230 THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



earth, picturesquely disposed and planted with ferns severally 

 adapted to the sites and positions the scheme affords. Where there 

 are living trees on or near the spot (and the shade of large trees is 

 desirable), the use of roots is objectionable, because of the quanti- 

 ties of fungi which are sure to be produced, the mycelium from 

 which may find its way among the living roots and commit vast 

 havoc. But even this danger is worth risking sometimes in cases 

 where roots and butts are plentiful on the spot, and it is undesirable 

 to incur any great expense. The foundation of all banks and earth- 

 works for ferns should be good loam or clay, into which many of 

 the stronger-growing kinds will send their roots when well 

 established. But the upper crust and the stuff for filling in between 

 root s, burrs, etc., should consist of half peat and half silky yellow 

 loam, or some mixture which nearly approximates in character to 

 such a combination. Thus, good loam with well-rotted cocoa-nut 

 fibre, or loam mixed with yellow leaf-mould and manure that has 

 lain by three or four years till rotted to powder. It is best to com- 

 plete the structure and fill in all the more important places 

 intended for soil before inserting any of the plants, for the simple 

 reason that the work must be firm, the soil well rammed in, and the 

 whole of the scheme so substantial that there will be no fear of any 

 portion shrinking away afterwards, and leaving the roots of the 

 ferns without soil, or causing hollows and crevices between the 

 blocks and the banks into which they are set. 



ACHIMENES. 



HE various attractions of this lovely tribe of plants 

 render them specially adapted for decorative purposes. 

 Their numerous gay and pleasing shades of colour, 

 their variety of form and foliage, combined with a gene- 

 rally easy cultivation, and their flowering in a small 

 state, are all qualities which especially recommend them to the 

 notice of amateurs of limited means. Though essentially summer- 

 flowering plants, the season of bloom may be prolonged for some 

 months by a succession of younger growth ; and where a sufficiency 

 of light and heat can be obtained, some kinds, as Picta, and others 

 of like habit, may be kept in flower during winter. Their more 

 attractive season is, however, the summer and autumn months. 

 During the growing period, they delight in a warm, moist atmo- 

 sphere, and when in bloom, they may be removed to a close part of 

 the conservatory or greenhouse, or, if required, to a sitting-room, 

 but the blooms will net be so fine there as in a more genial atmo- 

 sphere. The general method of obtaining plants is from the small, 

 i-caly-like tubers of the previous year's growth, which are produced 

 in abundance. For winter blooming it is, however, more desirable 

 to propagate from cuttings put in in the latter part of summer. 



This method is also adapted for increasing new or rare kinds ; 

 but this being more the nurseryman's province than that of the 



