THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



placed tall plants of Algerian and 

 Irish Ivy, the Cordate leaved and 

 Iiegner's Ivy, Pinus monticola, and 

 Cupressus Lawsoni ; the outside row 

 is made up with compact plants of 

 the upright Chinese arbor vitee, the 

 very characteristic Pinus cembra, and 

 specimen ivies. 



As beginners in this practice may 

 easily waste money and labour by 

 making their selections injudiciously 

 in the first instance, I have prepared 

 a list of coniferous trees that are best 

 adapted for winter furnishing. In 

 making up this list I have first con- 

 sidered how, during fifteen years' ex- 

 perience in the growth of conifers in 

 pots, the various species behave and 

 look ; and having selected certain 

 kinds which may be relied on for their 

 powers of endurance, and which rarely 

 suffer from being kept in pots several 

 years, I have next thrown out all 

 that are scarce and costly, so that the 

 list comprises both the best and the 

 cheapest. Those who order trees 

 from this list are advised to order two 

 or four (or more) of each. When they 



can be grouped in pairs, and the same 

 forms repeated at regular intervals, 

 the effect is more agreeable and ar- 

 tistic than a mere medley of outlines 

 and colours. In the group which 

 illustrates this paper, the repetition 

 throughout of certain distinct charac- 

 ters is an important feature, and one 

 on which it depends, in a great mea- 

 sure, for its beautiful effect. 



Coniferous trees adapted foe 

 growing in pots foe wintee fue- 

 NisniNG : — Abies morinda, Abies 

 Canadense, Abies taxifolia, Abies 

 Khutrow, Abies orientalis, Abies 

 rubra (useful where large quantities 

 are required, but by no means a 

 choice subject), Cedrus deodora, Ce- 

 drus Atlantica, Cupressus Lawsoni, 

 Cupressusmacrocarpa, Cupressus thy- 

 oides variegata, Juniperus Barba- 

 dense (syn. Bedfordiana), Juniperus 

 Chinensis, Juniperus Phoenicia, Juni- 

 perus Virginiana, Picea pinsapo, Picea 

 grandis, Pinus cembra, Pinus excelsa, 

 Retinospora ericoides, Thuja gigantea. 

 Add Yews and Arbor vitas, a la dis- 

 cretion. S. H. 



FERNS AND FERN CASES. 

 (Continued from Vol. VII., 2>- 193.) 



Asplenidm. 



21. Fonlanum. — This lovely gem 

 is as much at home in a fern case as 

 amongst its native rocks and foun- 

 tains. It is admirably adapted by 

 its small size, evergreen habit, 

 exquisite beauty and love of an 

 elevated position, for planting on 

 the miniature rockeries with which 

 fern cases are usually adorned. It 

 likes shade and moisture, and though 

 quite hardy, evidently relishes bottom 

 heat. A plant inserted in our largest 

 fern case three years ago is now a 

 large tuft, which would part into 

 plants enough to stock a parish. I 

 have never had refractum (Moore), 

 which is supposed to be a variety of 

 fontanu m. 



22. Trichomanes •— This very dis- 



tinct Asplenium is most accommodat- 

 ing in its habit. We have it in a 

 variety of situations and circum- 

 stances, both out of doors and under 

 glass. In the fern case it is valuable 

 for its dark green colour, which con- 

 trasts pleasingly with the generally 

 light green of case ferns. Like the 

 last, it is best elevated above the 

 surface, and should have a bed of soil 

 to root in, consisting of equal parts 

 peat, yellow loam, and potsherds 

 broken to the size of peas. The cool 

 case is the best place for it. With 

 me it grows superbly out of doors in 

 the bastion, but in more smoky dis- 

 tricts it will not endure the open air, 

 hence it is fortunate for town gar- 

 deners that it enjoys the atmosphere 

 of a freely ventilated case. The 

 varieties multifidum, cristatum, and 



