January 13, 1898. 



The Weekly Florists* Review^ 



305 



Nephrolepis Rufescens Tripinnatifiia. 



In lliis basin of water, which w'as al- 

 ways warm, for several hot water pipes 

 heated the water every day in summer, and 

 which was never stagnant, for there was a 

 continuous flow in and a corresponding 

 overliow, there were thousands of gold 

 fish. Beginning with a few they, as some 

 of the races of men. increased and multi- 

 plied. Now can fishes hear, or have they 

 only sight? When the door was opened, 

 or perhaps more the vibration of the 

 shutting, the shoals of little fish would 

 sail up to where they were usually fed. 

 If they cannot hear then there was a 

 good deal of wind expended for nothing, 

 for to whistle while feeding them was as 

 natural as for a boy to whistle when he 

 feeds his pigeons, or an old country stable 

 man to hiss and blow as an accompani- 

 ment to the curry comb. "Keeps the 

 bloomin dust hout o' yer mouth ye 

 know." Every child knows that the 

 sense of hearing is the waves of sound vi- 

 brating on the sensitive ear, sharp or 

 soft, loud or long, as may be the vibrations 

 which is nothing but disturbance of the 

 atmosphere. We have heard this subject 

 argued: "Can fishes hear." We suspect 

 they can. A vibration of the water fall- 

 ing on their heads or perhaps tails is to 

 them their sense of hearing, and with 

 this solution of this knotty question I 

 will say good night. BiBiiER. 



[To be continued.] 



NEPHROLEPIS RUFESCENS TRI- 

 PINNATIFIDA. 



This form of N. rufescens is a decided 

 acquisition to any collection of ferns, and 



when well cared for soon becomes a 

 beautiful specimen. 'It is one of the most 

 distinct of the sword ferns, a strong 

 grower and comparatively erect in habit, 

 as will be noted from the illustration. 



The fronds of X. rufescens tripinnati- 

 fida are quite broad, dark green on the 

 upper side, and rather lighter below; the 

 stems and crown of the plant, and to 

 some extent the under side of the fronils 

 being covered with a brownish lomentum. 

 The pinnae are deeply cut into narrow 

 segments, and are so closely set on the 

 stems as to overlap each other. 



This variety grows more rapidly in a 

 warm house and will not stand quite so 

 much exposure as the various forms of N. 

 exaltata and N. davallioides. and in com- 

 mon with those varieties soon suffers from 

 lack of moisture at the root, such treat- 

 ment resultin.g in the gradual dropping off 

 of these things from what they used to be. 

 . . W. H. Taplin. 



MISCELLANEOUS SEASONABLE 

 HINTS. 



Fern Pans. 



There has been an equal, if not greater 

 demand for the little pans of ferns in more 

 or less costly receptacles, for the table 

 this winter, and it is one of tho.se modest 

 but chaste decorations which is likely for 

 a long time to be in favor with our best 

 customers. Ferns that are suitable, that 

 have the finely cut fronds and are in any 

 degree durable under the conditions, are 

 very limited and are not yet raised in 



quantity equal to the demand. There is 

 a good field yet for several people to 

 make a specialty of this business. It has 

 occurred to me that one of the very best 

 plants for this purpose is small specimens 

 of 2 or 2l'2-inch pots of .-Asparagus plu- 

 mosus nanus. When fairly well ripened 

 the fronds, as they- may be called, will 

 outlast any fern that is available. Seed 

 is now advertised at |io per thousand, 

 less expensive in larger quantities. If 

 fresh home grown seed, it will nearly all 

 germinate. Sow within a few weeks and 

 by next October you will have a fine little 

 plant that will be superior in appearance 

 and far more durable than any fern you 

 can put into the "dish." 1 sowed a 

 thousand seeds as late as August of last 

 vear. and have u.sed many of the little 

 plants lately for the puqxise I am now 

 advocating. They have occupied a shelf 

 since potting ofT from the seed box and 

 being in 2-inch pots, have cost very little 

 for space or care. Of course I am not 

 reconmiending the asparagus to displace 

 anv of the useful ferns, but as a most 

 valuable addition and a plant you can 

 raise yourself at less cost than you can 

 buy small ferns by the thousand. A 

 temperature of 55° at night will suit as- 

 paragus at all times, and those to be used 

 as recommended, .should have the full 

 i light. 1 have used the word duraljle sev- 

 ! eral times, and remember unless the 

 I fernery lasts fairly respectal)ly for four 

 weeks your customers will get tired of 

 having them refilled. When a palm or 

 any plant does well it encourages our pa- 

 trons to purchase more; continual fail- 

 ure is the parent of discouragement atd 

 disgust. 



Bougainvillea Sanderiana. 



A plant that will sell at sight the 

 coming Easter is Bougainvillea Sander- 

 iana. It adapts itself to any form you 

 wish to train it. If they have been 

 treated as they should, that is kept quite 

 cool and on the dry side, they should now 

 be put into a heat of 60° at night and 

 kept syringed till showing color. If 

 they were plants lifted from the ground 

 they would need no more shifting at 

 present. If plants carried over in pots 

 during summer, they may need now a 

 larger pot. 



Lemon Verbena — Lantana. 



There is always a demand for that 

 sweet scented plant, the lemon verbena. 

 Evervone who has a mixed border wants 

 a plant or two, and they are more often 

 very difficult to procure in satisfactory 

 shape. Plants that were kept in pots last 

 summer and laid under the bench to rest 

 at approach of frost should now be started 

 growing, as they are dormant. You can 

 shake off the old soil, repot them, 

 shorten back the weak growth, and start 

 them growing. They will soon push out 

 lots of young growths, which always 

 succeed in rooting in the sand as ea.sily 

 almost as the common verbena, but they' 

 nor any other cuttings should ever be 

 allowed' to wilt from want of sufficient 

 moisture in the sand or too strong rays of 

 the sun. Lantana needs about the same 

 treatment and it is a good time now to 

 start it growing to give you cuttings. 



