THE AQUARIUM, JULY, 1894. 



125 



co^QQ. — {Hooker.) The roots of some 

 species, e&^ecmWj Iris psued-acoriis, are 

 used very extensively in preparing black 

 dyes and ink. 



Like most of our native semi-aquatic 

 plants, it thrives in any common gar- 

 den or mucky soil, requiring no espec- 

 ial attention ; but it should remain un- 

 disturbed for a number of years, and 

 then will bloom quite freely. The two 

 English varieties, Iris psued-acortcs and 

 /, fcetidissima, emit a disagreeable, fetid 

 odor, not found in our American species 

 to any considerable extent. The dwarf 

 Siberian Iris, I. Siherica, and the Aus- 

 trian Iris, I. Pnmila, with their many 

 various colored flowers, form excellent 

 border plants ; and as they are so very 

 hardy, in a few years they make a com- 

 plete mat of green foliage, and carry 

 out the object of a border line to per- 

 fection. Within the past few years, 

 botanical travelers and collectors have 

 secured an almost endless variety of 

 these choice plants, from the far off and 

 little known countries ; and now our 

 English cousins, especially, can boast of 

 a collection that vie with any other 

 class of hardy plants in the world, for 

 beauty and well contrasted colors ; while 

 to say that some of the species are 

 perfectly gorgeous, only indifferently 

 describes their beauty. Of course our 

 American plant buyers will never think 

 of utilizing any of our native species, 

 but we hope the day is not far distant 

 when we shall see this beautiful family 

 of plants more generally grown, espec- 

 ially when our nurserymen advertise 

 more carefully and generally the new 

 foreign varieties. European landscape 

 gardeners make great use of even the 

 most common varieties of Iris in their 

 lawn decorations, especially in their 

 planting by lake and river margins, 

 where the effect is all that can be de- 



sired. But the old world landscape gar- 

 dening is on more of an elaborate and 

 gorgeous scale than anything in Amer- 

 ica, consequently we see very little of 

 this j^erfected art or science to copy 

 from except near a few of our large 

 cities, where the art has been applied 

 to the beautifying of cemeteries and 

 parks. 



FERNS. 



The cultivation of ferns for the deco- 

 ration of our homes has, of late, be- 

 come so general that all are more or 

 less interested in learning what is the 

 most successful mode of managing 

 them. The object of green and hot 

 houses is to regulate the degree of 

 light, heat and moisture requisite for 

 the growth of plants : in other words, 

 to imitate their native climate. 



But how can this be done without 

 such aid ? The question is, how to suc- 

 ceed in encouraging the growth, and 

 developing and preserving the beauty of 

 these exotics, and making them feel at 

 home in the windows of our living 

 rooms. It can be done with a little 

 care. The four essentials, light, heat, 

 and moisture in a proper degree, and an 

 appropriate soil can be furnished in an 

 ordinary living room, and many beau- 

 tiful species of ferns can be grown from 

 the spore to maturity, and the reward 

 will be more than ample for the trouble. 

 Before speaking of their cultivation, let 

 us take a glance at the nature, habits 

 and habitats of the plants themselves. 

 What is a fern ? Leaving out all botan- 

 ical terms and niceties, a fern may be 

 described, in a popular way, as a plant 

 which bears leaves only, and no flowers, 

 distinguished from other plants not in 

 flower by bearing its seed (called spores) 

 upon the under surface or along the 



