THE FLORIST. 15 



Elegans, 5 ft. cir., 1 ft. high ; was in a 3-in. pot at the same time. 



Easonii, 4 ft. 8 in. cir., 1 ft. 6 in. high ; the same. 



Fastigiata lutescens, 7 ft. cir., 2 ft. 6 in. high ; the same. 



Macnabiana, 4 ft. 6 in. cir., 1 ft. 6 in. high ; the same. 



Macnabiana rosea, 6 ft. cir., 1 ft. 4 in. high ; was in a 4-in. pot two years 



and a half ago. 

 Macnabiana speciosa, 4 ft. 8 in. cir., 1 ft. 6 in. high ; was in a 3-in. pot three 



years back. 

 Tricolor, 4 ft. 6 in. cir., 1 ft. 6 in. high ; in the same two years and a half ago. 

 Gtauca, 6 ft. cir., 1 ft. 6 in. high ; in a 4-in. pot three years back. 

 Obbata, 4 ft. cir., 1 ft. high ; in a 6-in. pot two years back. 

 Tortulijiora, 3 ft. 6 in. cir., 1 ft. high ; in a 4^-in. pot two years and a half ago. 



ON FERNS. 



This lovely tribe of plants deserves especial cultivation, so remark- 

 ably elegant are the forms of their foliage, so refreshing to the eye 

 their lively green tints, and so graceful their disposition ; growing 

 summer and winter, they are always interesting, and, to a refined 

 mind, are of a particularly pleasing and attractive character. 



At one end of my stove there is a tank of water for the use of 

 the house, round which tank I have formed a small rockery ; upon 

 this I grow a collection of choice Stove Ferns, Lycopodiums, and 

 Mosses, with a few of the hardy sorts, which are found to nourish in 

 perfect luxuriance. 



In the tank I have growing Limnocharis Humboldtii, a most 

 beautiful water-plant, which will only succeed in stove heat. This 

 has a very interesting appearance, as the leaves float on the surface. 



As most Ferns delight in "shade and a moist atmosphere/' in 

 order to shew their delicately green foliage to advantage, and, in 

 fact, will not satisfactorily succeed without it, in the summer season 

 I should recommend some free-growing creepers to be trained under 

 the glass. Such fine plants as Passiflora Buonapartii, or Quadran- 

 gularis, Ipomsea Learii, and several of the Aristolochias, having ample 

 foliage, are well adapted for this purpose. 



Ferns may be very successfully grown in pots, in which case 

 perfect drainage is requisite, the soil must be peat and leaf-mould in 

 equal portions, liberally intermixed with silver-sand and potsherds 

 broken small. During summer they should be kept moist by re- 

 peated watering. 



Propagation is easily effected by divisions of the roots, as the 

 smallest piece soon makes a plant ; or by seeds, which are very mi- 

 nute, and mostly formed in round brown spots, or long streaks, on 

 the under side of the leaves or fronds, as they are usually called. 

 They may be sown at any time of the year under a bell-glass ; those 

 seeds at the base of the leaves should be selected, as they are more 

 fully developed. 



When Ferns are grown in a house where a good deal of moisture 



