THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



13 



tions, and there are exceptions in this 

 case, for some few ferns thrive nearly 

 as well in sun as in shade, and some 

 few are very indifferent whether they 

 have a plentiful or suanty supply of 

 moisture, while others are placed in 

 imminent danger if at any season 

 they are rendered exceedingly damp. 

 There is one British fern, the best 

 known and the most beautiful of all 

 we possess, and, moreover, one of the 

 most beautiful of all known ferns, 

 British or foreign. I refer to the 

 common male fern, Lastrea filix mas, 

 which appears to be almost indifferent 

 as to the circumstances under which 

 it is cultivated. It will thrive in any 

 ordinary good garden soil, and in any 

 position in the garden. How often 

 do we see grand old stools of this 

 fern in gardens where they have ac- 

 quired their stations apparently by 

 accident, and, though exposed to a 

 considerable share of sunshine, and 

 rooted in a soil by no means specially 

 adapted for ferns, yet growing with 

 great vigour and beauty, and the 

 caudex, through age, so elongated as, 

 with the nobly-spreading circle of 

 fronds, to remind an observer of the 

 stately tree ferns of the tropics. This, 

 and the common brake, Pteris aqui- 

 lina, are the most accommodating of 

 all ferns ; but they both grow more 

 luxuriantly in shade than in sun, and 

 both are grateful for a mellow loamy 

 soil, inclining to peat, or improved 

 by the admixture with it of peat, and 

 abundance of water. The Lady-fern, 

 Athyrium filix foemina, is another 

 most accommodating species, and 

 rarely fails to reward the cultivator, 

 if provided with a mellow eoi], a shady 

 situation, and plenty of water. The 

 remark so frequently made by writers 

 on ferns, " Give plenty of water," is 

 generally understood as applying to 

 the season when the species treated 

 of is in free growth. I can tell you, 

 from actual observation and experi- 

 ence of the fact, that hardy ferns 

 need water as much in winter as 

 in summer. All winter long, except 

 while frost prevails, water should be 

 occasionally poured over their crowns, 

 and the consequence will be a much 

 more luxuriant growth in the suc- 

 ceeding summer. In their native sites 



we usually find them growing on 

 slope?, or on slight elevations on the 

 line of watercourses, and in other 

 positions where any lodgment of 

 water is impossible ; but the rains, 

 the dews, and the drip of trees keep 

 their crowns constantly moist, and no 

 doubt that moisture is useful to them 

 to assist in elaborating the rolled-up 

 fronds of which their crowns consist, 

 just as the bulbs of tulips, when sup- 

 posed <o be at rest, are actively 

 engaged in the production of the 

 embryo flowers which are to be fully 

 developed the succeeding spring. I 

 shall now treat briefly on a few points 

 properly belonging to the very wide 

 subject of cultivation, and first of 



Out-door Ferneries. — These are 

 usually formed of tree roots and banks 

 of earth, picturesquely disposed and 

 planted with ferns severally adapted 

 to the sites and positions the scheme 

 affords. Where there are living trees 

 on or near the spot (and the shade of 

 large trees is desirable), the use of 

 roots is objectionable because of the 

 quantities of fuDgi 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 eases where roots and 

 butts are plentiful on the spot, and it 

 is undesirable to incur any great ex- 

 pense. 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 estab- 

 lished. But the upper crust and the 

 stuff for filling in between roots, 

 burrs, etc., should consist of half peat 

 and half silky yellow loam, or some 

 mixture which nearly approximates 

 in character to such a combination. 

 Thus good loam with well-rotted 

 cocoa-nut fibre, or loam mixed with 

 yellow leaf-mould and dung that has 

 lain by three or four years till rotted 

 to powder. It is best to complete 

 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 work so sub- 

 stantial that there will be no fear of 



