232 CULTURE OF FERNS. 
CULTURE OF FERNS. 
BY MR, THOMAS MOORE. 
Ferns do not, in a general way, under cultivation, associate with other 
plants. Orchids, however, are an exception; the degree of humidity 
kept up, and the shade afforded, in the case of Orchid-houses, being 
favourable to their growth. Low buildings are preferable; and if 
they face the north, the plants can receive more light, without the 
danger of the sun’s rays.. Of atmospheric moisture these plants need 
an abundant and almost unvarying supply; even in winter this is 
necessary for those ina growing state. Deciduous kinds are the better 
for being kept somewhat drier, from the time the fronds decay until 
they again renew their growth. Shading should be used in bright 
sunny weather, during the whole of the summer season. The propa- 
gation of Ferns is effected by division and spores ; those species which 
creep horizontally and form underground stems, throwing up fronds at 
intervals, may be increased by dividing the caudex with a portion of 
the. roots and fronds; and the same method can be adopted with those 
which do not creep, although the opportunities of doing so are less 
frequent than in plants of the first character. The separated plants 
should be fixed firmly in small pots, the crown being just clear of the 
surface of the soil; and, after being gently sprinkled with water, they 
should be placed in a situation where the atmosphere is rather closer 
than is required for established plants, until they have begun to grow. 
The smaller and more delicate kinds are greatly benefited by being 
covered for a while with bell-glasses. Propagation is also effected by 
spores. Half fill some shallow, wide-mouthed pots with broken crocks, 
and on this put a layer of about two inches of little lumps of spongy 
peat soil, mixed with soft sandstone, broken in small lumps of the size 
of nuts or peas. This compost should not be consolidated. Next 
shake a brush very gently over a sheet of white paper, or frond of the 
species to be propagated; the fine brown dust thus liberated is to be 
regularly and thinly scattered over the rough surface of the soil, which 
must be immediately covered with a bell-glass large enough to fit down 
close within the pot-rim. The pots should be at once set in feeders 
kept constantly filled with water, and placed either in frames or in the 
fern-house, according to the kinds sown. It is never advisable to 
water the surface of the soil after the spores are sown ; and it is well 
to roast the soil employed, in order to kill the germs of any other 
plants that may be contained in it. For soil, a good general compost 
may be formed of equal parts of fibrous heath-soil, broken up into 
lumps as large as walnuts (or smaller for small pots), and perfectly 
decayed leaf-mould, with a portion of clean gritty sand, especially for 
potting the more delicate kinds; the more robust growers are benefited 
by a small portion of light loam being added to the above compost. 
In potting, good drainage is essential, and the crown of each plant 
should stand about level with the pot-rim. The temperature which 
the tropical species require is about 70° in the growing season, de- 
ereased to 60° in winter, and lowered at night to 55° or 50°. The 
species which are natives of temperate climates require a day tempera- 
