8 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



sow the seeds until they feel quite sure that warm weather 

 has come to stay, and there is no fear of frost injury. 



"There are two types of seed-beds. The one is by 

 sowing the seeds in a framed bed, and the other is by 

 sowing them in a pot. 



"I. Framed beds. For this purpose the bed should be 

 well ventilated and sunny. It is very convenient to make 

 the beds about three feet in width, but their length may 

 be of any desired extent. Simple culture frames of usual 

 type are employed, except that no glass cover is used, and 

 their height is usually about five inches. 



"Place the frames where the seeds are to be sown, and 

 fill them with well-drained soil (about three to four inches 

 deep) by sifting. Smooth the surface and sow the seeds 

 on the bed and cover the surface with sifted soil (about 

 J4 inch in thickness), and sprinkle water, using only very 

 small streams. It is a good practice to place a thin layer 

 of straw upon it, and allow it to remain until the young 

 plants appear at the surface of the bed. For the purpos; 

 of forcing, it is desirable to peel a tiny bit of the seed- 

 coats before sowing. The right place for peeling is near 

 a sunken spot where the germination takes place. Under 

 a favorable condition the seeds begin to germinate in three 

 to four days. When the casing soil is too shallow, the 

 cotyledons will sometimes appear covered by the seed-coat. 

 In such cases those coats should not be taken away when 

 they are dry, as it often causes some injury to the coty- 

 ledons. 



"II. Potted beds. In potted beds culture practically a 

 similar method can be applied, with the exception that pots 

 instead of frames are used. 



"Transplanting: A seedling should be transplanted 

 twice ; first, from the seed beds, either framed or potted, 

 to a small pot (about 2^/^ inches in diameter) — the pur- 

 pose of the first transplanting is to prevent unnecessary 

 growth of the plants ; second, remove it to a larger pot, 

 usually 5 to 6 inches in diameter. The first tran.^planting 

 begins immediately after the cotyledons have opened. If 

 the plants are left' in the beds too long, it is very difficult 

 to transplant them without giving any injury to the roots 

 and cotyledons. As a matter of fact, it is very much de- 

 sired by growers to keep the cotyledons on the plants until 

 the flowering season ; therefore, the growers should take 

 much pains to keep them as long as possible. 



"Fertilizers : Rape cake is generally used as a fertilizer, 

 which is frequently applied to the soil in the form of 

 powder, but mostly in liquid, which is thoroughly fer- 

 mented. Chili saltpeter, ammonium sulphate, or potassium 

 sulphate, etc., is frequently used as a substitute of the first 

 named. 



"\\'atering: The seed-beds should be always moistened 

 until the young plants appear on the ground. After trans- 

 planting it is a usual practice to water twice a day, once in 

 the morning and again in the day time. It is desir- 

 able to use warm water for the day-time watering. 



"Supports: When the plants grow up to 6 or 7 inches 

 high, it is absolutely necessary to furnish some supports. 

 For this purpose bamboos or reeds are generally used. 

 The supports are arranged in various ways, of which the 

 following two are very common : 



"A. '.Xndon' type (Lantern type). P., T.oshi' type (Hat 



type)- . , , 



"A. Andon type. Height of the supports is dependent 

 upon the individual tastes. Erect four or five bamboos 

 or reeds along the inside of the pots, and connect ihcm 

 with three rings of bamboo. 



"P.. P.oshi type. A piece of bamboo is bended down 

 to the soil, thus making an arch-like form, which is then 

 crossed with two pieces of bamboo. This type of sup- 

 pC)rt is especially recommended for some special varieties 

 which have hard stems. 



"For the morning-glory culture it is a matter of most 

 importance to help the stems of the plants to climb up 

 the supports. The most desirable time for winding the 

 stem is during day-time, as it is very tender, while in the 

 morning or evening it is very brittle and could not be 

 wound without causing injury to the plants. The stems 

 naturally twine the supports from left to right, therefore 

 it should be arranged in that way, otherwise the stem 

 may refuse to twine the supports. 



"Try to wind the stem in the basal ring, and when it re- 

 turns to the starting point, then lead it along an erect 

 bamboo to the second ring, and wind the stem in the 

 same way as stated above. It is desirable to check the 

 growth of the plants when their stem encircles the second 

 ring, and never let it grow further up to the third ring. 



"Flowers usually bloom early in the morning and may 

 wither soon when they are exposed to strong sunshine. 

 The withered flowers should be picked at about ten 

 o'clock every morning. For the purpose of getting seeds 

 for next year, however, it is without saying to leave the 

 withered flowers on the plants.'" — Missouri Botanical 

 Garden Bulletin. 

 -I — « 



THE FERN GARDEN 



(Continued from page 6) 



described. Its dainty curving stem with the little 

 triangular leaflets on either side is very lovely indeed. 

 The stem is slender, smooth and glossy, and sli,ghtly 

 brittle. In books it is generally said to be black, but in 

 reality it is far from black, having many tones varying 

 with the changing light, from plum to bronze. I have 

 often been reminded of the stem of the Maidenhair while 

 paring a large and well-ripened eggplant, for they possess 

 many of the same shades. The spores are small, light 

 brown and borne on the under edge of the leaflet, which 

 turns back and partly encloses them in little pockets and 

 gives a slightly puckered effect to the edge of the leaflet. 

 This fern in spite of its very delicate appearance is quite 

 hardy and I have several clumps which have increased 

 from year to year. Thinking it very tender, my first clump 

 was transplanted with great care on a dull day with 

 drizzling rain, for fear it might become wilted. .Another 

 clump was brought in from the woods on a bright sunny 

 day in mid-July. It was carefullv carried home in a 

 basket and planted with plenty of water as soon as 

 possible after digging. They did not droop and seemed 

 to take readily to the new place. About two weeks later 

 I was much surprised to discover six new fronds starting 

 UJ1 from one root and four from another, which developed 

 into fluffy masses of foliage and remained so until the 

 end of the Summer. So I have found this fragile looking 

 fern to lie one of the most hardy and satisfactory in my 

 collection. It is most decorative and does well in middle 

 distance or for the border and is especially effective in a 

 large mass. I think the delicacy of the foliage is shown to 

 greatest advanta.ge against a wall or where it can droop 

 gracefully over flag,ging or pathway, for then the shadows 

 cast a fine tracery and add a fascination to this already 

 fascinating little plant. 



There are, of course. iiian\' other varieties of ferns, all 

 Idvelv and most interesting to study and discover in their 

 native haunts, far too many to be described here. I have 

 iiiilv mentioned those which I have in my .garden and 

 with which I feel well acquainted. I can vouch for their 

 beauty and their hardiness. The ferns should surely 

 have a place on every estate, no matter how pretentious, 

 and on every cottage lawn, no matter how humble, for 

 they adai>t themselves to all surrroundings. They are al- 

 ways suitable and in good taste adding a charm and grace 

 to the garden that no other plant can give. 



