234 

 PALMS YOB, CLOSED CASES. 



liY GEOEGE GOEDON. 



AM not going to say much against ferns for this kind 

 of work. I have too great a partiality for their beauti- 

 fully green, feathery fronds to do that, and it would be 

 a long time before any one would be able to persuade 

 me not to grow them. I am not going to attempt any- 

 thing of the kind with my readers. I have no desire to do so. Were 

 I to, why, I should expect to be laughed at for my trouble. In 

 growing ferns in closed cases, it often happens that their fronds turn 

 yellow, and also mouldy, even with diligent attention from the 

 cultivator, whose plant possessions probably consist entirely in 

 the case and its contents. These misfortunes do not take place 

 because the i'erns require such an immense amount of skill to be 

 brought to bear upon them, but simply because they are not under- 

 stood. With the right kind of treatment, nothing is easier to grow ; 

 but then everybody does not know when the plants are too dry or 

 too wet, or when they have not enough or too much water ; and 

 this tells upon the beautifully delicate fronds. Por my own part, I 

 have no desire to see them less delicate, for in this, in a certain 

 measure, lies a great part of their charms. It is thus seen that ferns 

 are delicately formed, and it is impossible, or, at all events, imprac- 

 ticable, to make every one who loves green things to thoroughly 

 understand this. It is necessary that they should have something 

 else quite as beautiful, and which is better able to stand the effects 

 of rough ubage ; and for this there is nothing better than palms. 

 The fronds of these are harder, and stouter in their texture, and 

 consequently better able to stand neglect than ferns. Eor this pur- 

 pose we must select dwarf and small-growing kinds, which at the 

 same time will bear the temperature of an ordinary living-room. 

 Many of the palms, though they enjoy and grow freely in a stove 

 temperature, will thrive, but grow slower, in a much cooler one. As 

 the size of the case must necessarily be limited, small and slow- 

 growing kinds must be exclusively employed ; and keeping this in 

 view, I have made the following selection. A long list is not 

 required, for a very large case is required to grow mafny. 



To begin with a nice compact-growing kind, we cannot do better 

 than fix upon Cliamcsdorea elegans, a beautiful fan palm, that has 

 all the qualifications necessary for our purpose. Next come the 

 Chamarops, and from them we must select G. laimilis and O. Fortunei. 

 Corypha cmstTaUs, in a young state, is especially beautiful ; and 

 another good one, not to be dispensed with, is Fhoenix dactylifera, 

 P. farinifera and P. sylvestris are both good kinds. These grow 

 to almost any height with plenty of heat, but in a cool temperature 

 grow very slowly. Sahal Adansonii is a good kind ; and the same 

 may be said of Bhajns ficibellifurmis^ a small, upright-growing plant, 

 with small fronds. Seaforthia elegans produces a charming effect, with 

 its long pinnate fronds, but must be kept pot-bound. Tlirinax parvi' 

 flora is both good and cheap, and one of the prettiest of the fan palms ; 



