754 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



PROPAGATING AND RAISING FERNS. 



Of the many operations pertaining to gardening, none 

 are more interesting than the raising of ferns from 

 spores, which most kinds bear abundantly. In ferneries, 

 where the conditions are favorable, the spores find suit- 

 able resting places on which they germinate freely. In- 

 deed, the seedlings may be seen in vast quantities on 

 damp bricks, on the sides of pots, on the surface of the 

 soil, and in all sorts of positions. Although, however, 

 ferns come up in this promiscuous fashion, few think of 

 sowing and raising them from spores ; what young ones 

 they get are obtained by chance, but if anyone will follow 

 out the instructions here given he may rear as many as 

 he pleases, and that without much trouble. The most 

 important point towards the successful raising of ferns 

 is the preparation of the pots, which should be three parts 

 filled with fine potsherds or soft red brick ; then add the 

 soil, press it down, and make it perfectly level and 

 smooth on the surface. Before doing this, however, it 

 is always advisable to subject the soil, which should be a 

 mixture of peat and fibrous loam, to a good baking on a 

 flue or other hot place, so as to destroy any eggs of slugs 

 or weed seeds, in order that there may be nothing to in- 

 terfere with the young ferns when they come up. 



In sowing the spores, take the frond they are on, after 

 it has lain between paper a few days, and sweep off the 

 seed lightly with a brush in such a way that it may fall 

 regularly over the soil. When this is done the pot should 

 be covered with a pane of glass, and at once placed in 

 shallow pans of water and then set in a shady position 

 in any house in which the temperature is kept between 

 60 degs. and 80 degs. This degree of heat is only neces- 

 sary for the stove kinds ; the greenhouse and hardy va- 

 rieties germinate freely in any cold frame, and may even 

 be raised successfully in the window of a dwelling-house 

 or behind a wall in the open. The first thing to be seen 

 in the germination of ferns is a filmy green scale, or 

 prothallus ; numbers of these soon spread themselves out 

 over the surface of the soil, which they quickly cover, 

 and after a short time tiny leaves or fronds may be dis- 

 covered emerging from the center of these scales, and 

 these fronds go on multiplying and increasing in size till 

 perfect plants are formed. Up to this stage it will be 

 necessary to keep the glasses close on the pots, as con- 

 fined air and moisture are life to the young seedlings; 

 but should they show signs of damping, then the glasses 

 must be slightly tilted for an hour or two each day and 

 let down again. As soon as the minute plants can be 

 fairly distinguished, and are large enough to handle, they 

 should be pricked off ; the readiest way of doing so is to 

 make a pair of tweezers by bending a thin piece of tough 

 green wood and using it for taking hold of the young 

 ferns, when, with a pointed stick in the other hand, they 

 may be dibbled in quickly without bruising or injuring 

 them in any way. For pricking the seedlings in, fine 

 peat and loam, mixed with a little sand, are the best soil, 

 and in this they should be made firm by watering gently 

 through the rose of a watering pot. As soon as that is 

 done it will be necessary to protect them again by cover- 

 ing them with panes of" glass, unless the pots can be set 

 under handlights or in propagating boxes where there is 

 plenty of inoisture to give the plants a good start. Wher- 

 ever placed, it should be borne in mind that no sun must 

 get at them, as it would dry and scorch them all up. To 

 prevent this a thin shade should be kept over them during 

 the greater part of the day, and morning and evening 

 the plants should be bedewed with a syringe. This will 

 start them quickly into growth, and assist greatly in mak- 

 ing them strong enough for potting ofif singly. As soon 

 as" they are ready for this, coarser .soil may be employed, 



and to insure the porosity of this — an important matter 

 in fern cultivation — it is a good plan to mi.x in with it 

 some charcoal in small pieces, or finely-broken crocks,, 

 soft bricks, or cinders, round any of which the roots will 

 cling. 



There are some ferns that do not bear spores, and these 

 can only be increased by division or by removing the oft"- 

 sets; the best time for doing this is early in Spring, just 

 when the plants begin to move, as then they bear the 

 disturbance, and any wounds made in their severance 

 quickly heal. Most ferns admit of being propagated in 

 this way, and there are many that will bear shaking out 

 and pulling apart or dividing to almost any extent. — 

 Gardening Illustrated. 



CEDARS OF LEBANON. 



It will be recalled that the massacres of Christians in- 

 1860 led to European intervention, since when the Le- 

 banon has been an independent sanjak or province, gov- 

 erned by a Mushir, who nnist be a Christian and is ap- 

 pointed for five years, with the consent of the great 

 Powers. 



There is no compulsory Turkish military service and 

 there is a small local force of paid soldiers who do police 

 duty. Taxation is light. Under this administration ex- 

 cellent roads have been built throughout the province by 

 which nearly all villages are reached and benefited. 



During the day the valleys were obscured by a haze 

 caused by the heat of the day evaporating the moisture 

 below, but in the cool of the evening by twilight climb- 

 ing the mountains quite a distance above Bsherreh a 

 never to be forgotten view was obtained. Here nature 

 seemed to have carved out a huge amphitheater terrace 

 above terrace, the upper one being that whereon the 

 majestic cedars stand. 



We left Bsherreh at dawn and made our way up the 

 steep and winding road toward the cedars, writes John 

 D. Whiting in the National Geographic Magazine. In 

 some places it was difficult to pass the loaded animals 

 coming or going. Having made all possible haste, we 

 reached the cedars just as the sun was sifting its first rays 

 through the thick foliage — a sight calculated to make any 

 heart beat faster. The grove numbers, about four hun- 

 dred trees. With the exception of a few stragglers, the 

 grove is inclosed by a neat stone wall to protect the 

 smaller trees from goats. In the center is a small 

 Maronite chapel. 



To dwellers in Syria, where forests of tall trees do not 

 exist, these majestic cedars must be overawing. A mod- 

 ern Syrian writer says of them, that they are "undeniably 

 the most lofty of all the vegetable kingdom." The fact 



APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP 



National Association of Gardeners 



I hereby apply for Membership in your Association : — 



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Date '. 



Reference 



For'oia.rd Appticaiion to M, C. EBEL. Secretary. Madison, 

 N. J., <with dues, <u>hich are $2.00 annually, including subscrip- 

 tion to the official organ of the Association. 



