October 3, 1908 



H ORTICULTURE 



Growing the Fern Ball 



441 



It is a great pity that there are not more good speci- 

 mens of the fern ball seen in our homes for as an orna- 

 mental addition to a room it i- most desirable, if well 

 grown. Every catalogue shows an illustration of a very 

 attractive plant but outside of the catalogues there are 

 very few good examples in sight. The halls are received 

 in the fall and many thousands are sold yearly but many 

 more are not sold and these latter are stored away to 

 await the coming of another season when they can be 

 again served up in company with fresher arrivals. While 

 in many cases this enforced retirement has not done 

 them any good from the fact that they had been improp- 

 erly stored, drying them out, they can be, despite this 

 rough treatment, made to develop into very fine exam- 

 ples of what fern balls should be. 



A reference to the two pictures accompanying this 

 article will show two fern balls that were of the carried- 

 over-from-a-season variety. These were two of a half- 

 dozen that were bought at a bargain and while they all 

 thrived these were the particularly attractive examples. 

 When first brought into the house they were thoroughly 

 soaked and then hung in the light. When growth had 

 started they were regularly treated, every two weeks, to 

 a bath of manure water. They were never allowed to 

 bcome dry. While the manure water seems to be an 

 essential in the treatment of fern balls, in using it there 

 is a liability of being obliged, speedily, to make a quick 

 choice between your fern ball and your lodgings. The 

 manure water will start the ball growing but it will also 

 start a wave of disapproval that will be quite convincing. 

 However, if you care for a fern ball you must contrive 

 to treat it as above suggested. 



The balls shown in the picture are used as table cen- 

 tre pieces. Holes are bored in them with a pencil and 

 cut flowers inserted. Using them alternately keeps them 

 in good condition and keeps on hand an ever-ready table 

 decoration. When the foliage has begun to wither the 

 hall should lie stored so that it will not become dried 

 out. Burying it in the ground for a few weeks before 

 starting it into growth will materially benefit it ami 

 assist its start. It would be well to watch the string 

 that binds the moss as it is liable to rot out. A little at- 

 tention to this detail will prolong the life and usefulness 

 of the fern ball. 



Salesmen in florist stores should be prepared to give 

 instructions as above to their customers and the result 

 would be a very greatly increased demand and sale for 

 i hese useful subjects. 



i^_ 



Pine Bank, Olmsted Park, Boston 



Our cover illustration this week -hows a bit of hill- 

 side scenery in the Boston parks. The Boston park sys- 

 tem abounds in such examples, where excellent taste and 

 wisdom have been shewn in preserving the original 

 topography and the natural features of the woodlands 

 under proper supervision and control but avoiding all 

 suggestion of the "creating" or "reconstructing" which 

 has permanently despoiled the beauty of so many public 

 reservations. 



