46 



GARDENERS' CHROMCLE 



It is not so many years, either, since China cut those 

 trees away and burned over the ground ; and today there 

 are frequent appeals from China for help. Famine stalks 

 over the land ; they have one crop in seven years, and at 

 the other times they are not able to produce it. The de- 

 struction of their forests has carried with it, to a large 

 extent, the destruction of the productivity of their land. 

 Over those vast stretches its fertility is gone ; and it is im- 

 possible for China to reclaim herself until she rebuilds 

 her forests and grows them again to some size. 



In the meantime, however, China has become ami will 

 continue to be a land of perpetual famine. And the very 

 process that took place in that sad country is going on 



here ; yet we are doing nothing of anv serious conse- 

 quence to stop it. 



So my plea to you, as it is to all whom I carry this mes- 

 sage, is that we do something now while yet there is time ; 

 so that we may avert in America the destruction that has 

 overwhelmed that vast country of the East. 



We in this land of freedom who have boasted so long 

 of our wealth, our inexhaustible resources ; we who have 

 inherited so much from the past, owe a debt to our chil- 

 dren and our children's children. W'e owe it to them so 

 to act that when they come into their own they will not 

 point back to us with the finger of scorn because of our 

 prodigal waste. — Bulletin of American Game Protection 

 Association. 



The Nephrolepis Chart 



R. C. BENEDICT 



TH1£ illustration below shows the Nephrolepis chart 

 which was exhibited at the Boston Fern Show in 

 connection with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden fern 

 collection. The chart represents one of the results of a 

 study of these forms which has been carried on at the 

 Brooklyn Garden for the last six or seven years. 



Nephrolepis Chart 



A copy of this chart has recently been installed in house 

 10 of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden greenhouses. In this 

 house there are two groui>s of cultivated ferns. Accom- 

 panying the chart, and arranged partly according to the 



relationship as indicated on the chart are numerous varie- 

 ties of Nephrolepis, about 7i different kinds. Practically 

 all the forms represented on the chart will be maintained 

 constantly in this house, together with a collection of 

 English varieties of Boston Fern and other forms of 

 interest. 



In connection with the chart, there is framed the fol- 

 lowing statement : 



"The ferns in this Imuse include practically all the best 

 kinds for use as house plants. On th.e left bench are the 

 kinds commonly sold as 'table ferns' because so many 

 are raised and sold to fill fern dishes. JNIany of them are 

 useful also as larger pot plants, and can be grown by any- 

 one who can raise other house plants successfully. Even 

 in ordinary apartment conditions, with dry air, drafts, too 

 -much heat, too little light, fumes from illuminating gas, 

 irregailar or too much water, they may be expected to 

 remain decorative for weeks, sometimes months. 



"The ferns in the center and at the right are also useful 

 house plants. They are of further interest because they 

 illustrate the evolution of new varieties of Boston Fern, 

 the course oi which has been worked out through studies 

 carried on at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and is illus- 

 trated bv the chart above. 



"On the pedestals in the center arc specimens of the 

 wild 'Sword Fern," the 'Boston Fern,' and its seven pri- 

 mary mutations or sports : "Pierson I'ern,' 'Harris I'ern,' 

 'Scott Fern,' 'Foster Fern,' 'Roosevelt Fern,' 'Giatras 

 Fern', and the 'Gretna Fern.' On the bench at the right 

 — with some overflow in the next house — may be seen 

 practically all the other varieties shown on the chart to- 

 gether with some additional forms from England and 

 elsewhere. 



"In the chart, the varieties indicated by arrows show 

 some reversion in characteristics toward the Boston Fern. 

 All the rest represent progressive variations away from 

 the Boston Fern. A considerable number of new varie- 

 ties have appeared in the Garden collections.'' 



A second frame in the same house is being installed 

 containing photograjihs of some of the most connnon 

 table ferns together with text descriptive of their cultural 

 qualities. The aim of the Brooklyn Garden is to make 

 (his fern collection as educative for visitors as possible, 

 both as to proper names of the various forms and as to 

 {Continued on page 64) 



