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The Horticulturist arid Journal 



written under the fronds. It will be found 

 astonishing how very quickly a collection of 

 this kind can be got up as single fronds are 

 easily obtained. — The Garden. 



Plants for Ferneries. 



A CORRESPONDENT of the Gardeners' ! 

 Record gives the following list of de- 

 sirable ferns for stocking ferneries : 



First on the list is P. plumula, a rather 

 dwarf growing fern, the fronds seldom attain- 

 ing a greater height than from ten to twelve 

 inches. Its habit, as its name specifies, is 

 particularly graceful, and the color of the 

 fronds very peculiar, being of a rich metallic 

 green. It does extremely well planted among 

 the chinks and crevices of rockwork, and in 

 such situations increases itself rapidly. It 

 succeeds well in a soil composed of light fibry 

 peat, with a little leaf mould and silver sand 

 added. 



P. plebjum, another very neat growing 

 species, a native of Mexico, having fronds 

 from six to eight inches long, of a bright 

 green color. Similar soil to that recom- 

 mended for P. plumula will be found suitable. 



P. depanum and P. trichodes are two 

 other species well worthy of cultivation. 



Polystichum vestitum venustum. — This is 

 an extremely beautiful fern and should be in 

 every collection. It is a native of New Zea- 

 land, and is of easy cultivation and free 

 growth. 



And now we come to the genus Pteris, 

 which furnishes us with numerous beautiful 

 and interesting species. 



P. arguf.a, a strong growing handsome 

 fern, succeeding well almost under any cir- 

 cumstances, and growing freely in any open 

 soil ; should only be introduced where there 

 is plenty of room. 



P. argyrnsa. — A well known species, beau- 

 tifully variegated. Like the preceding one, 

 it is a strong grower and soon monopolizes 

 more than its due share of room, still it 

 should find a place in every fernery, as it is a 

 most effective and charming plant. For soil 



use two parts peat, one part loam, and half a 

 part each charcoal and silver sand. 



P. cretica alba-lineata, another popular 

 variegated species, making a lovely contrast 

 when planted among other ferns of a more 

 sombre hue. Soil same as for P. argyroiu. 



P. longi folia, a particularly noble-looking 

 and graceful fern, succeeds well under ordin- 

 ary treatment, growing freely in fibry peat 

 having a liberal admixture of silver sand. 



P. serrulata, one of the most common, and 

 at the same time one of the prettiest, in the 

 whole genus, its bright, green, graceful fronds 

 making it a most invaluable adjunct to every 

 fernery. In fact, it is almost as necessary as 

 Adiantum cuneatura, for cutting for bouquets 

 and table decorations. It grows freely in 

 almost any soil, but I have found it to 

 do best in a compost consisting of two parts 

 peat ■ with one part loam, and one part 

 leaf mould, and some silver sand. It and 

 the preceding species will seed themselves 

 over the fernery in a short time; indeed, I 

 have often found them rather troublesome in 

 this respect. There are several crested forms 

 of P. serrulata, all of them being more or 

 less beautiful. 



P . treniula and P. umhrosa make noble 

 specimen plants, but are altogether too robust, 

 except for extensive ferneries where there is 

 plenty of room to spare. 



I fear to extend the list further, not but 

 that there are hosts of others of equal beauty 

 with those I have already named, but I con- 

 sider I have drawn attention to a sufiicient 

 number for a beginner in fern growing to 

 make a start with, and if to those he adds a 

 few Selaginellas, such as .S. denticulata, 

 S. Wildenomi, S>. Africana, S. densa, S. sto- 

 lonifera, and S. involvens, he will have 

 ample material wherewith to fully stock every 

 portion of his fernery. 



Ivy for Indoor Decoration. 



I DO not know a single plant that will stand 

 so much hard usage as Ivy. The only 

 point on which cultivators err, is 7iot keeping 

 the leaves clean. If it be well washed two or 



