FERRARIA. 



114 



kinds of Privet, the variegated Holly, 

 and the Aucuba. In short, there is 

 scarcely any ornamental shrub that 

 will not form a very suitable fence 

 for a flower-garden, when carefully 

 trained ; and wire fences, in the 

 summer season, may be covered with 

 creeping or climbing annuals : such 

 as the Nasturtium, the Convolvulus, 

 &c. , or even the tall-growing Salvias, 

 Petunias, Sv/eet-Peas, and Pelargo- 

 niums. A very pretty fence of this 

 kind may be formed by training the 

 common ]\Iignonette over a wire 

 trellis ; as it is well known that the 

 Mignonette, if sown in autumn and 

 kept during the \\dnter in a green- 

 house, may be trained the following 

 season to the height of three or four 

 feet. Honeysuckles also make de- 

 lightful fences. 



Fennel Flower. — See Nige'lta. 



Ferns are very ornameatal in 

 shrubberies, from their large and 

 handsome leaves, and the curious 

 manner in which these unroll when 

 the plants first appear in spring. The 

 most curious are the heart-shaped 

 Mexican ferns, [8ee Allosurus and 

 North (Eva). Some of the other 

 exotic Ferns, are very handsome, and 

 hothouses have, in many cases, been 

 set entirely apart for them. One of 

 the most interesting of these is at the 

 seat of W. Borrer, Esq., at Henfield, 

 Sussex ; the interior of which is for- 

 med into caves of freestone, in the 

 crevices between which the ferns 

 grow. Ferus disposed in this manner 

 would form a very elegant ornament 

 for a grotto. Exotic Ferns are also 

 the best plants for growing in the 

 air-tight glass plant-cases, now be- 

 coming so fashionable in large draw- 

 ing-rooms. See Plant-Cases. 



Ferra'ria. — Indeie. — Cape 

 tuberous-rooted plants with very 

 curious flowers, and requii-ing the 

 usual cultiu-e of similar plants. — See 

 Cape Bulbs. 



Feverfew. — See PrRE'iHRUM. 



Fica^ria. — Hanunculacece. — The 

 lesser Celandine, or PUewort. — A 

 British perennial, with bright yellow 

 flowers, differing from those of the 

 common Crowfoot in their jjetals 

 being pointed. It likes a moist 

 shady situation, and will thrive 

 under the drip of trees. 



Frcus Ela'stica. — The Indian 

 Rubber tree. — A kind of Fig-tree, 

 which yields the East Indian Caout- 

 chouc ; that used principally in 

 making the waterproof clothing is, 

 however, from Brazil, and is pro- 

 duced hj Siphonia C'ahuchii, one of 

 the Euphorbiaceae. In both cases the 

 trunk of the tree is wounded, and 

 there flows from the wound a thick 

 milky j uice, which , when hardened by 

 exposure to the air, becomes the 

 Indian rubber. F. eldstica is a fa- 

 vourite stove-shrub in England, from 

 its large size and curious leathery 

 leaves ; but it very seldom produces 

 either flowers or fruit; and, when it 

 does, they have no beauty. The 

 plants should be grown in saudy loam, 

 and they strike readily from cuttings. 



Fig Marigold. — See Mesembry- 



A'NTHE^IUil. 



Figwort. — Scropladaria verna- 

 lis. — A British plant with yellow 

 flowers, growing in moist places. 



Fi''lices. — One of the natural 

 orders which includes all the different 

 genera of Ferns. 



Fitness in a garden, as in every 

 thing else, is of the greatest import- 

 ance in producing a good effect. By 

 this term is meant the adaptation of 

 plants to the situations fitting for 

 them : for example, tall straggling 

 growing plants, which have a very fine 

 effect in a shrubbery when backed by 

 evergreen shrubs taller than them- 

 selves, would entirely destroy the 

 beauty of a small garden, laid out in 

 regular beds. In the like manner, 

 small plants, however beautiful they 



