 
but  when  they  are  just  starting  into  new  growth  is  the  5) 
best  time — the  next  question  is,  What  shall  we  do  with 
them  ?  It  is  but  little  they  require ;  first  place  them 
in  the  frame,  next  water  them  with  a  common  watering- 
pot  with  a  fine  rose  on  the  spout.     When  you  get  used 


80  The  Fern  Garden. 

to  ferns,,  you  may  water  them  without  the  rose,,  unless 
you  wish  to  wet  the  fronds,  but  you  must  use  the  rose 
now,  because,  as  you  are  not  used  to  them,  you  might 
wash  half  the  earth  out  of  the  pots  by  a  sudden  dash 
of  water,  a  contingency  not  possible  when  the  rose  is 
used  in  watering.  All  through  the  summer  these  plants 
will  want  a  little  water  every  other  day  at  least,  and  it 
should  be  given  so  as  to  wet  the  fronds  all  over,  and 
moisten  the  soil  without  drenching  them.  In  very  hot 
and  very  dry  weather  daily  watering  will  be  necessary, 
and  in  the  very  hottest  weather  you  may  water  twice  a 
day  with  benefit. 

Not  less  important  is  the  giving  of  air  and  light.  If 
the  frame  faces  north,  the  light  may  be  stood  up  on 
end,  leaning  against  the  back,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of 
south  wall  to  the  plants,  and  a  mat  hung  on  it,  or  a 
breadth  of  canvas  tacked  to  it  will  render  it  efficient  to 
screen  off  the  full  blaze  of  sunshine.  If  this  cannot 
be  done,  put  the  light  in  its  place,  lay  a  mat  upon  it 
and  draw  it  down,  and  tilt  it  slightly  with  blocks  of 
wood  or  empty  flower-pots,  so  as  to  allow  a  current  of 
air  to  pass  through.  In  this  state  it  is  to  remain  from 
the  1st  of  May  to  the  1st  of  September,  during  the  day 
time  only.  Every  evening — at  sunset  or  earlier — draw 
the  light  oflP  altogether,  that  the  plants  may  have  the 
full  daylight  as  long  as  it  lasts,  the  dews  all  night,  and 
the  full  daylight  again  in  the  morning  till  about 
9  a.m. 

On  the  1st  of  September  your  plants  will  have  a 
most  luxuriant  appearance,  and  the  pots  will  be 
crammed  full  of  roots.     Shift  them  all  into  pots  the 


Ferns  in  Pots.  31 

next  size  larger  without  breaking  their  balls  of  roots, 
and  let  the  operation  be  performed  in  precisely  the 
same  manner  as  already  described.  Take  ofiF  the 
shading,  and  give  the  plants  very  much  air  both  day  and 
night  for  another  month.  During  very  bright  sunshine 
shade  them  for  an  hour  or  two ;  but  let  them  have  the 
sunshine  morning  and  evening,  and  the  night  dew. 
Continue  to  water  as  before,  but  give  less  and  less,  so 
that  by  the  1st  of  October  they  will  be  watered  only 
once  a  week.  After  that  date,  until  frost  occurs,  shut 
them  up  at  night,  take  off  the  light  all  day,  and  once 
a  week  pour  water  gently  over  their  crowns,  sufficient 
to  make  the  crowns  moist,  but  not  to  sodden  the  soil 
in  the  pots.  When  frost  occurs,  throw  a  few  mats  on 
the  light;  if  the  frost  increases  in  severity,  take  off 
the  lightj  and  strew  dry  hay  amongst  the  plants,  taking 
particular  care  to  cover  their  crowns  with  this  protect- 
ing^ material.  Put  the  liorhts  on,  lav  some  drv  straw  or 
hay  on  the  glass,  and  then  lay  a  good  mat  over  all. 
If  you  neglect  these  precautions,  you  will  probably 
not  lose  tiny  of  your  plants,  for  they  are  all  hardy; 
Due  the  effect  of  frost  upon  them  will  be  that  they  will 
be  a  week  or  two  later  in  growing  in  spring  than  if  they 
had  been  protected,  and  so  I  must  insist  on  protection 
as  necessary. 

Whenever  the  weather  is  mild,  or  the  frost  only 
amounts  to  a  few  degrees  at  night,  continue  to  pour  alittle 
water  over  the  crowns  once  a  week;  in  fact,  that  operation 
is  only  to  be  suspended  when  the  weather  is  really  severe. 
Give  air  as  often  as  possible,  never  allow  them  to  become 
thoroughly  wet,  and  keep  them  safe  from  being  frozen. 


3a  The  Fern  Garden. 

The  majority  of  amateur  fern  growers  allow  their  pot 
plants  to  go  dry  as  dust  all  winter,  and  the  consequence 
is  that  they  grow  very  poorly  in  the  early  part  of  the 
following  season ;  in  fact,  scarcely  grow  at  all  till  June, 
by  which  time  their  new  fronds  ought  to  be  all  com- 
pleted. It  is  a  grand  secret  of  success  to  keep  their 
crowns  freely  moistened  all  the  winter  long. 

The  next  best  time  to  shift  them  will  be  the  1st  of 
March.  Proceed  as  before,  using  pots  one  size  larger. 
You  will  now  have  fine  specimens.  The  frame  will  no 
longer  hold  them.  You  must  either  build  a  green- 
house to  keep  them  in,  or  you  must  have  a  pit  of  suffi- 
cient depth  to  give  them  head  room,  or  you  must  make 
a  rockery  and  plant  them  all  out  in  it,  or  you  must 
divide  them  all  by  splitting  them  asunder  with  a  knife 
right  through  the  crown,  and  pot  all  the  pieces,  or  you 
must  sell  them  and  retire  on  the  proceeds.  It  cannot 
be  my  business  what  becomes  of  them  after  this  date  ;  it 
suffices  that  I  have  made  a  fern  grower  of  you,  and  you 
will  be  enabled  to  understand  and  practise  all  the  direc- 
tions and  suggestions  on  fern  growing  which  you  may 
find  in  this  volume  or  any  other  that  may  be  worth 
referring  to.  You  will  have  learnt  that  a  clean,  granular, 
peaty,  fibrous  soil ;  a  rather  still,  warm^  and  moist  at- 
mosphere, and  shade  from  sunshine,  are  the  principal 
essentials  to  success  in  fern  growing,  and  to  make  short 
of  this  part  of  the  paper,  I  may  as  well  say  that  you 
have  very  little  more  to  learn  in  the  way  of  principles  ; 
if  you  are  ever  to  excel  in  fern  growing,  it  will  be  owing 
to  the  use  you  make  of  observation  and  experience  in 
carrying  those  principles  into  effect. 


The  Fern  House,  33 


CHAPTEU  VII. 

THE     FERN     HOUSE. 


E  are  now  becoming  ^^  expensive  and  hard  to 
please/^  We  want  a  fern  house — oh  dear  ! 
how  our  wants  increase  with  increase  of  know- 
ledge and  advance  of  taste.  Any  man  could  live  con- 
tented on  just  double  the  amount  of  income  he  has 
already,  and  the  fern  grower  at  any  time  could  promise 
to  be  satisfied  if  he  could  be  sure  of  advancing  from  a 
frame  to  a  house,  or  from  a  house  to  another  and  a  larger 
house,  and  from  such  ferns  as  anybody  could  grow  in 
a  modest  cool  fernery  to  tree  ferns  of  gigantic  growth, 
and  the  gorgeous  Leptopteris  superha,  which  is  perhaps 
the  loveliest  fern  in  the  world,  and  rather  too  dear  as 
yet,  and  needing  too  much  care  for  the  humble  fern 
grower  ever  to  dream  about  it. 

By  a  fern  house  I  mean  some  sort  of  cave  or  rockery 
covered  with  glass  and  with  or  without  heating  apparatus. 
The  best  example  of  a  fernery  of  this  sort  I  know  of, 
to  which  the  public  have  access,  may  be  seen  at  Messrs. 
Veitch  and  Sons'  nursery,  Chelsea.  It  is  truly  a  garden 
with  gravel  walks  amidst  rocks  and  waterfalls,  and  on 
every  hand  the  ferns  present  themselves  in  sheets  of 
delicious  verdure  or  in  waving  palm-like  masses,  or  in 
a  glorious  confusion  of  brake  and  lastrea  intermingled 

3 


34 


The  Fern  Garden, 


as  if  the  dryads  themselves  attended  to  the  planting. 
I  could  mention  hundreds  of  private  gardeners  where 
I  have  seen  beautiful  ferneries  under  glass,  but  the 
reader  vrould  gain  nothing  by  the  list.  Pardon  my 
boldness,  but  in  truth  I  have  scarcely  met  with  a  fernery 
to  surpass  Mrs.  Hibberd's  in  beauty  and  interest,  though 
it  is  on  an  extremely  small  scale.  I  will  tell  you  some- 
thing about  it. 

Given,  a  recess  in  the  walls  of  a  house,  and  what  shall 
we  do  with  it  ?  It  is  of  no  use  to  put  the  question  to 
echo,  who  is  represented  as  giving  answers  as  required, 
because  an  honest  echo  could  only  reply,  "  Do  with  it !'' 
which,  at  the  best,  would  be  ambiguous,  and  might  be 
supposed  to  mean,  "  Do  away  with  it  !^'  In  a  certain 
sense  that  is  just  what  I  have  done;  for,  by  converting 
the  recess  into  a  fernery,  it  is  a  recess  no  more,  but  a 
part  and  parcel  of  the  garden,  and  yet  not  utterly  sepa- 
rated from  the  dwelling-house.  Please  allow  a  few 
hap-hazard  lines  to  represent  the  case  in  the  first  in- 
stance.    If  you  suppose  A  to  be  one  side  of  the  house, 

4 


and  C  another  side,  then  B  will  be  the  recess  or  hole  in 
the  wall  requiring  to  be  occupied  in  some  way  or  other, 
or  by  some  construction  to  be  blotted  out.     Letter  A 


The  Fern  House. 


35 


looks  west,  letter  C  north ;  the  garden-walk  passes  by 
the  side  of  the  house  along  the  line  A,  and  past  the  gap 
B  ;  and  as  long  as  that  remains  a  gap^  it  is  abominably 
ugly.  It  is  twelve  years  ago  siuce  I  filled  up  the  gap  B 
with  a  lean-to  greenhouse,,  with  the  slope  of  the  roof 
looking  westj  and  the  door  on  the  side  which  looks 
north.     Fig.  1  is  the  back  wall  of  the  house,  fig.  2  the 


end  wall,  fig.  3  the  door,  fig.  4  the  front.  This  was  at 
first  used  as  a  small  show-house,  for,  being  easy  of 
access,  always  in  sight,  and  in  a  shady  position,  it  served 
the  double  purpose  of  displaying  a  few  good  things  in 
a  place  where  it  was  convenient  to  see  them,  and  also, 
by  reason  of  its  cool,  shady  position,  keeping  them 
longer  in  perfection  than  they  would  have  remained  in 


36  The  Fern  Garden. 

any  more  sunny  position.  In  the  cut  the  house  is 
shown  with  a  stage  for  flowering  plants,  as  originally 
constructed.  In  the  course  of  time,  some  building  and 
planting  took  place  a  little  way  off  towards  the  west, 
and  the  nice  gleam  of  sunlight  that  enlivened,  the  house 
from  2  p.m.  till  sunset  was  effectually  blocked  out,  and 
the  house  became  unfit  for  flowering  plants.  Instead 
of  bringing  an  action  against  the  neighbour  who  de- 
voured my  sunshine,,  I  brought  an  action  against  myself, 
and  the  verdict  was,  that  the  shady  house  should  be 
forthwith  converted  into  a  fernery.  The  stages  were 
removed,  and  in  their  place  a  rockery  was  built  upon  a 
very  simple  plan,  and  which,  considering  the  smallness 
of  the  house,  proves  delightfully  effective,  as  affording 
at  all  seasons  a  beautiful  scene,  and  very  serviceable 
arrangements  for  the  growth  of  plants.  I  employed  a 
skilful  bricklayer  to  do  all  the  solid  work,  and,  under 
my  direction,  he  faced  the  back  and  end  walls  of  the 
house  (1  and  2)  with  a  rugged  mass  of  burrs  from  the 
brick-field,  rendering  it  somewhat  like  the  interior  of  a 
cave.  The  work  was  commenced  at  some  little  distance 
from  the  wall,  and  gradually  brought  nearer  and  nearer 
as  it  proceeded  upwards,  occasional  large  blocks  being 
firmly  cemented  to  the  wall,  and  strengthened  with 
holdfasts;  and  between  the  walls  and  the  burrs  good 
loam  was  rammed  in  from  bottom  to  top.  Next  the 
iront  wall  (4)  and  the  end  (3)  a  low  border  was  formed 
with  a  facing  of  burrs,  this  border  consisting  of  good 
loam.  No  special  device  for  drainage  was  resorted  to, 
and  it  has  never  been  wanted ;  a  layer  of  broken  bricks, 
^out  six  inches  deep,  was  put  upon  the  tiles,  and  the 


The  Fern  House,  37 

soil  thrown  upon  this  rough  bed.  There  is  a  trapped 
sink  leading  to  a  drain  in  one  corner  of  the  house^  and 
all  superfluous  water  finds  its  way  there  quickly,  as  the 
pavement  slopes  gently  to  it.  The  finish  of  the  work 
I  did  myself,  and  it  occupied  me,  at  odd  times,  about 
four  months^  the  work  being  essentially  amusing,  though 
attended  with  an  occasional  abrasion  of  the  knuckles. 
The  task  I  had  was  to  make  the  '^^  pockets'"* — openings 
for  the  purpose  being  left  at  intervals  in  the  work.  I 
made  the  ''  pockets^^  and  planted  the  ferns  at  the  same 
time.  Some  of  the  larger  ones  are  planted  in  projecting 
receptacles,  just  as  the  bricklayer  left  them;  but  gene- 
rally speaking,  I  found  it  the  best  plan  to  stuff  the 
necessary  soil  into  a  chink  or  gap,  then  place  the  fern 
in  it,  and,  lastly,  to  introduce  a  piece  of  burr  of  suitable 
size  to  close  it  in,  and  this  was  done  with  the  help  of 
cement.  I  do  not  think  I  can  profitably  occupy  further 
space  with  remarks  on  the  formative  part  of  the  affair; 
details  of  this  kind  do  not  admit  of  being  described 
minutely ;  all  I  can  say  in  concluding  this  part  of  the 
history  is  this,  that  I  never  did  a  better  job  in  my  life ; 
for  not  only  have  the  ferns  and  mosses  planted  in  it 
thriven  amazingly,  but  the  scene  produced  is  exquisitely 
beautiful  and  affords  more  than  a  suggestion  of  the 
"  Negligence  of  nature,  wild  and  wide/* 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  inform  the  reader 
that  the  house  is  not  heated.  It  is  remarkably" 
proof  against  frost,  which  I  attribute  to  the  fact  that 
the  back  wall  (1)  forms  one  side  of  the  drawing-room, 
which  iskept  at  a  comfortable  temperature  all  the  winter, 
and  of  course  the  wall  itself  is  in  winter  alwavs  warmer 


38  The  Fern  Garden. 

than  the  atmosphere  outside  the  house.  That  frost 
does  get  in,  however,  is  certain ;  the  thermometer 
several  times  indicated  five  to  ten  degrees  of  frost  inside, 
and  when  the  case  has  become  in  any  way  serious, 
Hays^s  constant  stove  or  Hinks's  petroleum  stove  has 
been  set  to  work  to  keep  all  safe  until  the  weather 
changed  for  the  better. 

A  fern  house  is  a  genuine  luxury,  which  every  lover 
of  ferns  should  have  if  possible.  Amongst  its  many 
advantages_,  a  few  must  be  named  as  particularly  worthy 
of  attention.  It  affords^  even  without  the  aid  of  arti- 
ficial heat,  opportunity  for  growing  a  number  of  nearly 
hardy  ferns  which  need  some  protection,  yet  are  not 
much  hurt  if  they  have  to  endure  a  few  degrees  of  frost. 
Ferns  of  this  class  are  numerous  and  extremely  beau- 
tiful. I  will  name  four  only  now  as  a  key  to  the  rest 
in  illustration  of  this  particular  advantage — Woodwardia 
radicans,  Cyrtomium  falcatura,  Adiantum  pedatum, 
Todea  pellucida.  Another  advantage  is  that  if  planted 
only  with  the  hardiest  British  ferns,  they  grow  more 
beautifully  than  the  same  sorts  do  in  the  open  air. 
As  a  winter  garden  and  as  a  peculiarly  charming  scene 
— if  well  done  and  well  kept — the  fern  house  is  worth 
something  to  a  home  bird,  and  as  an  amusement  for 
an  invalid  it  is  invaluable. 

The  management  is  a  modification  of  that  advised 
for  the  outdoor  fernery,  but  watering  must  be  more 
regularly  performed,  and  if  fast  growing  ferns  run 
riot  and  overrun  the  others  they  must  be  kept  in  check 
by  occasionally  digging  out  their  roots.  Lastrea  the- 
lypteris  and  Onoclea  sensibilis  are  likely  to  do  this,  but 


The  Fern  House,  39 

they  are  such  lovely  inmates  of  a  cool  fernery  that  you 
cannot  do  without  them. 

During  the  summer  the  roof  must  be  shaded  with 
thin  "  scrim"  or  "  tiffany/^  or  a  smear  of  whitewash. 
At  all  eventSj  it  will  never  do  to  allow  powerful  sun- 
shine to  shrivel  up  the  tender  growth  and  change  the 
glistening  green  to  dingy  brown,  as  it  will  do  very  soon 
if  there  is  no  shading  used. 

A  very  small  amount  of  ventilation  will  be  required 
if  the  house  faces  north,  as  it  should  do.  A  fern  house 
in  a  hot  southern  exposure  would  need  abundance  of 
air,  heavy  shading  and  extra  help  from  the  garden 
engine  from  the  1st  of  May  to  the  19th  of  September. 
After  the  last-mentioned  date  it  might  be  left  alone  for 
ever,  for  one  season^ s  struggle  against  overwhelming 
odds  ought  to  be  enough  fo^  anybody.  Choose  or 
make  a  shady  place  for  your  house,  and  then  see  that, 
as  the  rockery  is  built  up,  there  is  a  good  body  of  earth 
for  the  ferns  to  root  into. 

Constant  attention  will  be  requisite  to  keep  the  fern- 
house  as  beautiful  as  it  should  be.  Dead  fronds  must 
be  removed  without  injury  to  the  young  fronds  that 
are  rising ;  some  ferns  will  need  more  water  than  others^ 
and  in  the  height  of  summer  the  floor  must  be  wetted 
daily  to  cause  humidity  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  following  ferns  have  prospered  in  the  house 
during  the  past  twelve  years,  all  of  them  having  been  at 
times  exposed  to  a  few  (say  half  a  dozen)  degrees  of 
frost.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  they  can  better 
endure  frost  if  planted  out  than  in  pots. 


40  The  Fern  Garden. 

List  or  Ferns  for  planting  out  in  a  Greenhouse 
Fernery : 

Large  Growing  Ferns. —  Woodwardia  radicans  and 
W.  orientalis.  Plant  these  about  five  feet  above  the 
ground^  that  their  drooping  fronds  may  be  seen  to  advan- 
tage. Cyrtomium  falcatunij  a  rigid  grower,  often  and 
appropriately  called  '*'  the  laurel  fern.'^  Onoclea  sensi- 
bilis,  suitable  for  a  cool  damp  nook  on  the  ground  line, 
as  it  is  an  upright  grower ;  under  glass  it  is  a  magnificent 
fern.  Lomaria  chilense,  a  rigid  habited  fern  with  bold 
dark  green  fronds.  Pteris  flahellata,  grand  pectinate 
fronds,  of  a  vivid  light  green  colour,  suitable  for  a  shelf 
or  bank  three  or  four  feet  above  the  ground.  Pteris 
cretica  albo-lineata,  an  upright  grower,  spreads  freely 
at  bottom.  Phlebodium  sporodocarpum  requires  a  well- 
drained  elevated  ledge,  from  whence  it  will  put  forth 
masses  of  tawny  roots  and  handsome  glaucous  fronds, 
Polystichum  acrostichoides,  a  bold  habit,  and  a  good 
companion  to  Lomaria  chilense.  Lomaria  magellanica, 
Lastrea  intermedia,  L.  frondosa,  L.  Sieboldii,  Asplenium 
anguslifolium,  Adiantum  pe  datum,  Athyrium  asplenioides, 
A.  tenuifrons,  A.  filix-foemina  v.  corymbiferum. 

Medium  Growers. — Davallia  canariense,  Asplenium 
Michauxii,  Adiantum  cuneatum,  A.  assimile,  A.  affine, 
A.  formosum,  Asplenium  bulbiferum,  A.  anguslifolium, 
A.  athyrium  filix  foemina  v.  Frizellice,  A.f.f.  v.  corym- 
biferwti,  A.  f.  f.  v.  crispum,  Scolopendrium  vulgare  v. 
crispum,  S.  v.  v.  alcicorne,  S.  v.  v.  ramosum,  S.  v.  v, 
ramo-cristatum  (and  a  dozen  others  of  the  same  series 
desirable),  Lastrea  thelypteris,  L.  (Emula,  L.  Goldieana, 
L.  filix-mas  v.  cristata,  Poly  podium  dryopteriSy  P.  aureum. 


The  Fern  House.  41 

P.  phegopteriSf  Platycerium  alcicorne  (suitable  to  sus- 
pend on  a  block  of  wood ;  it  is  almost  hardy) .  Todea 
pellucida  (this  grows  finely  in  a  cool  house^  if  in  a  damp, 
shady^  and  still  place ;  wind  it  cannot  endure) . 

For  Elevated  Positions  in  the  Fronts  of  Rock- 
eries— that  is  to  say,  to  grow  as  wall  ferns,  and  all 
requiring  plenty  of  air :  Asplenium  trichomanes,  A, 
adiantum  nigrum ,  A.  marinumj  Ceterach  qfflcinarum, 
Allosorus  crispus  (a  sunny  position  near  the  door  will 
suit  this  and  Asplenium  trichomanes) ,  Polypodium 
vulgare  and  its  varieties,  especially  Cambricum  and 
Hibernica. 

The  most  hardy  of  the  tree  ferns  is  Dicksonia 
antarctica,  which  is  as  easy  to  grow  as  a  common 
lastrea,  provided  it  has  enough  water. 

For  Baskets,  take  Pteris  scaberula,  Adiantum  setu- 
losum,  Asplenium  flabellifolium,  Camptosorus  rhizophyh 
lusj  Davallia  pyxidata,  Niphobolus  lingua,  and  any  of 
the  free- growing  hardy  ferns  that  run  about  freely,  such 
as  Lastrea  thelypteris  and  Onoclea  sensibilis. 

If  you  should  wish  to  create  in  your  house  or  out  of 
doors  a  constant  trickling  of  water  for  the  benefit  of 
some  fountain -loving  ferns  or  mosses,  take  any  large 
vessel,  in  the  bottom  of  which  you  can  break  or  bore  r 
small  hole.  Cover  the  hole  with  a  flat  tile,  and  over 
that  put  two  inches  of  the  finest  sand.  Fill  the  vessel 
with  water  daily,  and  it  will  run  gently  as  long  as  there 
is  a  drop  left  at  the  fountain  head.  If  an  ornamental 
vase  should  be  used  fbr  the  purpose,  it  might  be  utilized 
by  placing  in  it  a  pot  containing  some  semi-aquatic 
plant. 


42  The  Fern  Garden, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    FERNERY    AT    THE    FIRESIDE. 


HOU SANDS  of  amateur  fern  growers  have 
only  a  glass  case  in  the  sitting-room  for  a  fern 
garden.  In  the  heart  of  a  great  city  where 
gardens  are  unknown,  and  even  the  graveyards  are 
desecrated  by  accumulations  of  filthy  the  fern  case  is 
a  boon  of  priceless  value.  It  is  a  bit  of  the  woodside 
sealed  down  with  the  life  of  the  wood  in  it,  and  when 
unsealed  for  a  moment  it  gives  forth  an  odour  that 
might  delude  us  into  the  belief  that  we  had  been  sud- 
denly  wafted  to  some  bosky  dell  where  the  '^  nodding 
violet  grows/'  Before  we  go  a  step  further  it  is  but 
just  to  the  memory  of  a  good  man  to  call  to  mind  that 
for  many  years  the  structures  now  commonly  called 
"  fern  cases''  were  known  as  "  Wardian  cases/'  being 
the  invention  of  the  late  Mr.  B.  N.  Ward,  an  eminent 
surgeon,  many  years  resident  in  Finsbury  Circus,  who 
died  at  a  ripe  age  in  1868.  Peace  to  his  memory  !  He 
not  only  added  to  the  embellishments  of  the  English 
home  and  the  recreations  of  English  domestic  life,  but 
his  invention  has  been  of  incalculable  service  in  the 
introduction  of  valuable  exotic  plants  to  this  country, 
for  if  shut  up  close  in  Wardian  cases  they  travel  over 


The  Fernery  at  the  Fireside. 


43 


sea  far  more  safely  than  by  any  other  system  of  pro- 
tection. 

The  simplest  form  of  a  fern  case  is  the  bell-glass  and 
flower-potj  of  which  the  annexed  sectional  figure  affords 
an  accurate  representation.  This  particular  form  of 
pot  was  invented   by  Mr.  Fry,  of  Lee,  and  is  made  by 


Mr.  Pascall,  a  potter  at  Chiselhurst.  It  can  be  obtained 
of  the  dealers  in  ferns,  and  forms  a  very  neat  table 
ornament,  as  the  pot  is  made  of  fine  red  ware  and  is 
roughly  ornamented. 

Another  form  of  the  same  Kind  of  tnmg  consists  of  a 
glass  dish  with  rim  and  bell-glass,  the  whole  very  neatly 
finished,  and  forming,  if  skilfully  fitted,  a  most  elegant 
miniature  fern  garden. 

Fern  cases  constructed  of  wood  or  metal  frames,  with 
boxes  or  troughs  for  soil,  have  been  made  in  endless 


44 


The  Fern  Garden. 


variety^  yet  for  real  utility  and  beauty  of  appearance 
there  are  none  so  good  as  those  of  the  simplest  rec- 
tangular outlines,  such  as  may  be  readily  obtained  of  any 
of  the  leading  dealers  in  such  things.  All  things  con- 
sidered, the  cases  known  as  "  Miss  Maling^s/^  which 


may  be  heated  if  required  by  means  of  gas  flame  or  hot 
water  renewed  periodically,  are  the  best,  because  of  their 
extreme  simplicity  and  the  uninterrupted  view  they 
allow  of  the  interior.  We  are  supposed  to  be  great  in 
fern  cases — I  say  we  in  the  way  of  the  organ  blower  in 


The  Fernery  at  the  Fireside.  4^ 

vie  story;  but  Sine  qua  Non  is  the  master  of  them  here; 
Lnd  they  comprise  cases  of  several  kinds,  some  rather 
gigantic  in  dimensions,  besides  vases  fitted  with  lanterns 
of  plate  glass,  in  which  not  only  climbing  ferns  and  ferns 
of  many  other  kinds,  but  climbing  ivies,  lycopodiums, 
and  such  odd  things  as  the  artillery  plant  are  grown. 
I  have  had  to  make  as  well  as  furnish  plant  cases. 
We  have  between  us  managed  to  exhibit  a  considerable 
number,  and  step  by  step  we  have  acqmred  some  very 
definite  ideas  about  them,  which  I  shall  endeavour  to 
set  forth  categorically. 

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  or  so.  This  allows 
the  excess  of  moisture  to  dry  off'  the  foliage,  and  prevents 
mould ;  and  the  glass  getting  dry  in  the  meanwhile,  it 
is  prepared  to  take  up  a  fresh  supply  of  moisture  from 
the  soil  when  replaced,  which  is  equivalent  to  a  circula- 
tion of  water  as  well  as  a  change  of  air.  This  air- 
giving,  however,  must  be  regulated  by  discretion,  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  andforffet  it,  the 
result  being,  perhaps,  complete  destruction  of  all  the 
more  tender  fronds,  and  the  disfigurement  of  the  afiPair 
for  a  fortnight.  Now,  a  very  simple  and  expeditious 
tnd  effectual  mode  of  ventilating  consists  in  taking  off 
Ihe  glass,  wiping  it  dry  and  bright,  and  replacing  it  at 
once.     There  is  then  no  fear  of  forgetting  it. 


46  The  Fern  Garden. 

It  is  important  in  choosing  fern  shades  of  this  de- 
scription to  see  that  the  glass  dome  fits  loosely  in  the 
pan  which  accompanies  it.  One  of  our  shades,  which 
was  a  tight  fit,  was  one  day  removed  into  a  sunny- 
window  for  a  few  hours  to  make  room  for  some  domestic 
operations.  The  sun  heated  the  air  within  the  shade, 
the  expanded  air  had  no  means  to  escape,  and  it  burst 
the  shade  with  a  loud  explosion  into  a  multitude  of 
fragments.  A  guinea^s  worth  of  glass  was  thus  lost  in 
a  moment,  and  a  collection  of  Selaginellas  placed  in 
jeopardy  through  neglect  of  this  precaution. 

Success  in  these  matters  often  turns  on  points  of 
management  that  appears  trifling;  let  me,  therefore, 
describe  the  process  of  planting  a  fern  shade.  If  in- 
tended for  a  winter  ornament,  it  should  be  planted  in 
July  or  August,  that  the  ferns  may  be  established 
before  the  decline  of  the  season,  and  if  they  are  ever- 
green kinds  they  will  have  plenty  of  time  to  throw  up 
an  abundance  of  fine  fronds,  which  the  liberal  supply 
of  water  from  below,  with  regular  ventilation,  will 
render  luxurious  and  beautiful;  and  before  winter 
comes,  the  excess  of  moisture  will  be  gone,  but  the  soil 
will  hold  enough  to  render  watering  almost  unnecessary 
until  spring.  In  a  large  pan — say,  six  inches  depth — 
lav  down  two  and  a  half  inches  of  broken  flower- 
pots or  cinders  of  the  size  of  walnuts;  on  this  lay 
a  thin  coating  of  half-decayed  moss  or  sphagnum. 
Fresh  green  moss  is  apt  to  go  sour  or  breed  fungi,  and 
therefore  it  is  preferable  if  it  has  been  for  some  time 
exposed  to  the  action  of  moisture.  Fill  up  to  the  level 
of  the  rim  with  a  mixture  of  turfy  peat,  small  broken 


The  Fernery  at  the  Fireside.  47 

charcoal,  and  the  siftings  of  broken  pots,  varying  from 
the  size  of  a  hazel-nut  to  that  of  a  pea,  with  plenty  of 
silver-sand.  I  never  measure  the  ingredients  of  any 
compost,  but  the  beginner  may  like  to  be  saved  from 
doubt,  and  therefore  let  the  proportions  be  taken  as 
follows : — Peat  three  parts,  silver-sand  one  part,  broken 
charcoal  and  crock- siftings  one  part.  This  compost 
should  be  broken  up  and  mixed  with  the  hand,  and 
should  be  in  a  free  lumpy  state.  Ferns  will  never 
prosper  if  the  compost  is  sifted^  but  a  little  of  the 
finest  of  it  should  be  put  aside  to  dress  the  surface 
with  when  the  planting  is  completed.  Xow,  take  a 
can  of  boiling  water,  and  water  the  soil  till  you  have 
supplied  enough  to  rise  to  the  top  of  the  drainage. 
The  water  should  be  poured  into  the  centre  first  to 
warm  the  soil  gradually ;  poured  against  the  glass 
suddenly  it  may  shatter  it.  I  have  used  the  boiling 
water  now  for  many  years  on  every  occasion  of  planting 
a  fern  case,  and  have  not  vet  had  one  accident.  With 
a  little  caution  there  is  no  risk.  The  use  of  the  boiling: 
water  is  to  destroy  every  insect  that  may  have  escaped 
your  eye  when  breaking  up  the  peat.  It  will  not  only 
do  that,  but  kill  their  eggs  also,  and  equally  make  an 
end  of  the  seeds  of  weeds  and  the  mvcelium  of  fungri  : 
all  of  which  are  enemies  better  got  rid  of  at  first  than 
to  be  hunted  for  when  their  ravages  become  a  source  of 
alarm.  The  over  cautious  may  of  course  scald  or  bake 
the  materials  before  filling  the  pan ;  in  that  case  they 
must  not  be  put  in  the  pan  until  nearly  dry  again. 

When   the   pan   is   nearly  cold   the   ferns   may   be 
planted,  and  the  process  of  planting  will  consolidate 


48  The  Fern  Garden, 

the  compost,  so  that  it  will,  when  all  is  finished,  be  an 
inch  below  the  edge  of  the  pan,  as  it  ought  to  be;  it 
may  indeed  go  below  that,  and  need  filling  up  with 
some  i>M  the  finest  of  the  mi«^ture,  which  should  be 
sprinkled  over  as  a  finishing  toi  ^/ft. 

In  any  case  of  difficulty  in  ob  'aining  pes^t  of  a  friable 
And  fibrous  textmie  for  fern  cases,  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse  and  charcoal  dust  will 
answer  admirably. 

I  could  enumerate  fifty  groups  of  ferns  ofi'hand 
suitable  for  bell-glasses,  but  tastes  differ,  and  the  best 
possible  way  to  please  yourself  is  first  to  obtain  < 
sufficient  number  of  ferns  of  suitable  kinds  and  arrange 
them  as  you  think  best.  I  will,  however,  as  my 
journal  of  fern  work  is  at  hand  while  writing  this,  give 
you  the  planting  of  a  bell-glass  measuring  twenty-two 
inches  across  which  I  once  planted  for  a  friend  who  knew 
well  how  to  manage  these  things,  and  who  was  pleased 
to  say  that,  though  very  fastidious  on  matters  of  taste, 
she  was  well  satisfied  with  my  way  of  doing  things. 

In  the  centre  Qheilanthes  farinosa,  the  most  accom- 
modating of  all  the  silver  ferns.  At  regular  distances 
round  it  Adiantopsls  radiata,  Cheilaiithes  tomentosa, 
AspleniumfragranSj  Asplenium  vivipara,  Pteris  argi^  ^tea^ 
a  -little  silvery  gem,  Elaphoglossum  brevipes,  Doodia 
lunulata.  All  over  the  surface,  so  as  to  quite  cover  it, 
Selaginella  apoda. 

The  following  are  six  beautiful  ferns  adapted  for 
£,aass  shades  in  the  hands  of  beginners  j  in  fact,  if  they 
are  not  drowned  with  water,  and  have  but  a  moderate 
amount  of  light,  they  are  sure  \/s  thrive  even  if  n^»- 


The  Fernery  at  the  Fireside.  49' 

lected  for  weeks  together.  Asplenium  marimim,  the 
sea  spleenwort ;  Doodia  caudata,  Scolopendrrum  vulgare 
ramo-marginatum,  a  tasselled  variety  of  hartstongue; 
Asplenium  viride,  the  green  spleenwort ;  Adiantum 
setulosum,  Lomaria  lanceolata. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  Fern  case  proper,  and  first 
as  to  how  it  should  be  made. 

Elegance  is  a  prime  requisite,  but  as  tastes  difi^er  we 
shall  say  but  little  on  that  point.  The  lighter  the 
structure  consistent  with  safety  the  better.  We  do 
meet  with  very  ugly  fern  cases  at  times,  and  the  ferns 
within  them  are  usually  in  a  bad  state  of  health.  The 
fact  is,  heavy  framework  and  cumbrous  ornaments 
obstruct  the  light,  and  therefore  ugly  fern  cases  are, 
as  a  rule,  to  be  condemned  for  that  reason,  if  for  no 
other. 

A  simple  rectangular  figure  as  indicated  in  the  simple 
sketch  annexed  is  undoubtedly  the  best  for  ail  general 
purposes;  moreover,  this  box-like  form  may  be 
made  the  basis  of  an  elaborate  design  :  out  of  it  may 
rise  a  miniature  mosque  or  a  Crystal  Palace,  as  I  have 
shown  by  figures  in  the  chapter  on  Fern  cases  in 
''  Rustic  Adornments.^^  A  figure  of  the  best  fern  case 
we  have  ever  had  was  published  in  the  1st  volume  of 
the  "  Floral  World ;"  it  is  a  handsome  case  made  of 
Ransome^s  imperishable  stone,  surmounted  by  a  taU 
lantern. 

At  every  step  in  designing  and  constructing  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  ferns  are  to  be  grown  in  the 
case,  and,  therefore,  it  must  afi'ord  access  to  light  and 
air,  and  egress  for  water. 

4 


50 


The  Fer?i  Garden. 


Accessibility  to  the  ferns  is  of  the  utmost  importance. 
If  the  case  is  small  it  should  be  possible  to  lift  off  the 
whole  of  the  glass  framework  at  any  time.     If  too  large 


for  that  there  should  be  doors  on  two  sides,  because  in 
reaching  across  from  one  side  to  plant  a  fern  on  the 


The  Fernery  at  the  Fireside.  51 

opposite  side  some  mischief  may  be  done.  The  case 
figured  on  p.  50  may  be  taken  to  pieces  in  a  few  seconds, 
as  each  sheet  of  glass  is  fitted  in  a  separate  frame,  and 
all  the  frames  drop  into  grooves  and  are  braced  together 
at  the  corners  by  means  of  small  hooks  and  eyes.  The 
patent  cases  made  by  Gray  of  Danvers  Street,  Chelsea, 
are  of  this  make,  and  they  have  the  additional  advantage 
of  a  boiler  to  afford  warmth  from  below ;  this  boiler 
requires  to  be  filled  only  once  or  twice  a  day  in  winter 
according  to  the  severity  of  the  weather.  Ventilation 
is  easily  effected  without  causing  a  draught  by  simply 
tilting  up  the  top  glass. 

It  is  a  great  convenience  if  a  fern  case  can  be 
moved  about  without  difficulty,  and  it  is  astonishing 
what  may  be  accomplished  in  this  respect  by  the  exer- 
cise of  forethought.  For  example,  if  you  buy  one  of 
Gray's  cases  it  will  be  supplied  on  a  miserable  set  of 
legs  with  wooden  castors,  and  even  if  a  small  one  it 
will  be  difficult  to  move  it.  But  if  you  follow  our  plan 
the  difficulty  vanishes,  and  you  may  take  your  fern  cases 
with  you  on  your  travels,  or  at  all  events  wheel  them  from 
room  to  room  with  a  mere  touch.  The  legs  sent  with 
the  case  are  converted  into  firewood,  and  the  case  is 
put  on  a  strong  framework  made  by  our  own  carpenter, 
of  which  the  annexed  figure  affords  an  accurate  repre- 
sentation, save  and  excepting  one  particular. 

The  frame  figured  is  one  on  which  stands  a  case 
measuring  three  feet  long,  two  feet  high,  and  eighteen 
inches  wide.  The  frame  consists  of  a  skirting-board.  A, 
with  neatly-moulded  top  edge,  six  inches  in  depth, 
mounted  on  four  neat  but  strong  legs,  which  are  fitted 


52 


The  Fern  Garden. 


with  large  brass  castors,  all  wooden  and  iron  castors 
being  rubbish.  From  the  ground  to  the  top  edge  of 
the  skirting-board  the  measurement  is  seventeen  inches. 
The  case  does  not  stand  on  this  frame,  but  in  it,  that  is 
to  say,  it  rests  on  the  half-inch  ledge,  B,  which  extends 
all  round  inside,  and  which  is  added  to  at  the  corners 
by  the  blocks,  C,  which  are  placed  there  to  increase  the 
strength  of  the  frame.  The  advantage  of  this  mode  of 
mounting  is  not  in  appearance  only,  though  that  is  of 
some  importance  in  an  article  intended  for  the  adorn- 
ment of  a  chamber.  One  important  advantage  is  the 
ease  with  which  the  case  can  be  moved  about ;  an  im- 
moveable case  is  a  nuisance  except  in  some  peculiar 
circumstances.  The  engraver  has  forgotten  to  add  the 
castors. 


That  there  should  be  means  of  escape  for  surplus 
v/ater  is  desirable,  but  not  absolutely  necessary.  The 
experienced   cultivator  will    never   allow   a   fern   case 


The  Fernery  at  the  Fireside.  53 

to  become  so  saturated  witli  water  as  to  be  hurtful  to 
the  health  of  the  ferns  ;  but  the  beginner  is  almost  sure 
to  fall  into  this  error^  and  the  first  disaster  that  occurs 
is,  nine  times  in  every  ten,  to  be  attributed  to  a  water- 
logged condition  of  the  roots.  Make  it  a  point  to  as- 
certain, when  purchasing  a  fern  case,  if  there  is  any 
perforation  of  the  base  to  allow  of  the  escape  of  water. 
If  there  is  none  you  must  be  the  more  cautious  to  avoid 
charging  the  soil  with  excess  of  moisture.  It  is  thought 
to  be  impossible  to  provide  drainage  in  those  cases 
which  have  boilers  beneath,  but  I  think  it  may  be  done, 
and  I  hope  some  day  to  find  time  to  carry  out  my 
views. 

For  the  benefit  of  mechanical  and  experimental 
readers,  here  is  my  idea  of  a  fern  case  combining  means 
of  heating  with  effectual  drainage. 

I  would  go  to  the  expense  of  having  all  the  metal 
work  in  copper  well  tinned  ;  it  would  be  expensive,  but 
would  last  for  ever.  A,  should  be  a  trough  for  soil, 
resting  on  a  ledge  all  round  the  inside  of  the  outer 
wooden  casing,  and  admitting  of  being  lifted  out  at  any 
time.  For  the  lifting  there  should  be  a  ring  attached 
on  each  of  the  four  sides.  In  the  centre  of  this  I  would 
insert  a  pipe,  F,  for  escape  of  drainage,  and  this  very 
simple  process  makes  an  end  of  the  principal  difficulty. 
The  bottom  of  the  trough  might  slope  down  every  way 
to  the  pipe,  F,  which  would  render  its  action  more 
efiectual.  For  the  communication  of  heat  I  would  have 
a  space,  B,  allowing  a  depth  of  two  inches  at  least  under 
the  bottom  of  the  trough,  and  additional  spaces  under 
the    sloping  ends  of  the  trough.     By  increasing   the 


54 


The  Fern  Garden 


quantity  of  water  so  as  to  fill  the  ends  as  Tvell  as  the 
bottom^  a  maximum  of  heat  would  be  obtained.  Now, 
to  fill  this  reservoir  need  not  be  so  ridiculous  an  affair 
as  it  is  at  present ;  my  idea  of  the  matter  is  to  have  a 
whole  side  of  the  wooden  frame  removable  at  a  touch, 
so  that  we  could  get  to  the  reservoir  and  fill  it  with  as 
much  ease  as  one  might  fill  a  washing-tub.  I  have 
shown  a  removable  portion  only  of  the  end  C.  I  must 
leave  it  to  the  imagination  of  the  inventive  reader  to 
work   out   this  point,  confident   that  he   will  have  no 


A,  trough  containing  soil  for  ferns ;  B,  reservoir  for  hot  water ;  C, 
opening  for  filling  reservoir;  D,  air  pipe;  E,  tap  to  draw  off  water 
from  reservoir ;  F,  tap  to  draw  off  drainage  water  from  soil ;  G,  stratum 
of  crocks  for  drainage. 


difficulty  in  opening  the  side  of  the  case  so  as  to  pour 
water  into  the  reservoir  with  some  speed  from  a  large 
can,  instead  of  dribbling  it  in  as  now  in  a  way  that 
suggests  that  fern-growers  ought  to  live  for  ever  if  only 
for  the  sake  of  keeping  their  cases  warm.     The  pipe,  F, 


The  Fernery  at  the  Fireside. 


55 


would  have  to  be  a  fixture_,  -with  a  close-fitting  india- 
rubber  ring  surrounding  it  "where  it  enters  amongst  the 
crocks  at  the  base  of  the  trough^  A;  this,  of  course, 
prevents  the  water  from  B  rising  up  amongst  the  soil 


and  flooding  the  ferns. 


eoshee's  feen  pillar. 


56 


The  Fern  Garden. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


MANAGEMENT    OF    FERN    CASES, 


HE  Danger  Signal  is  hoisted  here  to 
attract  attention.  From  first  to  last  you 
must  guard  against  drowning  your  pets, 
for  that  is  the  calamity  that  befals 
thousands  of  ferns  in  cases.  It  is  the 
one  only  important  point  to  be  constantly 
kept  in  mind,  it  is  the  only  big  rock  you 
will  have  to  encounter  in  your  pleasant 
voynge  of  discovery  round  the  room  in 
search  of  fern  island.  So  long  as  the  soil  is  moderately 
damp  water  need  not  be  given  to  the  roots  ;  but  at  almost 
any  time  a  slight  shower  over  the  fronds  by  means  of  a 
syringe  will  be  beneficial.  In  winter  the  syringe  must  be 
cautiously  used,  and  if  there  are  any  gold  or  silver  ferns 
in  the  case,  care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  a  single 
drop  of  water  falling  upon  them,  as  the  farina  with 
which  they  are  covered  ought  never  to  be  washed  off. 
Air  must  be  given  regularly  and  with  judgment ;  a  brisk 
breeze  will  do  much  mischief,  and  as  dust  is  to  be  kept 
out  as  much  as  possible,  da  not  open  your  case  while 
sweeping  is  going  on,  or  when,  through  open  doors  and 
"windows,  a  young  hurricane  is  enjoying  his  gambols. 
Beautiful  effects  may  be  produced  by  a  judicious  use 


Management  of  Fern  Cases.  57 

of  mimic  rockeries^  and  they  are  useful  as  affording 
elevated  and  well-drained  sites  for  small  ferns  of  delicate 
growth.  The  best  material  for  constructing  rockeries, 
arches,  he,  is  common  coke.  It  adds  but  little  to  the 
weight,  and  it  may  be  made  to  look  like  stone  by 
soaking  it  with  water  and  sprinkhng  it  with  Roman  or 
Portland  cement.  For  the  formation  of  irregular 
mounds  and  to  dot  about  amono;st  the  ferns  to  vary  the 
surface_,  soft  sandstone  or  rough  and  rather  soft  pieces 
of  brick  burrs  should  be  preferred,  not  only  on  account 
of  their  suitable  colours,  but  because  they  soon  get 
coated  with  natural  growths  of  moss  and  add  much  to 
the  beauty  of  the  little  garden.  But  the  grand  thing 
is  to  have  a  sufficiency  of  healthy  ferns  of  handsome 
varieties,  evervthinor  else  must  be  made  subsidiary  to 
that  desideratum.  Have  good  ferns  and  grow  them 
well,  and  you  will  not  be  greatly  exercised  about  the 
niceties  of  gimcrackery. 

Vermin  of  many  kinds  occur  in  fern  cases  in  spite  of 
all  precautions ;  mysterious  nibblings  of  fronds  are 
noticed,  sometimes  the  crown  of  a  valuable  plant  will 
be  found  eaten  away.  The  marauders  may  be  woodlice, 
slugs,  or  the  larvse  of  small  beetles.  Trap  them,  if 
possible,  by  inserting  fresh  lettuce  leaves  in  the  chinks 
you  suspect  they  frequent.  Or  place  slices  of  fresh 
apple  under  tufts  of  moss.  Examine  the  baits  daily, 
and  keep  them  always  fresh.  If  you  can  put  a  few 
glowworms  in  a  case  infested  with  vermin,  there  will  be 
a  rapid  clearance  made;  toads  are  good  vermin  killers, 
but  they  do  not  add  to  the  beauties  of  the  scene,  and 
they  are  apt  to  squat  on  the  tender  rising  fronds  of 


58 


The  Fern  Garden. 


some  delicate  fern,  and  do  more  harm  than  good. 
Green  fly,  or  aphis,  is  rarely  seen  in  fern  cases,  and 
when  it  occurs  it  is  usually  a  sign  that  there  has 
been  neglect  in  giving  air.     The  best  way  to  remove 


Or     ^^^ 


ADIANTTJM    SETULOSFM. 


the  aphis  is  by  means  of  a  soft  brush  or  camePs-hair 
pencil,  and  to  prevent  its  recurrence  give  more  air. 

For  suspending  ferns  in  cases,  the  outside  husk  of 
the  cocoa-nut  may  be  used,  and  also  the  hard  inner 
shell.     For  general  purposes  the  latter  is  preferable. 


Management  of  Fern  Cases. 


59 


If  broken  with  a  clean  edge  half  a  shell  makes  a  capital 
basket.  It  requires  a  sharp  saw  and  some  patience  to  cut 
the  edge  nicely  if  it  is  much  jagged.  The  holes  must  be 
burnt  in  the  shell,  as  they  are  apt  to  split  if  any  attempt 


CAMPTOSOErS    EHIZOPHYLirS. 

is  made  to  pierce  them  with  awl  or  gimlet,  and,  besides 
tliat,  they  are  so  hard  that  the  best  bit  of  steel  breaks 
like  glass  against  them.  Make  three  holes  for  drainage, 
and  two  very  small  holes  near  the  rim,  exactly  opposite 
each  other,  and  use  for  suspending  a  silver  string  of 
the  Spanish  guitar,  which  will  never  rot,  and  is  as  soft 


60 


The  Fern  Garden, 


and  pliable  as  packtlircad.  The  two  ferns  here  repre- 
sented arc  examples  of  my  mode  of  suspending.  The 
Adiantum  is  in  a  cocoa-nut^  bored  all  over  with  holes  a 
quarter  or  third  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  it  has 
pushed   crowns  through  every  one  of  them,  so  as  to 


smother  the  outside  with  foliage.  The  Camptosorus  is 
in  a  little  case  formed  of  thin  bark,  bound  with  brass 
wire.  To  water  these,  the  best  way  is  to  lift  them  out 
and  lower  them  into  a  deep  vessel,  with  a  stick  passed 
through  the  suspending  cord  and  laid  across  the  top  of 


Management  of  Fern  Cases.  61 

the  vessel,  so  that  they  can  sink  the  full  length  of  the 
cord  and  be  thoroughly  saturated.  They  can  be  lifted 
out  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  allowed  to  drip  for  a 
few  minutes  by  again  lodging  the  stick  at  each  end  in 
a  suitable  place. 

Thirty  fine  Ferns  for  Cases  with  Artificial 
Heat.     The  best  for  beginners  marked  thus  ^. 

Anemidictyon  phyllitidis,^  9  inches ;  Aneimia  adianti- 
folia,"^  9  in. ;  Asplenium  bindum,  18  in.;  A.  fragrans, 
9  in.;  A.  heterodon,  12  in.;  A.  radicans,  9  in.;  A. 
Mexicanum,*  6  in. ;  A.  polymorphum,^  4  in. ;  Blech- 
num  lanceolura,^  4  in. ;  B.  intermedium,  6  in. ;  Campy- 
loneurum  lucidum,  12  in.  ;  Cheilanthes  micromera, 
12  in. ;  Diplazium  radicans,  9  in.  ;  Elaphoglossum 
brevipes,  6  in. ;  Fadyenia  prolifera,  3  in. ;  Acrostichum 
quercifolium,^  4  in.;  Polypodium  loriceum,  12  in. ;  He- 
mionitis  cordifolia,^ 4 in. ;  Hymenolepis  spuata^^ 9  in. ; 
Hypolepis  tenuifolia  deformis,  12  in. ;  Litob)  ochia  lepto- 
phylla,  18  in.;  L.  pedata,  6  in.;  Loniaria  attenuata, 
12  in. ;  L.  Patersoni,  9  in. ;  Nothochlseiia  \estita,  6  in. ; 
N.  tenera,  6  in.;  Olfersia  cervina,"^  18  iu.;  Pleopeltis 
percussa,"^  12  in.;  P.  membranacea,"^  12  in.;  Pteris 
calomelanos,"^  6  in. 

Thirty  fine  Ferns  for  Cases  without  Artificial 
Heat.     The  best  for  beginners  marked  thus  ^. 

Asplenium  appendiculatum,"^  12  in. ;  A.  attenuatum,* 
4;  A.  crenulatum,  18 ;  A.  dimidiatum,  9  in.  ;  A.  nitidum, 
6  in. ;  Adiantum  tinctum,  12  in.;  A.  assimile,*  9  in. ; 
A.  cuneatum,*  18  in.  ;  A.  cristatum,  9  in.  ;  A.  formo- 
sum,^  18  in. ;  A.  fulvum,  12  in. ;  Doodia  aspera,"^ 
12  in. ;  D.  caudata,^  6  in. ;  D.  lunulata,"^  9  in. ;  Las- 


62  The  Fern  Garden. 

trea  acuminata,^  8  in. ;  L.  glabella,  8  in. ;  Niphobolua 
lingua,  9  in. ;  N.  pertusus,  6  in. ;  Nephrolepis  pectinata, 
18  in.  ;  N.  exaltata,"^  30  in.  ;  Onvchium  Japonicum,"*^ 
15  in.  ;  Platyloma  rotundifolia,  18  in.;  Pleopeltis  pus- 
tulata,  9  in. ;  Phlebodium  aureum,^  3G  in. ;  P.  sporo- 
docarpum,"^  30  in. ;  Polvstichum  triangularum,  6  in. ; 
Pteris  crenata,  12  in. ;  P.  geraniifolia,  9  in. ;  Pteris 
cretica  albo-lineata,"^  18  in. ;    P.  heterophyllaj  6  in. 

Twenty-four  fixe  Ferns  for  Suspending  in  Cases. 
The  best  for  beginners  marked  thus  ■^. 

Adiantum  setulosum,"^  6  inches ;  Asplenium  brachy- 
pteron,"^  6  in. ;  A.  flabellifolium."^  9  in. ;  A.  pinnati- 
fidum,  6  in. ;  A.  reclinatum,  6  in.  ;  Camptosorus  rhizo- 
phyllus,"^  5  in. ;  Cheilanthes  sieberi,  10  in. ;  Davallia 
pentaphylla,  9  in. ;  D.  bullata,  6  in. ;  D.  dissecta,  18 
in. ;  D.  elegans,  12  in.;  D.  solida,  6  in.;  D.  pyxidata, 
18  in. ;  D.  canariensis,  12  in.  ;  D.  decora,  6  in. ;  Hu- 
mata  heterophylla,  6  in. ;  Hypolepis  amaurorachis, 
18  in. ;  Niphobolus  lingna,  9  in. ;  Nothochlaena  nivea, 
6  in. ;  Oleandra  nodosa,  6  in. ;  Pleopeltis  lycopodioides, 
3  in. ;  P.  stigmatica,  6  in. ;  Polypodium  rugulosum,"^ 
9  in. ;  Pteris  scaberula,"^  12  in. 

Forty  small-growing  Case  Ferns,  suitable  for  a 
Fern  Pillar  or  Rockery. 

British — Adiantum  capillus  veneris,  Asplenium  fon- 
tanum,"^  Asplenium  germanicum,^  Cystopteris  regia* 
(deciduous),  Polypodium  dryopteris  (deciduous),  Scolo- 
pendrium  vulgare  bimarginata  cordatum,"^  S.  v.  crista- 
tum  minus,  S.  v.  divergens,  S.  v.  geminum,  S.  v.  glo- 
raerato-digitatum,  S.  v.  lacerato-marginatum,  S.  v. 
proiiferum,    S.    v.    ramo-marginatum,"^    S.    v.    ramo- 


Management  of  Fern  Cases. 


63 


proliferum,  S.  v.  ramosum^  S.  v.  Wardii,^  Woodsia 
alpina  (deciduous) ^  "Woodsia  ilvensis  "^  (deciduous). — 
Exotic — Camptosorus  rhizophyllus^"^  Lorn  aria  alpina,"^ 
Acrophorus  hispidus^  Adiantum  setulosum,"^  Aspleuium 
flabellifolium^,"^  Aspleuium  attenuatumj"^  Aspienium 
brachypterouj  Aspienium  nitidum^"^  Aspienium  obtusa- 
tum^  Aspienium  pumilum^  Aspienium  pinnatiiidum, 
Blechnum  intermedium^^  Campyloneurum  csespitosum, 
Diplazium  plantagineum,  Davallia  decora,  Eldpho- 
glossum  brevipes,"^  Gymnopteris  quercifolia,  Gonio- 
pteris  scolopendrioides,  Lomaria  lanceolata,"^  Xotiio- 
chlsena  vestita,  Xothochlsena  tenera^^  Pleopeltis  stigma- 
tica,  Doodia  caudata."^ 


PTEEIS   TEENIPOLITJM.. 


64  The  Fern  Garden, 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    ART    OF    MULTIPLYING    FERNS. 

HERE  are  two  modes  of  increasing  ferns — by 
division  and  by  spores.  Both  plans  are  easy 
enough  up  to  a  certain  pointy  but  we  need  not 
trouble  ourselves  about  the  point  at  which  serious  diffi- 
culty commences^  for  in  truth  no  beginner  should  be 
troubled  on  that  score.  I  will  suppose  you  have  a  large 
plant  of  the  common  Male  fern  [Lastrea  filix  mas)  or  of 
the  common  Hartstongue  [Scolopendy^ium  vulgare),  and 
you  wish  to  make  more  of  it  at  once.  The  best  time  to 
operate  is  when  the  fronds  are  just  rising  in  the  spring, 
but  it  may  be  done  at  any  time  if  proper  care  be  taken. 
We  take  the  plant  out  of  its  pot,  or  lift  it  out  of  the 
ground  by  means  of  a  fork  or  trowel,  and  lay  it  on  a 
board  or  table.  Probably  at  a  glance  you  will  discover 
that  a  number  of  distinct  crowns,  each  with  a  tuft  of 
roots  attached,  may  be  easily  removed  from  the  outside 
by  the  use  of  a  strong  sharp  knife.  Separate  such 
offsets,  carefully  disentangle  their  roots  from  the  mass, 
and  at  once  pot  them  in  very  small  pots  in  the  sort  of 
mixture  already  advised  for  use  in  growing  pot  ferns  in 
Chapter  VI.  Prepare  the  pots  by  putting  in  them 
plenty  of  small  crocks  for  drainage,  over  them  a  thin 
wisp  of  dry  moss,  or  a  bit  of  fibre  torn  from  the  peat. 


?^ 


The  Art  of  Multiplying  Ferns.  65 

then  put  the  little  plant  in  its  place  and  fill  in  round 
the  roots  and  press  moderately  firm.  If  this  is  done  in 
spring  before  the  fronds  have  unrolled,  you  may  be 
content  to  give  a  little  water  and  put  them  in  a  frame 
and  keep  shut  rather  close  until  they  begin  to  grow, 
giving  very  little  water  until  they  have  made  some 
progress.  If  you  have  no  frame,  the  pots  may  be 
placed  in  any  sheltered  shady  corner  on  a  bed  of  coal 
ashes,  and  will  almost  take  care  of  themselves.  But  the 
old  plant  remains,  not  much  diminished  in  size  by  the 
removal  of  the  off'sets.  Lay  it  on  its  side  and  care- 
fully pass  the  knife  through  the  centre  of  it,  and  as  it 
separates  into  two  portions,  you  will  probably  see  how 
to  divide  it  yet  further  without  using  the  knife  again, 
securing  to  each  piece  a  centre  or  crown^  and  a  tuft  of 
roots.  Treat  these  in  the  same  manner  as  the  off'sets  ; 
or,  if  you  have  not  rashly  torn  the  plant  to  shreds,  you 
may  at  once  plant  the  divisions  in  the  fernery,  filling 
in  round  its  roots  with  your  best  mixture  of  sandy 
peat,  and  pressing  each  firmly  in  its  place.  A  little 
shade,  and  occasional  sprinkling,  will  assist  them  to 
become  established,  and  they  will  soon  take  care  of 
themselves. 

If  you  were  to  proceed  in  a  similar  manner  with  the 
same  plants  in  the  summer  time,  when  crowned  with 
luxurious  leafage,  you  would  have  to  be  as  quick  as 
possible  about  the  work,  and  pot  all  the  pieces  and 
shut  them  up  in  a  frame  for  a  fortnight,  to  recover  and 
make  fresh  roots,  during  that  time  taking  care  to 
sprinkle  them  frequently  and  also  to  avoid  making  the 
soil  in  the  pots  very  wet,  for  too  much  moisture  to 

5 


66  The  Fern  Garden, 

roots  of  any  kind  that  have  been  disturbed  and  need 
time  to  regain  their  wonted  action  is  like  poison. 

So  much  for  the  division  of  ferns  that  form  clustering 
crowns.  Let  us  now  take  a  tuft  of  common  polypody. 
Here  we  find  a  quantity  of  fleshy  rhizomes  of  the 
thickness  of  a  lead  pencil  entangled  amongst  masses 
of  fibrous  roots.  You  may  cut  or  pull  to  pieces  this 
tuft  almost  ad  lib.,  provided  each  separate  position  has 
its  own  roots  reserved  to  it.  The  pieces  must  be  potted 
rather  diff'erently  to  the  others,  as  their  roots  run  upon 
the  surface  chiefly,  and  they  thrive  best  in  a  moist 
spongy  material.  The  surest  way  to  make  plants  of 
them  will  be  to  prepare  the  pots  by  putting  in  at  least 
one  third  depth  of  crocks,  then  nearly  fill  them  with 
sandy  peat,  and  on  that  spread  a  little  cocoa-nut  fibre 
to  make  a  soft  bed ;  then  lay  one  of  the  pieces  on  the 
bed,  put  some  more  cocoa-nut  fibre  over  it  almost  to 
bury  it,  and  press  it  down  firmly.  Water  and  place  in 
frame  and  treat  as  in  the  first  practice.  They  will 
soon  begin  to  grow,  and  will  want  no  particular  care 
after  a  few  weeks. 

Now,  by  these  two  methods  may  the  greater  part 
of  all  known  ferns  be  multiplied  ;  there  are  exceptions, 
as  in  the  case  of  tree  ferns,  for  example,  but  the  excep- 
tions are  few.  Those  that  grow  in  clustering  crowns 
may  be  divided  as  in  the  first  practice,  those  that 
extend  by  creeping  rhizomes  may  be  cut  to  pieces  as 
in  the  second  practice. 

As  you  extend  your  operations,  you  will  not  be  long 
in  discovering  how  easy  it  is  to  kill  ferns  by  one  or  the 
other  of  these  processes.     For  general  guidance  I  will 


The  Art  of  Multiplying  Ferns.  67 

sav,  tlien,  be  sure  before  voii  becjin  that  you  know 
what  YOU  ousfht  to  do.  If  you  cannot  see  how  to 
divide  a  plant  without  spoiHug  it  because  it  neither 
offers  YOU  offsets^  nor  a  crown  large  enough  to  be 
severed  without  danger,  leave  it  alone,  be  content  and 
wait.  The  habits  of  different  species  must  be  observed 
also  if  the  cultivator  would  become  expert  in  propa- 
gating. Take  for  example  Onoclea  sensibilis,  a  charming 
flowering  fern  for  a  damp  place  in  a  rockery  out  of 
doors  or  under  glass,  which  I  hope  you  will  obtain  at 
the  first  opportunity,  if  you  do  not  already  possess  it. 
Now,  this  fern  propagates  itself;  that  is  to  say,  the 
rliizoma  runs  along  near  the  surface,  and  at  some 
distance  from  the  parent  plant  throws  up  several  dis- 
tinct crowns.  Leave  the  plant  alone  for  a  couple  of 
seasons  and  it  will  be  surrounded  by,  or  rather  it  will 
consist  of,  a  number  of  separate  centres  of  growth 
forming  a  large  rich  mass  of  vegetation.  You  may 
divide  this  into  as  many  pieces  as  you  please,  provided 
each  piece  has  its  own  centre  and  tuft  of  roots,  and 
make  plants  of  them  all  with  patience  aided  by  shade 
and  moisture.  Take  on  the  other  hand  a  potted 
Gleichenia  that  has  been  in  the  same  pot  two  or  three 
years,  and  you  will  find  it  dead  in  the  centre,  but  all 
round  next  the  pot  will  be  a  series  of  crowns.  Care- 
fully knock  it  out  of  the  pot,  lay  it  on  its  side,  pass 
the  knife  through  it,  separate  the  pieces  and  shake 
from  them  the  old  worn-out  soil  and  pot  as  before; 
but  in  this  case  put  the  plant  into  a  warm  pit  or 
some  other  place  where  it  can  have  a  temperature  of 
60  to  70^  with  shade  and  a  humid  atmosphere,  to  encou- 


68  The  Fern  Garden, 

rage  a  new  growth.  The  principle  is  the  same  in 
every  case^  but  as  dififerent  classes  of  ferns  differ  in 
constitution,  so  the  practice  must  be  varied  to  suit 
them. 

In  every  case  of  multiplying  by  division  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  operation  severely  taxes  the 
energies  of  the  plants,  hence  the  need  of  extra  care  for 
some  time  afterwards  to  restore  their  vigour.  The 
soil  in  which  small  offsets  are  potted  may  with  advan- 
tage contain  more  sand  than  strong  plants  require,  and 
it  may  be  quite  fine  in  texture,  whereas  for  strong 
plants  it  is  best  somewhat  lumpy.  So,  again,  extra 
warmth  and  occasional  damping  of  the  crowns,  and  a 
humid  atmosphere  with  shade  from  sunshine,  are  aids 
of  great  importance.  Begin  with  cheap  hardy  kinds, 
and  take  as  much  pains  with  them  as  you  would  with  the 
most  tender  and  costly,  and  you  will  enjoy  the  work, 
be  rewarded  with  success,  and  acquire  experience  for 
higher  flights  in  a  most  amusing  pastime. 

**  If  at  first  you  don't  succeed, 
Try,  try,  try  again.*' 

Now  for  the  spores ;  and  first  by  way  of  preface.  The 
spores  of  tropical  or  hothouse  ferns  must  be  placed 
in  heat  or  they  will  not  germinate.  The  spores  of 
greenhouse  ferns  may  be  raised  in  summer  time  without 
the  aid  of  artificial  heat,  but  it  is  a  safer  plan  to  put 
them  into  a  propagating  house  and  treat  them  the  same 
as  the  tropical  kinds  until  the  little  plants  resulting  from 
their  germination  have  made  some  progress.  As  for 
the  spores  of  hardy  ferns,  they  may  be  raised  in  a 
frame  kept  close  and  shaded 


The  Art  of  Multiplying  Ferns.  69 

First  secure  some  large  shallow  pans^  and  bell-glasses 
to  fit  them.  Of  course  common  flower-pots  will  answer 
the  purpose,  but  large  shallow  pans  are  better.  Nearly 
fill  the  pans  (or  pots)  with  broken  flower-pots_,  the  top 
stratum  of  which  should  be  broken  to  the  size  of  peas. 
Sweep  all  the  dust  made  in  breaking  the  pots  into  the 
pans  with  the  smallest  of  the  crocks,  and  then  put  in 
an  inch  depth  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  fine  peat 
and  silver  sand.  Water  with  a  fine  rose,  and  if  the 
watering  washes  the  fine  stuff  down,  and  causes  the 
points  of  the  small  broken  pots  to  peep  through,  all  the 
better — that  is  as  it  should  be.  Now  take  a  ripe  frond 
of  a  fern  on  which  there  is  plenty  of  fruit,  and  while 
holding  over  the  prepared  pan,  sweep  the  hand  over  it, 
or  tap  it  smartly,  and  you  will  see  the  fine  dust — the 
veritable  fern  seeds — fall  freely.  Regulate  your  move- 
ments so  as  to  scatter  the  dust  all  over  the  surface,  and 
then  put  on  the  bell-glass. 

The  proper  place  for  pans  so  prepared  is  wherever 
they  can  be  kept  warm  and  dark,  and  yet  be  within 
sight,  so  that  they  are  not  neglected.  They  must  be 
kept  always  moderately  moist,  but  never  wet,  and  as 
watering  with  a  water-pot  would  simply  wash  the  seed 
away,  follow  the  neater  practice  of  placing  the  pans  in 
vessels  of  water.  If  they  are  immersed  in  one  inch 
depth  for  an  hour,  the  whole  mass  will  become  moist 
throughout  by  capillary  attraction,  and  not  a  grain  of 
sand  or  seed  need  be  moved  from  its  place. 

Have  patience,  and  you  will  see  first  a  film  of  green 
confervse,  which  is  a  good  sign,  next  little  leafy  growths, 
resembling  the  liver  worts  or  marchantias.    By-and-bye 


70  The  Fern  Garden. 

from  these  curious  leafy  things  little  fern  fronds  will 
rise,  and  you  will  know  thereby  that  you  did  not  sow 
the  seed  in  vain. 

Be  in  no  hurry  to  disturb  the  little  plants.  More  and 
more  will  appear;  they  will  crowd  and  jostle  one  another, 
and  they  will  form  a  sort  of  microscopic  forest,  and 
very  likely  will  appear  to  be  very  different  in  form  to 
the  frond  from  which  the  seed  was  taken,  for  they  do 
not  usually  acquire  their  true  characters  until  they 
have  made  some  advance.  The  time  will  come  at  last 
to  give  them  more  room,  but  before  you  disturb  them 
remove  the  bell-glass,  and  habituate  them  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  more  air  and  light  than  they  had  in  their 
earliest  infancy.  I  usually  allow  seedlings  to  remain  a 
whole  year  in  the  seed  pans,  and  then  pot  them  off,  and 
this  plan  will  be  found  a  safe  and  good  one  for  general 
adoption. 

The  process  of  potting  consists  in  lifting  each  little 
plant  with  its  tuft  of  roots  unhurt  into  a  very  small 
pot  nearly  filled  with  a  mixture  of  fine  peat  and  sand, 
and  then  covering  its  roots  with  the  same  material,  and 
tucking  it  in  comfortably.  Shut  them  up  in  a  frame 
in  a  greenhouse,  or  put  them  close  together  under  large 
bell-glasses;  by  some  means  or  other  keep  them  com- 
paratively warm  and  shaded  ;  give  gentle  sprinklings  or 
rather  dewings  over  their  leaves,  and  but  little  water 
to  the  roots,  and  they  will  soon  grow  and  become 
bonny  little  plants. 

In  a  rather  dark  and  damp  comer  of  one  of  my 
greenhouses  I  have  a  glass  frame  on  a  stand  which  is 
used  expressly  as  a  nursery  for  seedling  ferns.     You 


The  Art  of  Multiplying  Ferns.  71 

might  make  one  for  yourself  by  taking  a  shallow  box, 
and  covering  it  with  sheets  of  stout  glass.  Make  a  bed 
inside  the  box  of  a  few  inches  depth  of  cocoa-nut  fibre, 
or  silver  sand,  or  clean  small  pebbles^  and  on  this  bed 
place  the  little  pots  and  put  the  glass  over.  You  have 
complete  command  over  them  by  this  plan  to  kill  them 
by  excess  of  shade  and  moisture,  or  by  exposing  them 
to  sunshine ;  or  to  make  them  grow  by  giving  moisture 
and  shade  enough  to  keep  them  in  the  first  instance, 
and  to  admit  more  light  and  air,  to  strengthen  them  as 
they  advance  and  become  strong  enough  to  be  shifted 
into  larger  pots.  Small  fern  cases  with  moveable  tops 
make  admirable  nurseries  for  seedlings  when  they  are 
grown  in  sitting-rooms. 

We  have  spoken  of  ferns  that  run  about  and  multiply 
by  means  of  their  rhizomas.  A  parallel  case  is  seen  in 
ferns  that  shed  their  spores,  and  sprout  up  into  life  with- 
out aid  fi'om  any  one,  and  almost  anywhere.  It  will  be 
amongst  your  earliest  surprises  and  delights  in  fern  grow- 
ing to  find  seedlings  in  your  fern  cases,  on  the  banks, 
and  walls,  and  stones,  and  even  pavements  of  your 
fern-houses,  and  in  crevices  of  the  rockery  out  of  doors. 
Some  ferns  increase  spontaneously  with  such  freedom 
as  to  become  weeds,  but  the  wise  man  will  not  despise 
them  on  that  account.  He  will  be  quickened  in  love 
and  thankfulness  to  God  for  making  beauty  so  cheap  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  He  will  rejoice  that  the  humblest 
and  least  enlightened  cannot  fail  to  see  that  in  the 
mystery  of  life  is  afforded  us  deep  and  blessed  impres- 
sions of  the  direct  relationship  of  the  Divine  nature 
to  the  manifestations  of  the  Divine  will  in  visible  thinsrs. 


72 


lilt  Ftrit  Garden. 


To  the  observant  mind  there  is  nothing  trivial  or  paltry 
in  nature,  and  the  growth  of  a  fern  seed  is  the  beginning 
of  a  mysterious  life,  the  end  of  which  no  man  can  pre- 
dicate or  understand. 

Behold !  we  know  not  anything ; 

I  can  but  trust  that  good  shall  fall 
At  last — far  off — at  last,  to  all. 

And  every  winter  change  to  spring. 


ADIANTUil    EXCIStm   MTJLTIFIDFM. 


British  Ferns.  73 


CHAPTER  XL 

BRITISH      FERNS. 


HE  number  of  known  ferns  is  about  3000. 
How  many  are  unknown  we  cannot  even 
rudely  guess.  The  British  species  number  46  ; 
many  of  these  present  us  with  varieties  in  great  abun- 
dance, that  is  to  say^  with  forms  differing  from  their 
types  (or  what  we  regard  as  types),  and  these  varieties 
number  full  500,  and  no  living  person  possesses  the 
whole  of  them.  It  is  not  the  business  of  this  book  to 
treat  of  ferns  botanically,  nor  to  speak  of  the  British  ferns 
exclusively,  yet  it  would  hardly  be  complete — restricted 
as  its  object  is — unless  it  contained  at  least  one 
chapter  on  the  Eilices  of  Britain,  more  especially  as 
many  persons  only  cultivate  the  British  ferns,  and  find 
enough  to  amuse  them  in  the  fern  way  in  making 
collections  of  native  species  and  varieties.  Let  no  one 
suppose  a  complete  collection  to  be  desired,  for  it  is  not, 
except  for  strictly  scientific  purposes.  It  matters  little 
for  our  purpose  whether  it  be  desirable  or  not,  for  the 
fact  is,  a  complete  collection  has  never  been  formed  and 
never  can  be.  My  excellent  friend  Mr.  Sim,  of  Foots 
Cray,  Kent,  enumerates  in  his  last  catalogue  365 
British  species  and  varieties  in  all — enough  for  us  to 


74  The  Fern  Garden. 

choose  from  for  the  materials  for  a  fern  garden.  If 
the  reader  has  no  innate  horror  of  statistics,  a  few 
figures  may  be  interesting.  It  must  be  understood 
that  amongst  the  varieties  are  many  extremely  curious 
plants.  Some  are  richly  tasselled  and  fringed,  some  have 
duplicated  fronds,  and  the  variations  otherwise  com- 
prise imitations  (or  resemblances  to)  stages  horns,  frills, 
fans,  wires,  bristles,  embroidery,  braiding,  puckering, 
and  embossing.  Some  of  the  varieties  are  notched  as 
if  a  child  had  cut  faces  out  of  them,  others  are  shrunk 
up  to  mere  stalks;  some  have  spores  on  the  Avrong  side, 
that  is  to  say,  on  upper  side  of  the  fronds,  others  never 
produce  spores  at  all,  and  a  few  produce  their  offspring 
ready  made  in  the  form  of  little  plants  at  the  points  of 
their  fronds  or  on  every  part  of  their  leafy  surface. 
Some  varieties  are  so  curious,  so  rare,  and  so  difficult  to 
multiply  that  they  range  in  price  from  one  to  five  guineas 
a  plant.  This  need  not  terrify  the  humble  fern  collec- 
tor, for  many  of  the  handsomest  may  be  bought  for  a 
shilling  each.  The  catalogue  prices  of  319  kinds  enu- 
merated in  Sim^s  catalogue  amount  to  ^130  16^. — say 
if  those  not  priced  be  added,  £200  for  one  plant  each  of 
the  365.  The  varieties  of  hartstongue  alone  are  about  100 
in  number,  and  to  buy  one  each  would  cost  in  the  aggre- 
gate £50.  Here  ends  the  statistical  statement.  Now  let 
us  hastily  run  through  the  list  of  British  ferns,  saying 
nothing  about  synonyms  or  knotty  points  in  classifi- 
cation, for  with  these  matters  we  cannot  now  have 
anything  to  do.  For  our  purpose  an  alphabetical 
arrangement  will  be  best. 

Adiantum. — A,    capillus  veneris,   the  true  maiden- 


British  Ferns.  75 

hair.  There  are  a  feTr  varieties^  but  we  need  not 
enumerate  them.  The  requisites  for  the  growth  of 
this  lovely  fern  are  warmth,  shade,  and  moisture.  In 
the  damp  and  rather  dark  parts  of  a  plant  stove  it  soon 
becomes  a  weed,  and  sows  itself  by  spores  on  bricks, 
stones,  wood — anywhere.  I  have  had  it  grow  to  per- 
fection between  the  bricks  inside  a  well.  To  have  a 
plant  in  a  room,  the  best  way  is  to  appropriate  to  its  use 
a  fifteen-inch  bell-glass,  fitted  to  an  earthen  pan  of  red 
flower-pot  ware.  The  soil  should  be  sandy  peat,  with  a 
fourth  part  of  broken  flower-pots  or  soft  broken  stone 
added.  Give  air  daily  for  half  an  hour ;  never  leave 
the  glass  ofi*  and.  forget  it;  do  not  saturate  it  with 
moisture,  and — have  patience. 

Allosorus. — A.  crispus,  the  mountain  parsley  fern. 
Coddling  will  kill  it.  It  loves  fresh  air ;  will  grow 
amongst  pebbles  or  broken  stone  with  a  little  sandy 
peat  to  give  it  a  start.  Shade  is  good  for  it,  but  I 
have  seen  it  growing  gloriously  in  the  full  sun.  Beware 
if  there  is  one  snail  in  the  garden;  catch  him  and  throw 
him  over  the  wall  into  the  next  garden,  or  he  will 
gobble  up  your  plant  as  a  cat  would  a  mouse.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  put  a  bell-glass  over  a  newly  planted  piece 
to  protect  it  from  the  vermin  ;  the  glass  can  be  taken 
away  when  the  plant  has  grown  a  bit. 

AsPLENiuM. — A.  marinum  is  one  of  the  best  case 
ferns  known.  It  loves  sand  and  stone,  and  warmth 
and  vapour.  To  plant  it  in  the  open  air  rockery  is  a 
risk,  but  it  will  do  well  in  the  cool  fern-house  near  the 
floor. 

A.  trichomanes  and  A.  viride  are  charming  ferns  to 


76  The  Fern  Garden. 

plant  xii  a  cool  house  or  a  case,  or  in  sheltered  chinks 
in  the  open  rockery.  If  it  should  ever  speak  it  would 
be  in  such  words  as  once  startled  the  horticultural 
community,  "  Give  me  air  or  I  shall  die."  Soil  to  be 
bricky  and  sandy  ;   fat  peat  is  poison  to  it. 

A.  fontanum — a  gem  for  the  case. 

A.  ruta-muraria. — Stagnant  moisture  is  ruin  to  it; 
plant  with  the  crown  quite  above  the  surface ;  soil  one 
half  broken  brick  or  stone,  the  other  half  very  sandy 
peat.  A  lovely  fern  for  planting  in  a  chink  in  an  old 
wall  in  a  shady  sheltered  spot. 

A.  septentinonale,  a  difficult  fern  to  grow.  Try  it  in 
a  pot  in  a  frame,  in  soil  three  parts  sand  and  soft 
stone,  and  guard  it  with  fear  and  suspicion  against 
slugs,  snails,  and  woodlice. 

Athyrium. — A.  filix-foBmina  is  the  Lady  fern,  and 
well  deserves  the  title.  Please  excuse  description  or 
eulogy ;  see  it  and  believe.  It  will  grow  anywhere 
under  glass,  or  in  the  open  air,  if  in  a  shady  moist 
position.  I  have  a  grand  plant  growing  in  the  gravel 
walk  at  the  foot  of  the  bastion,  and  more  than  I  can 
count  in  other  places.  A  fine  pot  fern,  growing  well  in 
fat  peat  or  in  common  loam,  with  sand,  or  in  any  soil 
not  chalky,  with  the  help  of  a  little  cocoa-nut  fibre  to 
mellow  it.  Be  sure  to  drain  the  pot  eff'ectually  and 
give  plenty  of  water.  Oh,  how  it  will  smile  upon  you 
if  you  treat  it  kindly  ! 

The  following  varieties  are  fine — Coronans,  Corym- 
biferum,  diffuso-multifidum,  Elworthi,  Fieldice,  FrizellicBf 
grandiceps,  Grantice,  multifidum. 

Blechnum. — B.  spicans,  the  hard  fern,  is  a  noble 


British  Ferns. 


17 


and  very  distinct  fern.  Try  your  hand  at  a  large  pot 
specimen — when  four  or  five  years  old  it  will  be  grand. 
A  rather  strong  soil^  with  good  drainage^  suits  it ;  say 
yellow  loam  three  parts,  leaf  mould  two  parts,  and  grit 


ATHYEiril   FILIX-rEMINA,   vav.    COETMBIFEEUM. 

obtained  by  sifting  the  sweepings  of  the  gravel  walks 
one  part.  By  the  way_,  this  is  a  capital  plan  of  obtain- 
ing clean  sharp  sand.  We  rarely  buy  sand,  as  we  sift 
all  our  sweepings  and  spend  the  sand  money  in  keeping 
the  gravel  perfect. 


78 


The  Fern  Garden. 


The  following  varieties  are  good — imbricatumj  lauci- 
folium,  mult'ifurcutum,  ramosum,  strictum. 

Ceterach. — C.  ojfficinarum,  the  scaly  spleenwort,  is 


^m 


ATHTEIUM   riLIX-FCEiinfA   GEANDICEPS. 


a  very  interesting  fern.  It  grows  luxuriantly  in  our 
cool  fern -house,  in  a  chink  of  the  rough  wall  near  the 
door.     A  good  pot  fern.     It  loves  air,  stone,  old  mortar, 


British  Ferns.  79 

shade,  andperfect  drainage  ;  try  it  as  an  aquatic,  and  say 
"  fareweir^  to  it  before  you  begin. 

Cystopteris. — C.fragilis,  the  brittle  bladder  fern,  is 
well  adapted  to  plant  in  the  front  of  a  rockery.  With 
one  exception,  the  varieties  are  worthless,  but  Dickie- 
ana  (fi'ontispiece)  makes  amends  for  all.  C.  montana, 
the  mountain  bladder  fern,  and  C.  regia,  are  gems. 
These  do  best  in  the  open  air  or  cool  greenhouse.  They 
need  shade  and  shelter,  but  love  iTesh  air.  Prepare  a  bed 
a  foot  square  by  removing  the  soil  a  foot  deep.  Then 
partially  fill  up  with  broken  bricks  and  charcoal,  and 
upon  this  bed  place  four  inches  depth  of  a  mixture  con- 
sisting of  equal  parts  peat,  silver  sand,  the  finest  dust  of 
cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse,  and  soft  silky  loam.  Place  the 
plant  in  the  centre  of  the  bed,  close  the  soil  firmly 
around  it,  and  put  a  bell-glass  over.  Take  off^  the 
bell-glass  every  morning,  and  wipe  it  quite  dry,  and 
place  it  over  the  plant  again.  Keep  the  soil  moist,  and 
in  due  time  the  plant  will  grow.  After  six  months  of 
such  nursing,  it  will  take  care  of  itself  in  every  respect 
except  one,  and  that  is,  it  will  invite  the  attacks  of  snails 
and  slugs,  which  are  very  fond  of  it.  These  must  be 
trapped  and  destroyed  with  energy ;  you  must  be  a  Thug 
to  such  people. 

Gymnogramma. —  G.  leptophylla  is  the  only  Britisher 
of  this  lovely  family.  This  little  gem  is  an  annaal. 
To  secure  it  for  ever,  get  a  plant  in  a  pot,  and  keep  it  in 
a  fern-house  or  shady  moist  pit.  It  will  shed  its  spores, 
and  the  parent  plant  will  perish.  The  next  season  it 
will  appear  plentifully  as  a  weed  on  bricks,  stones, 
borders,  &c.,  &c.     Pot  a  few  to  give  away,  and  allow 


80  The  Fern  Garden. 

the  remainder  to  attain  maturity  and  shed  their  spores 
for  the  next  season. 

Hymexophyllum. — H.  Tunbridgense  is  the  Tun- 
bridge  filmy  fern,  a  cynosure,  a  paragon,  a  paradox.  It 
represents  a  race,  all  of  "which  require  similar  treatment. 
They  are  all  easily  grown  if  dealt  with  in  a  proper 
manner  in  the  first  instance.  Suppose  we  consider 
how  to  grow  a  nice  patch  of  any  of  them.  Get  a  large 
earthenware  pan  (flower-pot  ware)  and  a  bell-glass  to 
fit  fairly  within  the  rim.  A  fifteen-inch  glass  would  be 
best,  but  one  half  that  size  will  do  to  begin  with. 
Spread  over  the  bottom  of  the  pan  a  layer  of  broken 
pots,  then  lay  down  a  bed  of  very  sandy  peat — say  peat 
and  silver  sand  equal  parts.  On  this  bed  place  some 
blocks  of  stone  of  the  size  of  the  fist,  and  less,  and  press 
them  down,  and  fill  in  between  them  with  the  same 
mixture  of  peat  and  sand.  Make  all  this  quite  firm — 
make  it,  in  fact,  hard.  Now  draw  out  a  small  stone, 
and  introduce  the  plant,  spreading  out  its  black  hair- 
like roots,  which  cover  with  the  mixture,  and  bed  it  in 
close,  so  that  it  will  sit,  so  to  speak,  close  to  the  general 
surface  of  the  stone.  If  you  can  plant  little  pieces  all 
over  the  pan  between  the  stones,  you  may  get  the  pan 
fiUed  more  quickly,  but  it  is  a  risk  for  a  beginner  to 
tear  up  a  plant  as  a  practised  hand  would  do.  Wet  the 
whole  by  means  of  a  fine  syringe ;  place  the  bell-glass 
on,  and  press  it  slightly  so  as  to  make  it  fit  pretty  close, 
and  place  the  pan  in  a  warm  room  near  the  window,  or 
in  a  snug,  warm,  shady  corner  of  the  greenhouse,  or  in 
a  cool  part  of  the  stove,  and  do  not  look  at  it  for  a  week  ; 
then  take  off  the  glass  and  give  another  gentle  sprinkle, 


British  Ferns. 


81 


^     \     ■    ...     -K    f.  *>■  /     ■>!>*,  ^i^^   ?^'.Vk         t.-.'^Ki 


S^..il>^'-.-^- 


V 


.^ 


lASTEEA    ^MFLA. 


82  The  Fern  Garden. 

and  next  leave  it  for  a  month.  The  plant  begins  to  grow 
early  in  the  year,  and  continues  growing  till  quite  late  in 
autumn.  Keep  it  only  moderately  moist  at  all  seasons. 
Take  care  the  sun  never  shines  upon  it,  and  as  far  as 
is  possible — making  allowances  for  curiosity,  or  the 
necessity  of  occasionally  ascertaining  what  is  its  con- 
dition as  to  moisture — give  no  air  at  all. 

Lastrea. — L.  filix-mas,  the  male  fern,  is  the  com- 
monest (and  some  say  the  handsomest)  species  in  Britain. 
It  will  grow  anywhere  and  in  any  soil,  but  attains  its 
fullest  perfection  in  mellow  loam  or  peat  in  a  shady 
situation.  The  following  varieties  are  fine — cristatay  a 
magnificent  object  when  well  grown ;  crispa,  a  little 
gem  for  the  case ;  grandicepSj  a  fine  pot  fern  :  polydac- 
tylUy  a  fine- crested  variety. 

L.  (Bmula,  the  hay-scented  fern,  a  charming  species 
for  the  cool  house  or  pot  culture.  When  dried  it  is 
agreeably  fragrant. 

L.  dilatata,  the  broad  buckler  fern,  should  be  planted 
plentifully  out  of  doors.  The  variety  dumetorum  has 
a  beautiful  rich  appearance. 

L.  montana  or  L.  oreopteris,  the  mountain  buckler 
fern,  common  on  Scottish  moors,  and  by  no  means 
scarce  in  England  and  Wales.  It  should  be  planted 
out  in  loam  and  be  freely  supplied  with  water.  It  is 
not  a  good  fern  to  grow  in  pots.  When  the  hand  is 
passed  over  the  fronds  a  pleasant  odour  is  emitted; 
when  dried  it  has  a  sweet  hay-like  scent. 

L.  thelypteris,  a  free  growing  species  for  the  cool 
house  and  for  pot  culture.  It  loves  shade,  moisture, 
and  spongy  peat,  and  travels  fast. 


British  Ferns. 


83 


POLTPODim   rriGAEE. 


84  The  Fern  Garden, 

Ophioglossum. — O.  vulgatum  and  O.  lusitanicum  are 
the  only  two  kinds  of  Adder's-tongue  fern  in  Britain. 
These  should  be  kept  in  pots  in  a  frame  and  con- 
spicuously labelled,  as  their  fronds  disappear  early  in 
the  season,  and  the  plants  are  likely  to  be  thrown  away 
as  dead.    Scarcely  worth  growing. 

OsMUNDA. —  0.  regaliSy  the  royal  fern,  is  a  most  noble 
plant  for  the  garden,  but  not  well  adapted  for  pots  or 
the  fern-house.  Plant  in  moist  spongy  peat  or  strong 
loam.    The  variety  cristata  makes  a  handsome  pot  plant. 

PoLYPODiUM. — P.  vulgare,  the  common  polypody, 
may  be  grown  anywhere  and  almost  anyhow,  but  pre- 
fers a  spongy  or  leafy  soil,  an  elevated  position  and 
some  amount  of  shade.  It  will  thrive  on  the  top  of  an 
old  wall  in  the  full  sun  if  planted  small  in  the  first 
instance,  and  make  a  beautiful  object  on  old  tree  stumps 
in  the  fernery.  None  of  our  native  ferns  endure 
drought  so  well  as  this. 

The  best  varieties  are  camhricum,  crenatum,  cristatum, 
omnilacerum,  and  semilacerum.  The  first  of  these  five 
is  the  ^^  Welsh  polypody,"  the  last  is  the  "  Irish  poly- 
pody ;"  five  charming  plants  for  cool  house,  pot,  or  case 
culture. 

P.  alpestre,  the  alpine  polypody,  closely  resembles 
the  lady  fern.  It  will  thrive  in  the  hardy  fernery  if 
in  a  well-drained  position.  Scarcely  good  enough  for 
pots. 

P.  dryopteris,  the  oak  fern,  a  lovely  species,  the 
colour  of  which  is  a  sure  cure  for  bad  temper ;  it  is  so 
extravagantly  cheerful  and  so  pleasingly  delicate.  If 
planted  out  it  must  have  a  very  shady,  sheltered,  moist 


British  Ferns. 


85 


POLrrODIOI   TULGAEE,   Var.    CAlIBEICUir. 


86  The  Fern  Garden. 

place.  It  is  one  of  the  best  ferns  in  the  world  for  a 
ledge  of  rock  in  the  cool  fernery,  or  to  grow  in  a  large 
shallow  pan  as  a  specimen. 

P. phegopteris,  the  beech  fern;  distinct  and  pretty, 
growing  freely  out  of  doors  with  the  help  of  shade  and 
moisture.  A  fine  fern  for  pots  and  to  plant  near  a 
fountain,  as  it  attains  its  fullest  beauty  only  in  an 
atmosphere  heavily  charged  with  moisture.  It  must, 
however,  be  perfectly  drained  at  the  roots. 

P.  Robertianum,  or  P.  calcareum,  the  limestone  poly- 
pody, a  pretty  and  peculiarly  greyish-coloured  plant 
which  loves  chalk  or  limestone  rock,  but  will  grow  in 
almost  any  soil,  and  will  endure  the  sunshine  as  patiently 
as  P.  vulgare. 

PoLYSTiCHUM. — P.  ungulare^  the  soft,  prickly  shield 
fern,  is  the  choicest  of  this  section,  a  truly  fine  plant, 
sporting  much  and  good  in  every  form.  It  is  so 
common  that  it  will  occur  amongst  the  earliest  "  finds^^ 
of  the  fern  hunter.  It  loves  shade  and  a  sandy,  loamy 
soil,  or  leaf  soil,  but  is  not  particular. 

The  following  varieties  are  invaluable  for  pot  culture, 
and  the  smallest  of  them  well  adapted  for  cases, — 
concinnum,  cristatum,  grandiceps,  grandidens,  latipes, 
plumosuMj  proliferum.  The  last  named  is  a  charming 
fern  for  pot  culture,  and  thrives  alike  in  frame,  green- 
house, or  stove. 

P.  aculeatuvfiy  the  prickly  shield  fern,  is  at  once 
distinct,  bold,  and  handsome.  Plant  it  in  a  shady  spot 
and  leave  it  alone  for  several  years  if  you  wish  to  see  it 
thrive.     A  fine  pot  fern. 

P.  lonchitis,  the  holly  fern,  a  handsome   military- 


British  Ferns. 


87 


POLTPODiril    ALPE3TEE. 


9S 


The  Fern  Garden. 


POLTPODIUM    ORYOPTEEIS. 


British  Ferns.  89 

looking  fern,  rather  difficult  to  manage,  but  deserving 
good  generalship.  If  planted  out  give  it  a  shaded, 
sheltered  spot,  and  at  least  half  a  barrow  full  of  a 
mixture  consisting  of  loam  two  parts,  peat  one  part, 
sharp  grit  and  small  broken  bricks  one  part.  It  is  a 
good  pot  plant  if  kept  in  a  moist  frame. 

Pteris. — P.  aquilina,  the  brakes,  or  bracken,  is  one 
of  the  best  known  of  all.  Plant  it  out  in  good  loam  or 
peat  where  it  will  have  room  to  run,  as  it  is  a  persistent 
traveller.  Ten  years  ago  I  planted  a  piece  not  so  big 
as  my  hand  on  a  bank  in  my  out-door  fernery,  and  now 
it  covers  at  least  ten  square  yards  of  ground;  at  one  point 
in  its  course  it  has  crossed  the  gravel  walk  and  come 
up  on  the  other  side.  It  makes  a  good  pot  plant,  and 
also  a  good  wall  plant  if  planted  at  the  foot  of  a  shady 
wall  and  kept  up  by  means  of  horizontally  placed 
lengths  of  tarred  string  or  copper  wire.  These  supports 
should  be  placed  about  a  foot  apart ;  they  will  not  be 
visible,  and  the  effect  will  be  a  wall  richly  fringed  as 
with  climbing  ferns.  To  see  the  bracken  as  it  should 
be  seen,  we  must  go  to  the  breezy  moorland  and  skirt 
the  warm  woodside;  it  is,  perhaps,  the  most  truly 
rustic  plant  in  Britain. 

ScoLOPENDRiuM. — S.  vuJgave  is  the  common  harts- 
tongue,  one  of  the  very  first  requisites  of  the  hardy 
ferneiy.  This  plant  will  not  live  in  the  full  sunshine, 
and  it  needs  a  good  mellow  loamy  soil,  or  tough  fibrous 
peat,  with  plenty  of  moisture  to  attain  the  growth  it 
should,  say  a  length  of  two  to  four  feet.  It  is,  how- 
ever, an  accommodating  plant,  as  the  fern  hunter  will 
soon  learn  by  observation,  for  it  will  be  found  on  damp 


90 


The  Fern  Garden. 


POLTSTICHUM   ^XGULAEE. 


I 


British  Ferns. 


91 


/'^ 


■yd 


V, 


\^ 


POLTPODiril  PHE&0PTEEI5. 


92 


The  Fern  Garden. 


banks  in  shady  lanes_,  on  dry  stone  walls  in  dusty  roads, 
where  there  is  not  much  shade  for  it^  and  frequently 
covers  an  old  brick  wall  as  with  a  felt  of  small  yellowish 
fronds.  When  growing  between  the  bricks  inside  a 
wellj  and  putting  its  huge  tongues  down  towards  the 
water^  it  is  a  splendid  object^  and  a  good  companion  to 
the  true  maidenhair^  which  will  thrive  in  a  similar 
position.  The  species  and  all  the  varieties  make  first- 
rate  pot  plants. 


SCOLOPEyDEirM:  YITLGAEE  EAMO-MAHGiyATFiT. 

The  most  generally  useful  of  the  varieties^  and  one 
of  the  ferns  which  should  be  first  of  all  secured  by  the 
cultivation,  is  crispum,  a  grand  pot  or  rockery  fern. 
The  following  are  handsome  pot  plants,  the  smallest  of 
them  well  adapted  for  cases  : — bimarginato-multifidumy 
%ornutum,  cristatura,  digit atum,  glomeratum,  laceratum, 
l^acrosorum,  ramo-marginatum,  ramo  sum-ma  jus ,  Wardii. 

Trichomaxes. — T.    radicans,    the    Bristle   fern,  re- 


British  Ferns, 


93 


POLTPODIUM    EOBEETIAXrM. 


94  The  Fern  Garden. 

quires  treatment  similar  to  that  of  the  Tunbridge  fern. 
As  the  roots  are  tough  and  wiry,  and  spread  on  the 
surface,  it  will  be  necessary  in  planting  a  piece  to 
spread  them  out  on  the  surface  of  the  stone,  and  fix 
them  in  their  places  with  pegs,  or  by  placing  nodules 
of  stone  upon  them.  In  due  time  they  will  attach 
themselves,  and  after  that  the  plant  will  grow  well  if 
taken  care  of.  Small  cases  appropriated  solely  to  these 
ferns  are  intensely  interesting.  They  ought  never  to 
be  planted  in  cases  with  ferns  that  need  ventilation,  as 
nearly  all  other  kinds  do.  I  had  a  large  leaky  aquarium. 
Instead  of  having  it  repaired,  a  hole  was  bored  in  the 
slate  bottom,  and  a  sheet  of  very  stout  glass  was  cut 
to  fit  the  top.  A  miniature  rockery  was  then  formed 
with  coke  and  cement  in  one  large  block,  and  on  this 
Hymenophyllum  Tunbridgense,  Trichomanes  radicans, 
and  the  New  Zealand  filmy  fern  Todea  pellucida  were 
planted.  They  have  thriven  and  have  a  rich  luxurious 
appearance.  The  leaky  aquarium  has  thus  become  a 
grand  fern  case. 

In  a  damp  stone  or  a  very  damp  warm  dark  corner 
of  a  greenhouse,  the  filmy  ferns  grow  freely  if  their 
rhizomes  are  merely  fixed  to  the  walls.  They  soon  run 
up  the  bricks,  and  form  a  delicate  felt  or  living  wall- 
paper. 

WooDsiA. — W.  alpina,  an  Alpine  Woodsia,  is  a  pretty 
little  fern,  requiring  frame  or  house  culture. 

W.  ilvensis  is  a  beautiful  pot  plant.  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  grown  in  the  open  fernery,  if  in  a  sheltered 
well-drained  position,  in  a  sandy  peat  soil.  The 
Woodsias  are  not  adapted  for  beginners. 


.'^X'^x^  . 


GLEICHENIA    RUPESTRIS    GLAUCESCENS. 
An  elegant  Fern  for  culture  in  a  warm   Greenhouse. 


Cultivation  of  Greenhouse  and  Stove  Ferns.       95 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CULTIVATION    OF    GREENHOUSE    AND    STOVE    FERNS. 

RACTICALLY  the  only  difference  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  ferns  of  the  greenhouse  and 
the  stove  from  those  of  the  frame  or  cool  fern- 
house  consists  in  the  increase  of  temperature  propor- 
tioned to  the  character  of  the  climates  in  which  green- 
house and  stove  ferns  are  found  growing  wild.  Various 
as  are  the  climates  and  conditions  in  which  ferns  thrive 
on  different  parts  of  the  earth's  surface^  they  all  be- 
come amenable  to  conditions  nearly  uniform  when 
subjected  to  cultivation.  Give  the  most  delicate  fern  of 
the  tropics  treatment  similar  to  what  is  advised  for  our 
native  fernSj  but  with  a  higher  temperature  at  every 
season  of  the  year,  and  the  chances  are  full  ten  to  one 
that  it  will  succeed  perfectly.  But  undoubtedly  it 
requires  some  judgment  to  assimilate  conditions  in 
the  midst  of  which  there  occurs  this  important  difference 
of  temperature,  and  so  we  cannot  expect  to  dispose  of 
the  subject  of  this  chapter  in  any  offhand  or  very  general 
manner.  However,  we  must  beg  the  reader  to  recall 
the  main  points  of  our  advice  to  this  extent,  that  for 
outdoor,  for  frame,  and  for  cool-house  ferns,  we  have 
constantly  recommended  the  use  of   a   granular  and 


96  The  Fern  Garden. 

mellow,  loamy  or  peaty  soil,  a  considerable  degree  of 
atmospheric  humidity,  shade  from  strong  sunshine,  and, 
in  some  cases,  a  very  subdued  daylight,  as  the  condi- 
tions under  which  success  is  most  likely  to  be  secured. 
These  several  requisites  are  to  be  considered  of  the  ut- 
most importance  in  the  cultivation  of  tender  ferns,  and 
the  more  so  that  the  farther  plants  of  any  kind  are 
removed  from  the  circumstances  natural  to  them,  the 
more  anxious  should  the  cultivator  be  to  provide  for  all 
their  wants. 

It  is  a  common  thing  to  see  ferns  and  flowering 
plants  mixed  together  in  the  same  greenhouse  or  con- 
servatory. It  is  quite  possible  to  grow  them  well  when 
80  associated,  but  so  few  are  equal  to  the  task  that 
when  we  meet  with  ferns  and  flowers  in  the  same  house, 
we  usually  find  one  or  both  in  a  deplorable  condition 
of  disease  or  imperfect  development. 

Ferns  love  shade  and  flowers  love  sunshine.  Ferns 
thrive  best  in  a  still  air,  flowers  usually  require  a  moving 
atmosphere,  and  many  kinds  that  are  most  highly 
prized  need  abundant  ventilation.  As  to  atmospheric 
humidity,  while  ferns  with  very  few  exceptions  enjoy 
abundance  of  it,  there  are  not  many  kinds  of  flowers 
capable  of  enduring  without  injury  the  degree  of 
aerial  moisture  that  would  benefit  the  growth  of  ferns. 
These  are  important  considerations  which  we  are  bound 
to  place  before  the  reader  at  this  juncture,  for  indis- 
criminate associations  of  plants  in  stoves  and  green- 
houses are  the  causes  of  many  and  bitter  disappoint- 
ments. While  this  matter  is  before  us,  however,  it 
should  be  said  that  if   due  care  be  exercised,  many 


Cultivation  of  Greenhouse  and  Stove  Ferns.        97 

kinds  of  flowering  plants  may  be  grown  in  the  same 
houses  with  ferns,  if  the  selection  is  made  judiciously 
in  the  first  instance^  and  the  best  positions  as  to  air, 
light,  &c.,  are  selected  for  them.  Thus,  as  to  sorts  it 
will  be  found  that  camellias,  azaleas,  cyclamens,  pri- 
mulas, liliums,  oleas,  and  statices,  are  well  adapted  to 
associate  with  greenhouse  ferns,  if  the  sunniest  positions 
are  assigned  them;  on  the  other  hand,  heaths,  pelar- 
goniums, echeverias,  epiphyllums,  boronias,  epacris, 
and  kalosanthes,  are  far  less  suitable,  needing  more 
air  and  sunshfne  than  most  ferns  could  endure  without 
injury.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  many 
beautiful  plants,  such  as  palms,  for  example,  may  be. 
grown  with  ferns  to  afford  variety,  and  the  same  routine 
of  treatment  will  suit  both.  In  the  stove  it  is  common 
enough  to  find  achimenes,  gloxinias,  alocascias,  cala- 
diums,  begonias,  gesneras,  and  marantas,  associated 
with  ferns  without  the  least  injury  to  either.  Yet  in  the 
full  blaze  of  sunshine,  where  a  croton  or  an  ixora  would 
thrive,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for  a  fern  to  live, 
except  in  the  form  of  a  disgrace  to  its  possessor.  So 
far  we  see  that  compromises  are  possible.  There  is 
yet  another  mode  of  associating  ferns  and  flowering 
plants  in  the  same  house,  and  that  is  to  make  banks 
and  rockeries  beneath  the  stages  where  shade  and 
humidity  will  favour  the  growth  of  ferns,  and  render 
positions  otherwise  useless  and  unsightly  as  attractive 
nearly  as  the  stages  themselves,  on  which  the  amaryllids 
or  the  pelargoniums  are  blooming  bravely.  A  bank  of 
peat  faced  with  large  burrs  answers  admirably  for  a 
fernery  of  this  sort,  and  the  varieties  of   cystopteris, 

7 


98  The  Fern  Garden, 

woodsia,  scolopendrium,  and  selaginella,  are  pretty  sure 
to  take  to  it  readily,  while  in  the  most  select  spots,  hy- 
menophyllums,  trichomanes,  todeas,  and  maidenhairs, 
will  soon  become  established,  and  acquire  a  luxuriance 
of  growth  without  the  least  care,  such  as  to  make  a 
mere  mockery  of  all  our  closed  cases  and  bell-glasses, 
and  curious  caves  constructed  expressly  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  these  gems  of  the  fern  garden. 

There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the  plan  recommended 
in  Chapter  VII  for  the  cultivation  of  hardy  ferns  under 
glass  is  the  best  also  for  greenhouse  and  stove  ferns, 
unless  it  be  the  desire  of  the  cultivator  to  have  the 
whole  or  a  part  of  the  collection  in  pots,  in  which  case, 
of  course,  something  in  the  nature  of  a  stage  or  table 
becomes  necessary.  A  spacious  fernery  adapted  for 
ferns  of  all  climates,  and  for  the  display  of  them  under 
circumstances  which  we  may  justly  describe  as  natural, 
forms  one  of  the  most  valuable  embellishments  a  gar- 
den can  boast — enjoyable  at  all  seasons,  and  especially 
so  in  winter,  when  rough  weather  forbids  our  seeking 
open-air  enjoyments,  and  when,  perhaps,  if  weather 
permitted,  we  should  find  but  little  in  the  garden  or 
the  field  to  interest  us.  One  of  the  best  structures  of 
the  kind  I  am  acquainted  with  is  in  the  garden  of  Alfred 
Smee,  Esq.,  Carshalton.  The  walls  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. 


Cultivation  of  Greenhouse  and  Stove  Ferns.       99 

which  are  constantly  bedewed  by  the  spray  from  a 
fountain.  The  roof  is  a  span  running  east  and  west  j 
the  south  side  of  it  is  covered  with  felt^  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 
considerably  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. 
In  the  middle  of  the  house  there  are  fewer  pipes,  and 
a  greenhouse  temperature  is  kept.  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  eco- 
nomical principles,  the  interior  presents  at  all  seasons 
a  grand  spectacle,  and  affords  a  most  delightful  prome- 
nade. 

Although,  as  explained  above,  ferns  and  flowering 
plants  may  be  grown  together,  those  who  would  do 
justice  to  the  former  must  appropriate  a  house  to  them 
exclusively.  It  is  possible  to  adapt  a  south  aspect  to 
the  purpose,  but  it  is  not  advisable  to  encounter  such 
a  difficulty.  A  north  or  north-west  aspect  is  the  best> 
The  house  should  have  a  roof  of  not  very  steep  pitch, 
a  sufficient  service  of  hot- water  pipes,  and  ventilators 
near  the  pipes  to  afford  warmth  to  the  fresh  air  as  it 
enters,  and  others  in  the  roof  at  each  end,  but  none 
elsewhere  unless  the  house  is  a  large  one.  A  frequent 
change  of  air  is  essential  to  the  health  of  the  ferns,  but 
we  do  not  want  a  rushing  wind  or  so  much  ventilation 


100  The  Fern  Garden. 

as  to  render  the  air  of  the  house  so  dry  that  the  fronds 
will  lose  their  freshness  and  health. 

Thousands  of  villas  are  now  furnished  with  what  are 
called  "  conservatories/'  which  would  answer  admirably 
for  ferneries  where  they  happen  not  to  be  exposed  to 
burning  sunshine  all  the  summer  long.  The  sunniest 
of  these  little  glass  annexes  answer  admirably  for  grape 
vines  and  succulent  plants,  such  as  cactuses  and  eche- 
verias ;  the  shady  ones  would  answer  admirably  for 
ferns,  whether  in  pots  or  planted  out  in  miniature 
rockeries. 

In  the  management  of  greenhouse  and  stove  ferns 
the  most  important  matter  is  to  secure  a  suitable 
temperature  for  each  department  or  group  of  plants. 
The  greenhouse  kinds  require  a  temperature  of  40° 
to  50°  all  the  winter,  but  from  the  middle  of  April 
until  the  middle  of  October  artificial  heat  may  be  dis- 
pensed with  altogether,  unless  the  weather  is  excep- 
tionally cold ;  and  stove  ferns  require  a  temperature 
ranging  from  60°  in  winter  to  90°  in  summer. 

In  every  case  the  amount  of  moisture  must  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  temperature,  the  more  heat  the  more 
water,  both  above  and  below.  When  the  plants  are 
growing  freely  the  syringe  should  be  used  to  produce  a 
fine  shower  over  them  once  or  twice  a  day,  and  water 
should  be  sprinkled  on  the  floor  to  cause  an  abundant 
evaporation.  They  will  also  require  plentiful  supplies 
of  water  at  the  roots. 

There  is  no  large  class  of  plants  in  cultivation  for 
which  we  may  so  safely  give  general  cultural  directions 
as  for  fernSj  yet  certain  kinds  require  exceptional  treat- 


Cultivation  of  Greenhouse  and  Stove  Ferns.      101 

ment  both  in  heated  houses  as  in  cool  ferneries  and  the 
open  air.  The  gold  and  silver  ferns,  such  as  gymno- 
grammas,  are  for  the  most  part  highly  susceptible  of 
injury  through  excess  of  water,  especially  when  ad- 
ministered by  means  of  the  syringe.  All  the  tree  ferns 
such  as  Dicksonias  require  abundant  supplies  of  water, 
especially  over  their  ample  fronds.  Most  of  the  kinds 
which  have  thick  succulent  leaves,  such  as  Niphobolus, 
require  drier  positions  if  planted  out,  and  extra  careful 
drainage  if  in  pots,  than  others  that  are  of  flimsy 
texture. 

The  cultivator  must  be  careful  to  regulate  heat  and 
moisture  in  such  a  manner  as  to  ensure  to  the  plants 
regularly  recurring  seasons  of  activity  and  rest.  When 
new  growth  commences  in  spring  there  should  be  a 
gradual  augmentation  of  temperature  and  humidity  to 
afford  needful  stimulus  and  support.  When  in  autumn 
growth  should  naturally  cease,  the  supplies  of  heat  and 
moisture  should  be  diminished ;  and  during  the  winter 
rest  should  be  promoted  by  keeping  the  house  as  cool 
and  dry  as  is  consistent  with  safety.  It  is  bad  policy 
to  expose  ferns  to  hardships,  such  as  deferring  the 
lighting  of  a  fire  until  the  fronds  are  actually  frozen  or 
mildew  has  marred  their  beauty,  for  the  next  season^s 
growth  is  jeopardised  by  such  treatment,  and  some 
valuable  plants  may  be  lost  entirely.  At  the  same  time 
the  cultivator  may  take  comfortable  assurance  from  the 
fact  that  the  majority  of  this  class  of  plants  are  exceed- 
ingly accommodating;  they  will  at  times  bear  without 
material  injury  more  damp,  more  draught,  more  sun- 
shine, and  lower  degrees  of  temperature  than  a  prudent 


102  The  Fern  Garden. 

adviser  on  their  cultivation  would  dare  to  recommend 
as  good  for  them.  Fully  half  of  the  whole  number  of 
stove  ferns  known  to  cultivators  have  been  well  grown 
in  greenhouse  temperature,  and  a  very  large  proportion 
of  greenhouse  ferns,  properly  so  called,  have  been 
grown  to  perfection,  without  any  aid  from  artificial 
heat,  in  our  own  garden.  Our  large  specimens  of 
Adiantum  cuneatum,  Asplenium  biformis,  Blechnum 
brasiliense,  &c.  &c.,  that  we  have  exhibited  in  public, 
have  never  known  a  taste  of  artificial  heat  from  the 
time  when  they  started  from  spores  under  bell-glasses 
until  they  attained  their  present  dimensions  of  a  yard 
or  so  across.  This  adaptability  is  particularly  exempli- 
fied in  the  cultivation  of  ferns  in  closed  cases,  Mrs. 
Hibberd's  cases  containing  delicate  ferns  of  the  tropics 
side  by  side  with  the  natives  of  the  British  woods^  yet 
all  in  the  most  perfect  health  and  beauty. 

The  soil  for  pot  ferns  should  always  consist  in  gre^\ 
part  of  vegetable  mould  and  sand ;  mellow  loam,  silky 
to  the  touch  and  crumbling  to  powder  between  the 
fingers  without  soiling  them ;  peat  of  a  brownish  rather 
than  a  blackish  cast,  and  containing  an  abundance  of 
vegetable  fibre,  so  as  rather  to  require  tearing  than 
crumbling  to  reduce  it ;  sand  of  a  sharp  clean  nature  : 
these  three  ingredients  are  sufficient  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  universal  fern  compost.  In  the  case  of  very 
small  delicate  habited  ferns  use  two  parts  peat,  re- 
moving all  the  rougher  portions,  and  one  third  sand. 
For  full  growing  and  rather  large  plants  use  two  parts 
peat,  one  part  loam,  and  one  part  sand,  the  rougher 
fibrous  portions  to  be  laid  over  the  crocks,  and  the 


Cultivation  of  Greenhouse  and  Stove  Ferns.      103 

bulk  to  be  used  in  a  rather  lumpy  state.  For  very- 
robust  habited  sorts  of  large  growth  the  compost  should 
consist  of  two  parts  loam^  one  part  peat^  and  one  of 
sand,  with  a  liberal  addition  all  through  of  broken 
brick  or  tile  of  the  size  of  walnuts  or  hazel-nuts. 
Ferns  that  require  a  drier  soil  than  ordinary  should 
have  a  compost  containing  more  sand,  less  loam,  and 
the  addition  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  pounded 
bricks  or  charcoal. 

No  particular  kind  of  pots  is  necessary  for  the 
cultivation  of  stove  and  greenhouse  ferns,  but,  as  a 
rule,  they  do  not  root  deeply,  and  shallow  pots  are  to 
be  preferred.  Those  we  use  for  specimens  are  made 
for  us  by  Messrs.  Adams,  of  the  Potteries,  Belle  Isle, 
King's  Cross ;  they  are  extra  stout  in  substance,  care- 
fully finished,  and  well  burnt,  and  in  proportions  wider 
than  their  depth.  A  favorite  size  with  us  for  medium 
specimens  is  thirteen  inches  wide  (inside),  and  nine 
inches  deep.  In  these  we  allow  our  specimens  to  remain 
two  or  three,  and  even  four  or  five  years,  without  being 
repotted,  though,  as  a  rule,  all  pot  ferns  should  be  re- 
potted annually  in  February  or  [March,  both  to  repair 
the  defects  of  the  drainage  and  remove  effete  soil,  and 
supply  fresh  food  for  maintaining  a  vigorous  growth. 

In  every  case  thorough  drainage  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, and  no  progress  can  be  made  in  fern  culture 
unless  the  operator  pays  especial  attention  to  this 
matter.  As  for  whatever  else  may  be  requisite  to 
crown  vour  labours  with  success,  I  will  endeavour  in 
what  follows  to  indicate  as  clearly  as  I  can,  but  it  is 
very  certain  I  shall  leave  unsaid  much  that  might  be 


101 


The  Fern  Garden. 


said,  but  I  may,  even  thus  far,  have  assisted  you  to 
read  the  Book  of  Nature  to  advantage,  so  that  at  the 
point  where  1  stop  your  studies  will  take  a  better 
direction  under  authority  which  never  fails. 

"  Our  needful  knowledge,  like  our  needful  food, 
Unhedg'd  lies  open  in  life's  common  field." 


ADIANTTJM    FAELEYENSE. 


Fifty  Select  Greenhouse  Ferns,  106 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FIFTY    SELECT    GREENHOUSE    FERNS. 

HE  selections  I  shall  make  in  this  and  the  next 
chapter  will  comprise  ferns  of  the  most  dis- 
tinct and  various  characters,  essential  in  any 
collection  in  which  beauty  and  character  are  the  qualities 
most  desired,  and  all  of  them  suitable  for  beginners  in 
cultivation.  None  of  the  gold  and  silver  ferns  will  be 
included  in  these  selections;  they  will  be  dealt  with 
separately,  as  needing  more  skill  and  care  than  be- 
ginners are  likely  to  bestow  upon  them.  Technical 
descriptions  are  not  to  be  thought  of  in  a  work  of  this 
kind. 

Anemidictyon  phyllitidis,  a  pretty  flowering  fern, 
adapted  for  pot  culture,  or  to  plant  out,  or  for  the  fern 
case. 

Adiantum  assimile,  A.  cuneatum,  A.  formosum,  A. 
fulvum,  A.  tinctum,  a  charming  group,  requiring  shade, 
not  rooting  deep,  and  better  if  they  never  have  water 
over  their  fronds.  They  are  all  adapted  for  specimen 
culture,  the  last  is  one  of  the  most  elegant  in  form 
and  has  a  rosy  purplish  tint  on  its  young  fronds. 

Asplenium  bulbiferum,  A.  caudaturriy  A.  dimidiatum, 
A.  dimorphurrij  A.  hemionitis  (or  palmata),  A.  lucidum, 


106 


The  Fern  Garden. 


.^^jm 


nfr% 


ADIANTITM   CUNEATrjI. 


Fifty  Select  Greenhouse  Ferns.  107 

A.  obtusatum,  A.  prcemorsum.  The  two  most  striking 
of  this  group  are  heraionitis  and  dimorphum,  which 
should  be  first  secured.  As  to  management,  the  merest 
beginner  can  grow  them  well. 

Blechnum  occidentale,  B.  brasiliense,  two  noble  ferns, 
suitable  for  the  greenhouse,  yet  rather  tender,  and 
utterly  incapable  of  bearing  a  touch  of  frost. 

Campyloneurum  phyllitidis,  a  very  distinct  entire 
fronded  fern,  which  forms  a  striking  object  when  well 
grown.  It  is  commonly  kept  in  the  stove,  but  the 
greenhouse  is  the  proper  place  for  it.  The  soil  for  this 
fern  should  be  rich  and  gritty,  containing  plenty  of 
fibre,  but  it  should  not  be  deep,  as  it  is  a  shallow  rooter. 
Abundance  of  water  should  be  given  while  the  plant 
is  growing.  It  is  not  particular  whether  in  sun  or 
shade,  but,  of  course,  will  not  bear  roasting. 

Davallia  canariense,  the  "  Hare's-foot "  fern,  D.  dis- 
secttty  a  charming  pair,  and  the  easiest  of  the  family  to 
grow.  It  is  easy  to  kill  Davailias  by  means  of  heavy 
soil  and  excess  of  water;  equally  easy  to  grow  them 
to  perfection  with  plenty  of  drainage,  a  very  gritty 
soil,  and  water  in  moderation.  The  fleshy  rhizomes 
must  be  pegged  out  upon  the  surface  in  planting  new 
pieces. 

Gleichenia  flabellata  is  the  only  one  of  the  genus  I 
can  recommend  to  a  beginner.  It  is  a  fern  of  large 
growth,  requiring  to  be  carefully  trained  like  a  delicate 
climbing  plant.  Plant  in  a  shallow  pot,  give  plenty  of 
water  and  plenty  of  air.  When  you  have  mastered 
this  one  add  G.  dicarpa  and  G.  speluncce. 

Goniophlebium  appendiculatum,  a  splendid  edition  (we 


108 


The  Fern  Garden, 


mn 


'SK 


'<\ 


m 


CAIIPTLONETJETTM   PHTLLITIDIS. 


Fifty  Select  Greenhouse  Ferns. 


109 


may  call  it)    of   our  own    common   polypody;    Avhen 
young  tinted  with  crimson.     It  requires  a  rather  dry 


DAVALLIA   CA>-AEIEySI3. — THE  HAEE'S-EOOT    FEEX. 

soil ;   so  add  extra  sand  and  a  good  sprinkling  of  fine 


110  The  Fern  Garden, 

potsherds  to  the  compost.  Do  not  wet  the  fronds  at 
all. 

Hypolepis  tenuifolia,  a  finely  divided  brightly  coloured 
fern,  requiring  abundance  of  Avater. 

Litobrochia  incisa,  rather  coarse,  but  worth  having ; 
it  will  take  care  of  itself  almost  anywhere. 

Lastrea  quinqangularis ^  L.  patens^  two  exquisite  gems, 
cheap,  but  not  common.  They  thrive  in  our  cool 
fernery. 

Lomaria  magellanicaj  L.  gibba,  L.  chiliense,  grand 
ferns,  nearly  hardy,  and  indispensable  in  even  the 
smallest  collection.  L.  gibba  will  endure  almost  any 
hardship  except  frost. 

Lygodium  Japonicum,  L.  scandens,  the  two  best 
"  climbing  ferns "  for  a  beginner.  They  may  be 
trained  to  sticks  or  wires  in  the  same  way  as  a  con- 
volvulus. 

Mohria  thurifraga,  a  rich  fern,  good  enough  for  ex- 
hibition. It  thrives  in  the  cool  fernery^  but  is  rather 
tender. 

Nephrodium  molle  corymbiferum,  a  charming  tasselled 
fern,  like  a  cockscomb;  rather  tender,  and  therefore 
pretty  sure  to  be  lost  if  kept  damp  and  cool  in  winter ; 
yet  it  is  a  greenhouse  fern,  and  one  of  the  best. 

Niphobolus  lingua,  N.  rupestris,  pretty  entire-fronded 
ferns,  requiring  a  dry  soil,  with  plenty  of  broken  brick 
and  sand.  Well  adapted  also  for  the  fern  case.  For 
several  years  past  we  have  grown  a  collection  of  ferns 
of  this  class  in  a  sunny  part  of  the  geranium  house, 
and  the  full  blaze  of  the  sun  has  agreed  with  them 
perfectly.     Any  excess  of  moisture  will  kill  them. 


Fifty  Select  GreenJiouse  Ferns. 


Ill 


Nephrolepis  tuber osa  is  the  only  one  of  this  splendid 
family  I  can  recommend  for  the  greenhouse,,  though 
they  are  all  classed  as  greenhouse  ferns  in  trade  cata- 
logues. This,  however,  is  so  distinct,  that  you  must 
have  it  if  you  buy  only  a  dozen. 

Onychium   Japonicum,    a    delicate    fennel-like   fern, 


NEPHEODIUM   MOLIE,    var.    COETaiBIFEEIJM. 

fragile,  fairy  like,  yet   nearly  hardy,   and    always   in 
health,  if  thoroughly  shaded. 

Platyloma  rotundifolia,  very  distinct  and  fine  when 
in  fruit.     It  must  have  deep  shade. 


112 


The  Fern  Garden, 


POLTPODIUM  YENOSUM. 


Fifty  Select  Greenhouse  Ferns.  113 

Poly  podium  venosum  in  the  way  of  Nipliobolus  lingua, 
a  charming  object  when  its  ruddy  fruits  are  ripe.  This 
fern  requires  peculiar  treatment^  and  if  properly  planted 
in  the  first  instance  will  occasion  no  trouble  whatever. 
In  any  case  the  roots  must  be  extra  well  drained,  for 
stagnant  moisture  is  certain  death  to  this  plant.  The 
soil  which  suits  it  best  is  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  gritty 
leaf-mould,  sandy  peat,  and  potsherds  broken  to  the 
size  of  peas.  In  such  a  mixture,  not  more  than  six 
inches  in  depth  (four  inches  is  sufficient),  on  a  bottom 
of  some  material  which  will  allow  of  ready  escape  for 
surplus  moisture,  the  plant  will  do  well,  and  prove  itself 
an  almost  hardy  fern.  Obviously  the  best  way  to  deal 
with  a  plant  so  constituted  is  to  suspend  it.  "When 
grown  in  a  basket  in  a  warm  greenhouse  it  soon  forms 
a  fine  specimen,  the  tawny  rhizome  creeps  about  wildly, 
and  soon  covers  the  basket  with  a  beautiful  complexity 
of  cord -like  windings,  and  from  every  part  of  it,  except 
the  young  pushing  shoots  of  the  season,  barren  and 
fertile  fronds  are  produced  in  plenty.  To  increase  it 
is  easy  enough  j  cut  off  a  portion  of  rhizome  with 
fronds  and  roots  attached ;  pot  it  in  the  same  sort  of 
mixture  as  is  recommended  for  specimen  plants,  and  give 
it  proper  encouragement,  and  it  will  soon  make  a  plant. 

Phlebodium  aureum,  P.  sporodocarpurn,  two  bold 
glaucous  tinted  ferns,  with  ruddy  rhizomes  that  run 
upon  the  surface.  They  are  both  classed  as  stove  ferns 
in  the  books,  but  they  are  as  easy  to  grow  in  a  green- 
house as  any  in  this  list ;  at  all  events  we  can  keep 
them  in  luxuriant  condition  in  the  cool  house.  Plenty 
of  grit  in  the  soil,  and  perfect  drainage. 

8 


114  The  Fern  Garden, 

Polystichum  setosum,  a  lovely  dark  green  fern,  will 
take  care  of  itself  anywhere  in  the  shade. 

Pteris  ternifolia,  P.  hastata,  P.  cretia  albo  lineata, 
P.  scabeynda,  P.  flabellata,  a  fine  group ;  scaberula  runs 
about,  and  should  not  be  put  into  a  case  for  that  reason ; 
but  in  a  basket,  which  will  allow  it  to  peep  out,  it  is 
at  home ;  as  for  the  last  in  the  list  it  is  lovely,  and 
thrives  in  our  cool  house. 

Platycerium  alcicorne  is  absolutely  indispensable  for 
its  curious  habit  and  its  hardiness.  It  will  bear  seven 
or  even  ten  degrees  of  frost,  and  yet  come  right  again, 
but  should  never  be  so  much  punished.  Get  a  block 
of  old  wood,  scoop  out  a  hole,  and  put  in  it  some  fine 
peat,  and  in  that  hole  fix  the  plant  firmly.  Then  hang 
up  the  block  by  means  of  copper  wire,  and  syringe 
frequently  all  the  j^ear  round.  It  will  in  time  cover 
the  block  with  its  tawny  shields  (we  call  them  ^^pot 
lids^^),  and  make  a  grand  object.  A  plant  has  hung 
near  the  roof  of  our  cool  house  for  ten  years,  and  has 
several  times  been  frozen. 

Todea  pellucida  and  T.  siiperba  are  a  pair  of  New 
Zealand  filmy  ferns  of  the  most  exquisite  character.  I 
am  half  afraid  to  recommend  them  to  beginners,  yet 
they  only  want  deep  shade  and  moisture  to  succeed  to 
perfection,  as  they  are  nearly  hardy.  Plenty  of  drain- 
age, plenty  of  patience,  as  little  air  as  possible,  and  all 
will  be  well.  I  have  some  fine  plants  growing  in  a 
disused  (because  leaky)  aquarium;  they  are  in  fine 
condition.  They  are  covered  close  with  a  sheet  of  glass 
and  never  have  any  air  at  all. 

Thamnopteris  australasica  is  too  good  to  be  omitted. 


Fifty  Select  Greenhouse  Ferns. 


115 


PTEEIS   SCABEEIJLA. 


116  The  Fern  Garden. 

You  may  call  it  a  sublime  hartstongue.  It  loves  warmth, 
and  thrives  in  the  stove.  A  little  practice,  however, 
will  suffice  for  its  management  in  a  warm  greenhouse. 
Mr.  Gibson  had  the  daring  to  make  a  bed  of  a  few 
dozens  of  this  fern  in  a  shady  spot  in  Battersea  Park 
in  the  summer  of  1867,  and  not  one  of  them  suffered 
by  exposure  to  the  vulgar  atmosphere  of  this  degenerate 
clime. 

Woodwardia  radicans,  W.  orientalis,  grand  large 
growing  ferns  that  will  bear  many  hardships,  and  yet 
live.  The  first  is  indispensable  to  a  beginner  who  can 
find  room  for  it,  and  as  to  growing  it,  look  at  it  now  and 
then,  and  it  will  be  satisfied ;  the  other  is  of  smaller 
growth,  and  scarcely  less  hardy ;  it  has  a  purplish  tint 
when  growing.  Both  produce  young  plants  in  abund- 
ance on  their  mature  fronds. 

Exhibition  Greenhouse  Ferns. — The  following 
form  a  rich  and  varied  group  of  twelve  adapted  for 
exhibition :  Lomaria  gibha,  Blechnum  brasiliense,  As- 
plenium  dimorphum,  Asplenium  hemionitis  (also  known 
as  Asplenium  palmatum),  Phlebodium  sporodocarpum, 
Pteris  cretica  albo-lineata,  Gleichenia  flabellata,  Micro- 
lepia  platyphyllaj  Nephrolepis  exaltata,  Tliamnopteris 
australasica,  Woodwardia  radicans^  Pteris  flabellata 
var.  crispa. 


-g^i^s^^^g- 


ASPLENIUM     FLABELLIFOLIUM. 
A  pretty   Fern  for    Pots  or   Baskets    in  a  cool  Greenhouse. 


Thirty  Select  Stove  Ferns,  117 


CHAPTEK  XIV. 

THIRTY    SELECT    STOVE    FERNS. 

NEIMIA  coUina,  a  fine  representative  of  an 
interesting  group  of  flowering  ferns.  It  re- 
quires the  most  commonplace  treatment. 

Adiantopsis  radiata,  a  very  distinct  and  elegant  little 
fern ;  the  divisions  of  the  fronds  radiate  in  a  regular 
manner  from  a  common  centre. 

Adiantum  concinnunij  A.  Farleyense,  A.  macrophyUurriy 
A.  tenerum,  A.  trapeziforme  ;  a  splendid  group^  not  one 
of  which  can  be  dispensed  with  in  even  the  smallest 
collection.  A.  Farleyense  might  in  an  offhand  way  be 
pronounced  the  most  beautiful  fern  known^  but  the 
assertion  would  not  bear  criticism^  just  because  there 
are  so  many  beauties  of  the  kind ;  it  is  impossible  to 
decide  which  is  the  best  amongst  them. 

Asplenium  formosum,  A.  serra,  A.  viv'iparum.  The 
second  of  these  is  a  laro-e-o-rowino:  exhibition  fern : 
the  other  two  are  delicate  beauties. 

BJechnum  brasiliense,  a  noble  fern^  well  adapted  for 
exhibition^  and  one  of  the  easiest  to  manage. 

Brainea  insignis,  a  grand  fern,  palm-like  in  growth, 
the  young  fronds  tinged  with  a  lovely  rosy  hue. 

Davallia  polyantha,  D.  aculeata.     The  fronds  of  the 


118  The  Fern  Garden, 

first  have  a  rich  rosy  crimson  tinge  when  young;  the 


DAA^ALLIA    ACULEATA. 


other  is  as  thorny  as  a  bramble,  and  grows  in  the  style 
of  a  climbing  fern. 


Thirty  Select  Stove  Ferns, 


119 


P0LTP0DIU3I   LACHNOPODIUM. 


120  The  Fern  Garden. 

Elaphoglossum  frigidum,  a  curious  and  most  beautiful 
species,  with  entire  wavy,  pendant  fronds,  whicli  are 
covered  with  grey  scales,  giving  it  a  hoary  appearance. 
Nothing  in  its  way  can  surpass  it. 

Gleichenia  'puhescens,  one  of  the  finest  and  easiest 
stove  plants  of  this  section.  Deserves  all  the  care  that 
can  be  given  it  to  form  a  fine  specimen. 

Goniophlebium  fraxinifoliurrij  a  particularly  handsome 
once  divided  fern,  of  a  delicate  pale  green  colour. 

Goniopteris  crenata,  extremely  pretty  when  in  fruit, 
and  well  worth  growing  as  a  specimen. 

Hymenodium  crinitum,  most  distinct  and  beautiful; 
not  in  the  least  resembling  any  other  fern  known ;  the 
fronds  are  like  the  large  leaves  of  some  tropical  tree, 
densely  bearded  with  black  hairs. 

Hemtoniils  palmata,  a  distinct  ivy-like  fern,  bearing 
many  tiny  young  plants  on  its  fronds. 

Lomaria  attenuata,  a  very  pretty  little  blechnum-like 
fern,  the  young  fronds  of  which  have  a  delicate  rosy  hue. 

Lygodium  flexuosum,  the  grandest  of  the  climbing 
ferns;  scarce. 

Nephrodium  glandulosmn,  extremely  pretty  and  pecu- 
liar; the  fronds  once  divided;  shining  green. 

Nephrolepis  exaltata,  N.  pectinata,  the  two  best  table 
and  sideboard  ferns  known,  and  first  rate,  too,  for  the 
centre  of  a  fine  vase  or  large  case  group.  We  have 
lost  many  fine  plants  of  both  species  in  the  endeavour 
to  make  greenhouse  ferns  of  them. 

Polypodiimi  lachnopodum,  P.  Henchmanni,  P.  phy- 
matodeSj  three  fine  and  very  distinct  species;  the  metallic 
blue  colour  of  the  second  is  peculiar  and  pleasing. 


Thirty  Select  Stove  Ferns. 


121 


POLTPODir:M   HZyCHilAyyil. 


122 


The  Fern  Garden, 


POLTPODir^r  PHYITATODES. 


Thirty  Select  Stove  Ferns.  123 

Pleopeltis  membranacea,  a  scarcely  interesting  fern 
at  first,  but  one  likely  to  become  a  special  pet  in  time. 
It  dies  down  completely  in  winter,  and  comes  up  again 
in  the  spring.  The  fronds  are  undivided,  and  bear  a 
remote  resemblance  to  lettuce  leaves.  We  have  had 
some  plants  five  or  six  years  in  an  unheated  case,  but 
it  is  delicate,  and  most  at  home  in  the  stove. 

Pteris  argyrea,  P.  aspericaulis,  two  richly  variegated 
ferns,  which  are  very  subject  to  attacks  of  thrips  if 
kept  in  a  dry  air.  P.  tricolor  is  a  favourite  which  I  do 
not  recommend  because  troublesome  to  grow,  and 
scarcely  worth  growing. 

Platycerium  grande  is  the  finest  of  the  stages  horn 
fernsj  and  though  usually  described  as  a  greenhouse 
plants  attains  a  far  finer  development  in  the  stove.  Fix 
it  on  a  block  of  wood,  and  suspend  it,  or  put  a  block 
in  a  pot,  and  place  the  plant  near  it,  so  that  it  can  take 
hold  and  cover  the  block  in  its  own  way. 

Exhibition  Stove  Ferns. — The  following  form  a 
rich  and  varied  group  of  twelve  adapted  for  exhibition : 
Adiantum  Farleyense,  Adiantum  trapezlforme,  Hymeno- 
dium  crinitum,  Aspidium  macrophyllum  (also  known 
as  Cardiochlcena  macrophylld),  Asplenium  myriophyllum 
(also  known  as  Asplenium  cicutarimn),  Asplenium  serra, 
Drynaria  morbillosa,  Gleichenia  dichotoma,  Lygodium 
flexuosnm,  Nephrolepis  davallioides,  Platycerium  grande^ 
and  Pteris  argyrea. 


-+-o©^^iU^=^M- 


124  The  Fern  Garden, 


CHAPTER  XY. 

GOLD    AND    SILVER    FERN'S. 

i^^^OXE  of  the  so-called  o;old  and  silver  ferns  are 
K^ysi\  adapted  for  beginners.  They  are  so  superbly 
.j^T^-^.'  beautiful  that  people  altogether  unaccustomed 
to  ferns  buy  tliern  and  put  them  in  greenhouses^  sup- 
posing that  watering  now  and  then  is  all  the  care  they 
wantj  and  in  the  course  of  a  month  or  so  the  plants  die, 
and  an  absurd  inference  is  drawn  from  the  occun^ence 
that  ferns  in  general  are  impossible  things.  It  is  quite 
certain  that  a  veiy  large  number  of  maidenhair  ferns 
are  killed  by  ladies  who  pretend  to  love  ferns  and  really 
have  no  real  care  for  them  at  all ;  but  probably  there 
are  more  gymnogrammas  killed  through  absurd  treat- 
ment than  any  other  class  of  ferns  whatever.  Yet  they 
require  but  little  more  care  than  most  others ;  their 
peculiarity  is  that  if  that  care  is  denied  them  they  die 
outright ;  whereas  many  other  kinds  survive  neglect 
and  iU-treatment_,  and  regain  their  cheerful  looks  ^^in 
no  time  ^^  if  proper  treatment  is  resorted  to. 

If  we  could  repeat  in  an  intensified  form  all  the 
cautions  that  have  been  given  in  this  work  up  to  this 
point  we  should  have  a  practical  code  for  the  cultivation 
of  gold  and  silver  ferns.     Instead  of  attempting  that,  I 


Gold  and  Silver  Ferns.  125 

will  sketch  out  a  code  in  a  very  few  words,  begging-  tlie 
reader  to  regard  each  word  as  pregnant  with  meaning, 
each  hint  and  direction  as  involving  for  the  ferns  issues 
of  life  or  deaths  as  they  may  be  observed^  trifled  with, 
or  ignored.  The  pots  must  never  be  larger  than  the 
plants  can  soon  fill  with  roots.  They  must  be  very 
carefully  drained  by  means  of  potsherds  packed  with 
the  greatest  care.  The  soil  should  consist  of  good 
fibrous  peat  and  a  large  proportion  of  sharp  siliceous 
grit ;  silver  sand  is  almost  too  fine,  but  must  be  used  if 
nothing  more  granular  is  obtainable.  The  plants  must 
be  potted  firmly  with  the  crowns  well  above  the 
surface.  Thenceforward  the  temperature  and  the 
degree  of  humidity  are  of  the  utmost  importance. 
Only  a  small  proportion  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  ferns 
in  cultivation  require  the  heat  of  the  stove,  but  not  one 
of  them  will  endure  a  lower  temperature  than  that  of 
the  house  it  properly  belongs  to.  Thus,  there  are  many 
stove  ferns  that  thrive  in  a  greenhouse,  and  many  green- 
house kinds  that  do  well  in  an  unheated  house.  But 
it  is  not  so  with  those  before  us ;  they  are  not  accom- 
modating, they  are  exacting,  and  must  be  humoured  to 
their  whim.  As  to  moisture  none  of  them  will  bear 
much )  to  make  them  very  wet  is  to  put  them  in 
jeopardy.  But  on  the  other  hand  to  let  them  go  dry  is 
certain  death.  The  principal  enemies  that  make  war 
against  them  as  cultivated  plants  are  imperfect  drainage, 
heavy  soil,  cold,  damp,  and  drought.  In  no  case  should 
the  fronds  be  wetted  by  the  use  of  the  syringe.  The 
little  that  I  have  said  compasses  the  whole  subject,  and 
the  observant  cultivator,  who  is  also  diligent  and  con- 


126  The  Fern  Garden. 

stant  in  his  work,  will  find  that  the  secret  of  success 
with  this  class  of  ferns  is  unremitting  attention. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  best  gold  and 
silver  ferns  in  cultivation  ; 

Adiantum  sulphureum,  the  Golden  Maidenhair.  This 
exquisite  plant  only  needs  careful  greenhouse  treatment. 

Cheilanthes  argentea,  a  delicate  silver  fern;  green- 
house. C.  borsigiana,  golden ;  stove.  C.  farinosa, 
silver;  a  fine  species  very  distinct,  requiring  great  care; 
stove.  C.  fragrans,  a  lovely  little  gem  tinged  with 
orange,  well  adapted  for  greenhouse  or  case.  When 
dried  agreeably  fragrant.  C.  elegans,  silvery^  a  most 
delicate  and  much  prized  fern,  best  grown  in  a  warm 
greenhouse,  in  a  compost  of  lumpy  peat  and  broken 
bricks  or  stone.  C.  pulveracea,  the  under  side  silvery, 
the  edges  golden  :  a  fine  companion  to  C.  farinosa,  and 
needing  the  same  treatment. 

Gymnogramma  chrtjsophyUa,  the  finest  of  all  gold 
ferns ;  it  must  be  grown  in  the  stove.  G.  Peruviana 
argyrophylla,  silvery-grey  on  both  surfaces,  a  splendid 
stove  fern.  G.  ochracea,  slightly  golden,  easy  to  grow, 
but  needing  to  be  kept  in  t?ie  stove  all  winter.  G.  sul- 
phurea,  a  pretty  little  plant,  light  green  above,  sulphur- 
yellow  beneath ;  must  have  stove  treatment.  G.  Tar- 
tar ea,  the  under  side  of  the  fronds  pure  silvery-white, 
the  best  of  all  silver  ferns  for  beginners ;  it  thrives  in 
the  stove,  but  may  be  kept  in  good  condition  in  a  green- 
house. 

Nothochlcena  argentea,  a  fine  silvery  companion  to 
Cheilanthes  farinosa,  and  requiring  similar  care.  N. 
fiavens,  an  exquisitely  beautiful  miniature  golden  fern; 


Tree  Ferns. 


127 


a   good    companion  for   N.   nivea,    which   is   equally 
diminutive  and  densely  powdered  with  silvery  farina. 


GONIOPTEEIS    CEENATA. 


128  The  Fern  Garden. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


TREE    FERNS. 


REE  ferns  have  been  brought  within  the  reach 
of  fern  growers  who  happen  not  to  be 
millionaires,  by  the  enterprise  of  trade  col- 
lectors, and  may  be  purchased  according  to  size,  rarity, 
&c.,  at  from  five  guineas  each  and  onwards.  Those, 
however,  who  would  like  to  grow  their  own,  and  who 
are  blest  with  the  needful  patience,  may  obtain  young 
plants  to  begin  with  at  from  five  to  fifty  shillings  each. 
There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  purchasing  young 
plants  ;  they  are  extremely  ornamental,  and  the  green- 
house kinds  will  thrive  in  the  shady  parts  of  a  con- 
servatory where  scarcely  anything  else  would  grow. 
If  it  is  intended  to  embark  in  the  purchase  of  fine 
specimen  tree  ferns  it  will  be  important  to  consider 
first  the  space  available,  for  the  spread  of  a  fine 
Dicksonia  or  Cyathea  is  considerable,  and  it  is  not  good 
for  them  to  rub  their  fronds  against  the  glass  roof, 
however  carefully  it  may  be  shaded. 

There  are  no  species  of  filices  more  easy  to  cultivate 
than  such  as  are  classed  as  "tree  ferns/^  The  soil 
should  be  the  best  peat  in  a  rough  state,  with  but  little 
sand  added ;  the  addition,  however,  of  sphagnum  moss 


Tree  Ferns  and  Lycopodiums,  129 

or  cocoa-nut  fibre  improves  the  peat  for  the  purpose. 
Large  pots  or  tubs  are  needful ;  the  roots  will  bear  a 
certain  amount  of  cramping^  but  as  a  free  growth  is 
desirable — in  fact  essential — both  to  maintain  the  health 
besides  developing  the  beauty  of  the  plants,  as  much 
pot  room  must  be  allowed  as  possible,  consistent  with 
the  sizes  of  the  plants  and  the  place  they  are  kept  in. 
Shade  is  of  the  first  importance,  abundance  of  moisture 
is  indispensable. 

The  most  desirable  greenhouse  tree  ferns  are  Dick- 
sonia  antardica,  D.  squarrosa,  Alsophila  australis,  A. 
excelsa,  Cyathea  dealbata.  The  first  named  is  the 
most  useful  and  is  extremely  likely  to  prove  a  hardy 
plant  for  sheltered  shady  dells  in  the  south-western 
parts  of  England  and  the  warmer  parts  of  Ireland.  The 
beginner  should  avoid  Alsophila  capensis  as  risky,  and 
the  expert  need  be  in  no  hurry  to  obtain  it. 

The  most  desirable  tree  ferns  for  the  stove  are 
Alsophila  g I auc a,  A.  armata,  Cibotium  scheidei,  Cyathea 
arborea,  C.  microlepis. 

Let  us  now  suppose  that  some  obliging  friend  in 
Australia  makes  you  a  present  of  a  lot  of  tree  ferns. 
He  has  found  some  specimens  with  stems  from  four  to 
five,  or  even  six  feet  long ;  he  has  cut  away  all  the 
fronds,  and  dug  them  up,  without  taking  the  trouble  of 
saving  any  of  the  roots.  In  fact,  they  are  stems  and 
nothing  more — stems,  sans  fronds,  sans  roots,  sans 
everything.  He  leaves  them  out  in  the  air  for  a  few 
days  to  dry,  and  then  packs  them  with  shavings  in  a 
box ;  let  him  be  especially  careful  that  this  box  be  not 
air-tight — that  is  their  greatest  danger.     In  this  way 

9 


130  The  Fern  Garden. 

they  generally  come  with  pretty  good  success,  a  large 
majority  of  them  quite  safely.  And  now,  as  we  unpack 
them,  let  them  be  placed  upright  in  some  close,  cool, 
dark  corner — under  the  stage  of  a  greenhouse  is  as  good 
a  place  as  they  can  have.  Give  them  a  syringing  once 
a  day  for  the  first  week,  and  after  that  two  or  three 
times  a  day ;  never  allow  them  to  get  quite  dry.  By 
the  end  of  a  fortnight,  or  even  sooner,  you  will  observe 
the  points  of  new  roots  starting  out  upon  the  stem,  and 
the  closely  coiled-up  fronds  in  the  centre  to  be  pushing 
upwards. 

They  may  now  be  safely  potted.  I  have  no  faith  in 
exact  proportions  for  mixing  soils,  and  my  candid 
opinion  is  that  the  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil  has 
more  influence  than  anything  else.  Let  it  then,  above 
all  things,  be  open  and  porous.  Use  pots  as  small  as 
you  can  in  the  first  place,  and  shift  them  from  time  to 
time  as  the  plants  may  require  it,  using  rough  peaty 
soil  as  before.  If  allowed  to  become  pot-bound,  the 
fronds  soon  dwindle  in  size.  Keep  them  always  moist 
at  the  root,  and  during  nine  months  of  the  year  the 
stem  should  be  kept  constantly  moist.  This  can  easily 
be  done  without  wetting  the  fronds  much,  which  is  not 
always  beneficial.  Do  not  expose  your  plants  to 
draughts  of  dry  air,  and  be  sure  to  shade  them  from 
bright  sunshine.  Following  these  simple  rules,  your 
tree-ferns  will  be  an  ever-increasing  source  of  pleasure. 


Fern  Allies,  131 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


FERN    ALLIES. 


LYCOPODIUMS^  SELAGINELLAS^  PEPPER-WORTS^  HORSE- 
TAILS, AND  MOSSES. 

OWEVER  slightly  the  cultivator  of  ferns  may 
be  interested  in  their  technical  classification  and 
botanical  affinities,  it  is  impossible  to  proceed  far 
in  the  practice  without  being  attracted  by  the  beauties  of 
certain  plants  which  are  not  ferns,  but  cousins-german 
to  them.  A  tuft  of  club  moss  in  a  marsh  or  of  horsetail 
in  a  damp  and  tangled  hedgerow  will  arrest  attention, 
and  the  beginner  may  ask  the  question — "  Is  this  a 
fern?'"'  and  when  assured  that  it  is  not  one,  will  pro- 
bably ask  again,  "What  is  it  ?^^  In  the  greenhouse  and 
the  stove  the  moss-like  selaginellas,  usually  called  lyco- 
podiums,  associate  with  ferns  as  their  proper  companions, 
requiring  similar  treatment  and  being  obviously  allied 
in  structure  and  habits.  On  this  border  land  there  is 
entertainment  for  the  curious ;  a  knowledge  of  the  dis- 
tinctive character  of  the  tribes  of  plants  that  haunt  it 
will  prove,  like  many  other  kinds  of  knowledge,  abun- 
dantly remunerative  to  those  who  will  earnestly  seek  it, 
and  the  lover  of  vegetable  beauty,  who  may  be  indis- 
posed to  pore  over  books  or  labour  with  the  microscope 
will  discover  here  many  gratifications. 


133  The  Fern  Garden. 

The  true  ferns  may  be  traced  through  many  grada- 
tions of  physiological  structure  with  comparatively 
little  trouble.  At  all  events  when  the  botanists  have 
classified  them,  it  needs  no  subtlety  of  perception  to 
determine  that  the  adder's  tongue  and  moonwort  ferns 
are  the  lowest  in  the  scale,  and  that  their  very  exist- 
ence is  suggestive  of  a  gradation  of  similar  forms  late- 
rally or  vertically  separated  from  them  to  which  these 
least  fern-like  ferns  serve  as  connecting  links.  The 
plants  that  are  closest  allied  to  the  ferns  are  the  Lyco- 
podiumsj  the  Selaginellas^  the  Pepperworts,  the  Horse- 
tailsj  and  the  Mosses.  After  these  we  get  amongst 
lichens  and  fungi,  and  as  we  must  stop  somewhere, 
the  foregoing  five  families  are  all  we  shall  recognise  for 
the  purposes  of  this  chapter.  Each  family  contributes 
beautiful  plants  adapted  for  the  fern  garden,  and  as  for 
the  selagineilas  they  are  all  beautiful,  and  we  make 
selections  from  amongst  them,  because  usually  we 
cannot  find  room  for  the  fifty  or  more  species  and 
rmeties  known  to  cultivators. 

Lycopodiums  and  Selagineilas  closely  resemble 
mosses  in  their  branches  and  leaves,  while  in  many  of 
their  general  characters  and  aspects  they  bear  close 
resemblances  to  ferns.  They  are,  however,  distinct 
from  either,  and  are  especially  characterised  by  the 
nature  of  their  leaves  and  their  fructification.  There  is 
one  broad  distinction  between  lycopodiums  and  sela- 
gineilas, which  the  beginner  may  bear  in  mind  with 
advantage.  Lycopodiums  have  imbricated  leaves  all  of 
the  same  shape  spirally  arranged.  Selagineilas  have 
leaves  of  two  sizes  and  slightly  differing  in  form.     You 


Fern  Allies.  133 

will  not  readily  perceive  these  distinctions,  but  look  at  a 
fresh  branch  of  Selaginella  with  the  aid  of  a  lens,  and 
you  will  see  that  between  the  evident  leaves  which 
stand  right  and  left  there  are  smaller  tooth-like  leaves 
arranged  in  the  manner  of  bracts  ;  such  leaves  as  these 
you  will  never  find  in  a  true  lycopodium.  The  distinc- 
tions that  depend  upon  fructification  are  more  subtle, 
and  to  describe  them  would  render  these  pages  weari- 
some. Better  is  it  to  quit  this  part  of  the  subject  at 
once  and  consider  the  several  families  named  above  as 
subjects  for  cultivation. 

LycoPODirMs. — The  British  Lycopodiums  are  scarcely 
worth  cultivating,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  best 
endeavours  have  invariably  failed.  They  are  not 
without  beauty;  indeed,  when  we  meet  with  a  large 
patch  of  L.  clavatum,  forming  a  green  mat  two  or  three 
yards  over  on  a  tract  of  heath,  we  are  compelled  to 
admire,  and  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  tempted  by  the  wish 
to  grow  the  plant  to  a  similar  state  of  perfection  in  our 
own  gardens.  So,  again,  L.  annotinum,  the  most  dis- 
tinct of  all ;  and  L.  alpinum,  a  charming  evergreen  tuft 
that  may  be  mistaken  for  a  savin,  are  well  worthy  of 
further  attempts  at  their  domestication.  I  must  con- 
fess that  I  have  tried  them  aU  and  failed  with  all  except 
L.  inundatum,  which  I  have  had  no  trouble  with,  for  it 
grows  freely  with  me  in  the  simple  way  I  manage  it, 
which  is  to  bring  home  with  me  some  of  the  soil  from 
the  bog  I  find  the  plant  growing  in,  and  having  potted 
it  in  this,  I  keep  the  pot  always  standing  in  a  pan  of 
water.  Plenty  of  fresh  air  it  must  have,  or  it  will  not 
last. 


134  The  Fern  Garden. 

L.  selago,  the  Fir-club  moss,  is  a  noble  species,  quite 
common  on  stony  mountain  tracts,  a  plant  of  great 
interest  too  on  account  of  its  medicinal  properties.  la 
the  open  fernery,  probably,  air  our  British  species  would 
thrive  if  taken  up  in  large  masses  and  planted  in  fully 
exposed  positions  in  soil  specially  prepared  to  resemble 
that  of  their  original  sites.  With  them  should  be  asso- 
ciated an  American  species,  L.  lucidulum,  which 
closely  resembles  our  L.  selago,  but  is  of  a  shining 
dark-green  colour.  This  thrives  in  peat  soil  in  the 
open  fernery  if  favoured  with  shade  and  moisture. 

Selaginellas. — Amongst  these  occur  so  many  lovely 
forms  of  vegetation,  that  we  can  safely  say  for  the 
guidance  of  the  cultivator,  the  larger  the  collection  the 
better.  The  delicate  cushion-like  growth  of  S.  apoda, 
scarcely  to  be  equalled  by  any  of  the  true  mosses,  is 
unique  for  beauty.  It  will  suggest  to  the  reader  of 
Milton  the  description  of  the  home  life  of  the  matchless 
pair  in  the  happy  garden — 

"  Of  grassy  turf  their  table  was, 
And  mossy  seats  had  round." 

The  metallic  blue  of  S.  Icevigata  (S.  caesium)  is  posi- 
tively marvellous,  yet  the  plant  is  common  and  will 
grow  in  any  moist  warm  close  spot,  scarcely  needing 
warmth  or  daylight,  though  growing  the  better  for 
a  little  of  both.  In  S.  rubricaulis  we  have  the  colours 
of  the  red  coral  and  the  emerald  combined ;  in  S.  for- 
mosa  we  have  a  charming  semblance  to  a  fern,  yet  a  kind 
of  beauty  which  no  fern  possesses. 

In  practice  we  find  them  all  adaptable  to  cool  houses 


Fern  Allies,  135 

and  unheated  cases,  but  to  grow  them  in  perfection 
warmth  is  essential^  and  they  may  all  be  treated  as 
stove  plants,  and  wherever  there  is  a  suitable  place 
for  them,  so  surely  ought  this  class  of  plants  to  be 
strongly  represented,  for  they  are  quite  at  home,  and 
thrive  where  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  keep  any 
other  plant  in  a  healthy  growing  state,  even  if  it  could 
be  persuaded  to  drag  out  an  existence,  which  would 
not  be  at  all  likely  to  compliment  the  cultivator  for  the 
skill  and  trouble  expended  upon  it.  It  greatly  en- 
hances the  attractions  of  the  fern  house  to  distribute 
the  selaginellas  amongst  large  specimen  plants,  where 
they  can  have  the  advantage  of  the  shade  from  them, 
putting  them,  of  course,  so  as  they  can  be  readily  seen, 
for  it  is  no  use  to  put  a  light  under  a  bushel.  They 
are  also  well  suited  to  stand  amongst  strong-growing 
ferns,  for  the  spreading  nature  of  the  fronds  of 
the  ferns  prevents  the  pots  being  set  close  to  each 
other,  thus  giving  ample  room  to  stand  dwarf- 
growing  plants,  which  require  similar  treatment  and  a 
deeper  intensity  of  shade  than  the  ferns.  They  will, 
however,  grow  well  in  a  house  with  a  suitable  tempera- 
ture if  there  are  no  other  plants  of  any  description  but 
them  in  it,  provided  that  the  house  is  properly  shaded. 
Mv  reason  for  susffestino;  the  suitabilitv  of  these  plants 
for  growing  between  others  of  larger  size  is  this — the 
stove  is  generally  of  limited  extent,  so  that  every  inch 
of  space  is  required  to  be  made  available  for  growing 
something  or  other,  and  there  is  always  space  between 
large  specimen  plants,  although  their  fronds  may  meet 
overhead,  suitable  for  growing  dwarf  plants  like  these. 


136  The  Fern  Garden. 

thus  leaving  the  other  space,  which  has  the  advantage 
of  the  full  light,  available  for  growing  other  subjects. 

The  best  mode  of  growing  fine  specimens  is  in  pans, 
for  they  are  shallow  rooting  plants,  and  do  not  require 
a  great  depth  of  soil.  By  adopting  pans  we  are  enabled 
to  give  them  a  much  larger  space  to  spread  over  than 
would  be  practicable  in  pots.  Pans  of  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter  are  a  very  convenient  size  for  strong- 
growing  kinds,  whilst  for  the  moss-like  sorts  of  dwarf 
growth  a  smaller  size  is  far  better.  The  pans  should 
have  about  an  inch  of  drainage  crocks  broken  rather 
fine,  a  layer  of  rough  peat,  and  then  must  be  filled  up 
with  a  compost  consisting  of  peat,  loam,  leaf-mould, 
and  silver  sand,  equal  parts.  This  should  be  pressed 
firm,  a  layer  of  sand  put  over  it,  and  the  cuttings  laid 
on  and  pegged  down.  The  cuttings  should  be  good- 
sized  pieces.  I  take  them  ofi"  at  the  base,  close  to  the 
soil,  which  is  better  than  the  tops,  and  if  they  are  pro- 
perly attended  to,  they  will  soon  take  root  and  cover 
the  pans.  It  is  best  to  keep  them  renewed  in  this  way 
than  keep  a  lot  of  old  plants ;  for  when  they  are  old 
they  are  bad,  and  get  broken  about,  and  bear  no  com- 
parison to  young  healthy  plants.  The  metallic  lined 
l(jevigata  can  be  kept  in  good  trim  by  cutting  it  down 
to  the  pan  when  it  becomes  a  bad  colour,  and  if  it  has 
a  little  fine  soil  and  sand,  or  sand  alone  sprinkled  over 
it,  and  set  in  a  warm  corner,  it  will  soon  recover.  Un- 
less kept  in  deep  shade  this  charming  plant  soon  loses 
its  exquisite  colour. 

Kinds  which  have  in<equifolia  and  viticulosa  for  their 
type  require  a  slightly  diff'erent  method  of  treatment  in 


Fern  Allies.  137 

their  propagation.  Instead  of  laying  the  pieces  on  the 
top  of  the  soil,  the  old  plant  should  be  taken  out  of 
the  pan,  divided  into  small  pieces,  and  dibbed  a  few 
inches  apart  in  fresh  soil,  in  pans  about  nine  inches  in 
diameter,  and  as  they  cover  the  pans  be  shifted  into 
larger  sizes  according  to  their  requirements ;  they  are 
slower  growing  than  the  others,  and  do  not  make  large 
plants  so  quickly.  Any  time  of  the  year  will  do  for 
the  propagation,  but  autumn  is  the  best;  for  during 
the  winter  the  cuttings  get  rooted  if  kept  warm  enough, 
and  with  the  return  of  spring  grow  freely  and  soon 
make  handsome  tufts.  All  the  kinds  which  are  of 
moss-like  growth,  and  form  rootlets  on  their  stems,  are 
adapted  to  cover  rocky  surfaces  in  the  fern  house. 
Just  sprinkle  a  little  sand  or  peat  on  the  rock  or  brick, 
and  upon  this  prepared  surface  press  a  few  pieces  of 
denticulata,  apoda,  densa,  obtusa,  and  others  of  like 
habit,  give  a  sprinkle  daily  with  the  syringe,  and  they 
will  soon  take  hold  and  spread  and  form  charming 
little  carpets  of  the  most  delicate  vegetation.  Speci- 
men plants  in  pans  will  need  frequent  syringing  when 
growing  vigorously,  but  as  the  damp  days  of  autumn 
approach,  syringing  must  be  practised  less,  and  during 
winter  must  be  discontinued  altogether. 

As  there  are  few  cultivators  who  can  find  room  for 
all  the  Selaginellas,  a  selection  of  the  most  distinct  and 
beautiful  will  be  useful. 

Greenhouse  Selaginellas. — S.  stolonifera,  green 
and  tree-like.  S.  formosa,  green,  tree-like,  massive.  S. 
microphylla,  green,  slender,  tree-like,  red-stemmed. 
S.  uncinata,   blue,  prostrate,  wiry.     S.   apoda,   green, 


138  The  Fern  Garden. 

moss-like,  one  of  the  best.  S.  denticulata,  green,  well 
known,  one  of  the  most  useful.  There  is  a  white- 
tipped  variety  which  makes  beautiful  tufts  in  green- 
house or  stove.  S.  Willdenoviy  green,  fern-like,  very 
hardy;  one  of  the  best.  S.  lepidophylla,  dark  green, 
like  a  miniature  cedar  tree.  This  is  the  American 
"  Resurrection  plant.^*  S,  ohtusa,  green,  moss-like, 
beautiful. 

Stove  Selaginellas. — /S.  rubricaulis,  red-stemmed, 
tree-like.  S.  laevigata,  blue,  a  splendid  climbing  plant, 
well  adapted  for  the  fern  case  or  to  train  as  a  climber. 
S.  jamaicensisj  phosphorescent,  a  delicate  little  gem. 

Pepper-worts. — These  plants  are  known  in  botany 
as  the  Marsileacece ;  they  are  for  the  most  part  insig- 
nificant and  would  have  no  place  in  this  chapter  were 
it  not  for  the  peculiar  merit  of  one  of  the  family  which 
many  fern-growers  would  like  to  possess.  This  is  the 
Marsilea  macropus,  the  Nardoo  plant  of  Australian  ex- 
plorers, the  plant  mentioned  as  the  last  resource  against 
starvation  in  the  tragic  story  of  the  Burke  and  Wills 
exploring  expedition.  This  species  may  easily  be  taken 
at  first  sight  for  a  large-leaved  oxalis,  or  trefoil,  owing 
to  the  peculiar  divisions  of  its  leaves.  It  may  be  grown 
with  the  greatest  ease  in  a  pot  of  spongy  peat  kept 
constantly  plunged  in  one  or  two  inches  depth  of  water. 
M.  quadrifolia,  a  native  of  Germany,  is  also  a  pretty 
species,  but  it  has  no  story  to  recommend  it  like  the 
other. 

Horsetails  or  Equisetums. — There  is  a  rather 
troublesome  weed,  of  very  elegant  structure  and  curious 
history,  met  with  in  undrained  clay  and  loamy  soils ; 


Fern  Allies.  139 

it  is  of  a  pale  green  colour,  and  consists  of  a  tough  and 
rather  decumbent  stem,  surrounded  with  whorls  of 
thread-like  branches,  its  true  leaves,  if  it  has  any,  being 
in  the  form  of  minute  scales,  placed  around  points  or 
rings  which  occur  at  regular  intervals  on  the  stems. 
The  plant  is  known  to  country  people  as  the  "  horse- 
taiF^  or  '^  mare^s-tail,"  and  in  botany  is  called  Equi- 
setum  arvense,  the  field  Equisetum.  Though  a  trouble- 
some weed,  and  one  that  is  detested  where  it  grows 
plentifully,  it  is  w^ell  worth  a  place  in  the  fernery,  and 
when  planted  in  a  shady  bank  of  peat,  it  spreads  fast, 
and  makes  its  appearance  in  all  sorts  of  places,  but  does 
not  drive  better  things  out  of  the  way,  or  even  render 
itself  objectionable.  I  have  some  of  it  in  a  shady  part 
of  my  fernery,  and  very  much  enjoy  the  mixture  of  its 
elegant  light  green  spray  with  such  ferns  as  Onoclea 
sensibilis,  and  others  that  have  bold-looking  fronds. 
Those  who  know  this  plant,  as  probably  most  of  our 
readers  do,  will  be,  perhaps,  prejudiced  in  favour  of  the 
genus  to  which  it  belongs.  But  whether  such  be  the 
case  or  not,  I  wish  to  recommend  these  plants  to  the 
notice  of  fern-growers,  as  suited  to  contribute  in  a 
special  manner  to  the  interest  of  a  collection  of  acro- 
genous  plants.  I  have  all  the  species  that  are  known, 
and  one  of  them  I  consider  the  most  elegant  of  all 
plants  ever  seen  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  This  gem 
is  called  Equisetum  sylvaticum,  one  stem  of  which  is 
represented  in  the  accompanying  figure.  If  the  reader 
can  imagine  a  nine-inch  pot,  with  about  fifty  of  these 
stems  crowded  together  in  it,  all  of  them  arching  over 
with  exquisite  grace,  like  feathers  from  the  tails  of  bii'ds 


140 


The  Fern  Garden, 


EQTTTSETUM   STLVATICUM. 


Fern  Allies.  141 

of  Paradise,  the  colour  the  most  tender  shade  of  emerald 
green,  no  apology  will  be  needed  for  calling  attention 
to  it  in  these  pages,  for  it  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  most 
desirable  of  plants  for  the  fern  garden. 

Equisetum  sylvaticum  is  a  British  plant,  very  scarce 
generally,  but  plentiful  enough  in  some  districts.  When 
met  with  it  is  usually  in  a  peaty  soil,  beside  a  water-course 
in  a  shady  wood,  or  on  a  bank  beside  a  ditch  overhung 
with  trees  and  rank  herbage  ;  always  in  a  moist,  shady 
spot,  and  if  not  in  peat,  in  some  light  soil  of  similar 
nature.  My  best  plants  in  pots  are  kept  under  a 
stage,  and  have  all  the  drip  that  results  from  the 
watering  of  plants  above  them,  besides  the  water  given 
them  in  the  usual  way,  and  their  appearance  is  so 
delightful,  they  so  fascinate  me  that  I  never  enter  the 
house  where  they  are  kept  without  having  a  peep  at 
them.  They  are  to  me  a  feast  which  never  satiates, 
though  I  sometimes  become  tired  of  flowers,  especially 
after  I  have  for  weeks  constantly  been  visiting  great 
gardens,  and  comparing  and  criticising  bedding  effects. 
We  have  it  also  planted  out  in  the  shadiest  and  dampest 
part  of  a  rockery,  in  a  cool  fernery,  and  also  in  a 
shady  part  of  the  fernery  out-of-doors.  It  increases 
fast,  and  may,  if  desirable,  be  parted  annually  in  spring 
when  it  begins  to  grow ;  but  to  make  a  fine  specimen 
it  should  not  be  parted,  but  be  shifted  to  a  larger  and 
larger  pot  every  year,  and  this  should  be  done  without 
breaking  the  ball  when  the  plant  is  shifted ;  no,  not 
even  the  crocks  should  be  removed. 

Another  grand  species  is  Equisetum  ielmateia,  which 
is  of  more  robust    habit  than  the  last,   with  regular 


142  The  Fern  Garden. 

whorls  of  branches,  which  differ  from  those  of  sylvaticum, 
that  they  do  not  branch  again.  This  grows  on  dry 
sandy  banks,  and  is  tolerably  common,  especially  in  the 
southern  parts  of  England.  It  grows  finely  in  the 
rockery  if  planted  in  a  shady  spot,  and  though  found 
wild  in  very  dry  positions,  I  have  never  found  it  suc- 
ceed except  in  a  damp  position,  unless  assisted  with 
frequent  watering.     Sandy  peat  is  the  best  soil  for  it. 

Another  and  most  beautiful  species  is  E.  umbrosum. 
This  is  very  distinct  and  very  rare.  The  whorls  of 
branches  are  rather  crowded,  and  they  all  rise  at  a 
regular  angle,  and  gracefully  arch  over  at  their  ends. 
This  grows  in  very  shady  places,  and  requires  the  same 
kind  of  cultivation. 

Equisetum  palustre  is  another  exquisitely  beautiful 
plant.  By  many  this  will  be  considered  more  beauti- 
ful than  sylvaticum,  for  the  slender  branches  divide 
and  subdivide  into  the  most  hair-like  ramifications ; 
indeed,  it  looks  as  if  constructed  of  hair,  but  in  a 
manner  that  would  be  impossible  to  human  fingers  even 
if  only  in  imitation  of  its  beauty.  This  grows  in  bogs, 
and  therefore  when  under  cultivation  must  have  a  damp 
position  and  plent}-  ol  water. 

I  have  also  plants  of  E.  fluviatile,  which  grows  in 
water ;  E.  hyemale,  also  a  water  plant ;  E.  Mackaii, 
which  loves  moisture,  and  E.  varieffatum,  which  will 
grow  well  under  almost  any  circumstances.  But  these 
four  have  no  beauty.  They  are  like  rushes,  tall, 
rigid,  without  branches,  very  pretty  in  a  certain  sense 
in  their  construction,  but  are  likely  to  interest  only 
«uch  as  are  devoted  to  the  study  of  these  plants. 


Fern  Allies.  143 

Mosses. — Though  we  rarely  meet  with  these  as 
special  objects  of  cultivation^  a  large  number  of  the 
most  beautiful  may  be  grown  with  but  little  difficulty 
in  an  outdoor  fernery,  and  a  few  are  well  adapted  for 
cool  house  and  frame  culture.  TVhere  ferns  are  well 
managed  mosses  are  sure  to  appear  amongst  them 
spontaneously,,  and  add  very  much  to  the  beauty  of  the 
rockery  by  the  tone  of  age  and  ripeness  they  give  it. 
In  the  '  Floral  World '  of  February,  1869,  the  writer 
of  this  gave  his  experience  at  length  upon  this  subject. 
Those  who  are  particularly  interested  in  it  may  peruse 
the  article  with  advantage. 

In  collecting  mosses  for  cultivation,  they  should  be 
taken  with  a  thin  slice  of  whatever  they  may  be  grow- 
ing upon  adhering  to  the  roots.  Thus  obtained,  they 
will  grow  freely,  and  spread  in  all  directions.  But 
when  they  are  rudely  torn  from  pieces  of  rock,  the 
roots  are  injured,  and  the  specimens  suffer  in  con- 
sequence, frequently  resulting  in  their  death.  All  the 
mosses  require  a  liberal  supply  of  moisture  at  all 
seasons,  to  keep  them  in  full  health.  A  better  proof 
of  the  truth  of  this  assertion  is  not  wanted  than  to 
point  to  the  vigorous  way  in  which  they  all  grow  natu- 
rally during  the  humid  season  of  November  and  De- 
cember. To  keep  them  in  first-rate  condition,  they 
should  have  a  liberal  sprinkling  overhead  three  times  a 
day  through  the  summer,  and  at  other  times  twice  will 
be  sufficient,  unless  the  weather  is  particularly  dry  and 
warm.  There  need  be  little  fear  of  their  receiving  too 
much.  In  the  winter  there  will  be  sufficient  atmo- 
spheric moisture,  in  addition  to  the  rains,  to  keep  them 


144  The  Fern  Garden, 

damp  enough,  unless  it  should  happen  to  be  unex- 
ceptionally  dry.  In  that  case  a  sprinkle  overhead  will 
be  of  immense  benefit  to  them.  The  planting  should 
be  conducted  so  that  each  species  gets  a  position  that 
bears  a  close  affinity  to  the  circumstances  in  which  it 
is  found  in  a  natural  state.  Those  that  grow  on  stone 
or  brickwork  should  be  secured  to  those  substances, 
whilst  those  growing  in  damp  pools  and  ordinary  soil 
should  have  like  positions  allotted  to  them.  By  taking 
notice  of  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  found,  a 
good  idea  of  the  treatment  they  require  may  be  formed 
by  those  who  know  little  or  nothing  about  the  subject. 
The  cultivator  will  find  every  bit  of  information  picked 
up  in  this  way  of  very  great  service  to  him,  at  some 
time  or  other. 

The  undermentioned  species  are  all  particularly 
beautiful,  and  have  the  great  merit  of  thriving  un- 
commonly well  upon  an  artificially  constructed  rockery  : 
— Bartramia  fontana,  B.  pomiformis,  Bryum  alpinum,  B. 
capillare,  B.  argenteum,  Dicranum  squarrosum,  Grimmia 
Doniana,  G.  leucophoea,  G.  pulvinata,  Hookeria  lucens^ 
Hypnum  denticulatum,  H.  cupressiforme,  H.  purwn,  H. 
Schreberi,  H.  splendens,  Leskea  sericea,  Racomitrium 
canescens,  Weissia  contraversa,  the  principal  species  of 
Tortula,  and  all  the  Polytrichums,  and  Mniums. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

AdiaTitum,  Britisli  species 

of 

.      74 

„           exotic  species 

105, 117 

Adiantopsis  radiata 

.    117 

Allosorus  crispus    . 

.      75 

AlsopMla,  species  of 

.    129 

AnfiiTTiia  collina 

.    117 

Asplenium,  Britisli  species 

of 

20,  75 

„          exotic  species 

• 

105,117 

AthjrrinTn,  Britisli  species  of                , 

24,76 

Basket  ferns 

.      59 

BlecliTium,  species  of 

,       76,107,117 

„         spicant 

.      24 

Bracken  on  ruin    . 

14 

Brainea  insignis    , 

.     117 

Britisli  ferns 

.      73 

Campylonem-nm  phyllitidie 

>  •               •               • 

.     107 

Ceterach  officinanrm 

21,  78 

Cheilantlies,  species  of 

.    126 

Climbing  ferns 

110, 120 

Collecting  ferns 

4 

Cystopteris,  Britisli  species 

of      !       ! 

21,79 

Davallia  canariensis 

•       •       1 

.    107 

„        polyantha  and  aculeata 

.    117 

Dicksonia,  species  of 

•       •       « 

.    129 

Elaphoglossum  frigidnm 

•       •       • 

.     120 

Equisetums  or  horse-tails 

•       •       • 

25.  138 
10 

146 


Index, 


Fem-anies              .               ,                ..               , 

.    131 

Fern  cases  and  shades          ,               ,               , 

42,  63 

Ferns  in  general     .                .               •               i 

1 

Fern-hunting          .                .                .                , 

5 

Fern-house,  construction  and  f umishing  of      « 

.      33 

Fireside  ferneries   .                .                .               , 

.      42 

Flowers  and  ferns  in  the  sa.me  house  .               , 

.      96 

Formation  of  fernery             .                ,               , 

.  6, 11 

Frame  culture  of  pot  ferns   .                •               , 

.      29 

Gleichenias             .                .                ,                , 

107, 120 

Gold  and  silver  ferns             .               , 

.    124 

Goniophlebinms     .                .                .               , 

107, 120 

Greenhouse  and  stove  ferns  . 

.      95 

Gymnogramma  leptophylla  . 

.      79 

„             chrysophylla,  sulphurea,  &c.     . 

.    126 

Hare's-foot  fern     .                .                .               . 

.    107 

Hartstongue  ferns                 .               . 

23,89,92 

Hymenodium  crinitum          .                ,                , 

.    120 

Hymenophyllum  Tunbridgense           .               , 

.      80 

Hjrpolepis  tenuif  olia              .                •               , 

.    110 

Lastrea,  British  species  of    .                • 

.      82 

„        exotic  species 

.    110 

List  of  twelve  ferns  for  pot  culture     . 

.      27 

„      sixty           „        cool  fern  houses 

.      40 

,      fifteen         „        glass  shades  . 

.      48 

„      thirty         „        heated  cases  .                , 

.      61 

,          „              „        unheated  cases 

.      61 

,      twenty-four        suspending  in  cases 

.      62 

,      forty           „        small  growing  case  fen 

13             .      62 

,      fifty             „        greenhouse  ferns 

.    105 

) 

,      thirty          „        stove  ferns     . 

.    117 

,      twelve  greenhouse  exhibition  ferns        . 

.    116 

,          „       stove  exhibition  ferns   .                , 

,    123 

,      seventeen  gold  and  sUver  ferns               , 

,     126 

Localities  in  which  ferns  grow 

9 

Ly< 

x)podiums          .                .                .               , 

.    133 

Index, 


147 


PAGE 

Majsh  ferns            .               •               •               < 

.      24 

Mokria  thurif  raga                •               •               < 

.    110 

Mosses    .                .               •               •               4 

.    143 

Multiplication  of  ferns          .               •               < 

.      64 

Mural  ferneries 

.      15 

Nepkrodium  molle                 ,               •               * 

.    110 

Nepkrolepis,  species  of         .               .               , 

111,120 

Niptobolus  lingua  and  rupestris 

.    110 

Nomenclature 

.        3 

Notliochleena  argentea,  flavens,  &c. 

.    126 

Onychium  Japonicum 

.    Ill 

Opliioglossum,  British  species  of 

.      84 

Osmunda  regalis    .                .                •                i 

24,84 

Outdoor  ferneries  .                .                .               « 

.      11 

Pepper-worts          .                .                .                . 

.    138 

Phlebodium  aureum  and  sporodocarpum 

.    113 

Platy cerium  alcicorne 

.    114 

„           grande                .                • 

.    123 

Platyloma  rotundifolia         .                • 

.    Ill 

Pleopeltis  membranacea 

.    123 

Polypodium,  British  species  of 

22,  84 

„           exotic  species  . 

113, 120 

Polysticbum,  British  species  of           • 

.      86 

Pot- culture  of  ferns               .                .                , 

.      26 

Pots  for  specimen  ferns 

.    103 

Propagation  of  ferns  by  spores,  divisions,  &c. 

.      64 

Pteris,  British  species  of      .                •               , 

.      89 

exotic  species             .                •               , 

114,123 

Selaginellas             .                .                • 

.     134 

Scolopendi-ium,  British  species  of 

23,  89,  92 

Silver  ferns             .                .                « 

.    124 

Stag's -horn  ferns   .                ,                • 

114,123 

Stove  ferns,  culture  of           .                •               < 

.    100 

Structure  and  growth  of  ferns             « 

2 

Thamnopteris  australasica   .                « 

.    114 

Todea  peUucida  and  superba                • 

.    114 

"X 


148 


Index. 


Tree  ferns 

Tricliomanes  radicans 

Tunbridge  filmy  fern 

Rockeries  and  rooteries 

Rock  and  wall  ferns 

Roster's  fern-pillar 

Vermin  in  fern-cases 

Woodsia  alpina  and  ilvensis 

Woodwardia  radicans  and  orientalis 


PAGE 

128 

92 

8,80 

13 

7,19 

55 

57 

23,94 

116 


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