FERNS FOR THE HOUSE. 



'HE delicate and tender nature of 

 many of the prettiest and most 

 graceful growing- varieties of this 

 beautiful and interesting class of 

 plants, prevents their being used very exten- 

 sively for house decorative purposes. The 

 dry, arid atmosphere of dwelling houses in- 

 duced by artificial heating, more especially 

 in winter, being particularly destructive to 

 the delicate texture and formation of the 

 fairy-like fronds of many varieties of ferns. 



Ferns thrive best in a moist, humid atmos- 

 phere, and although these conditions cannot 

 be given them to the same extent in a dwell- 

 ing house as in a conservatory or green- 

 house, or even where ferns are found 

 growing amidst their natural surroundings, 

 still much pleasure and satisfaction can 

 be obtained by selecting suitable varieties, 

 and by modifying as much as possible 

 the unnatural conditions that surround all 

 plant life in a dwelling house. In fact 

 many varieties can be kept fresh and 

 bright looking, grown as house or window 

 plants, much longer than many varieties of 

 foliage plants commonly used for house de- 

 corative purposes. 



It would be a waste of time and energy to 

 endeavor to grow the delicate Adiantum and 



similar tender species of ferns under ordin- 

 ary conditions in a dwelling, or even in a 

 window, the finely formed lobes of their 

 tender fronds being particularly susceptible 

 to the dry atmosphere, if even they succeed 

 in making any progress at all in the way of 

 growth. 



Probably amongst the almost innumerable 

 species and varieties of ferns known to 

 floriculturists, there are none better adapted 

 for house or window culture than the many 

 types of the Pteris fern, sometimes called 

 feather ferns from the close resemblance 

 many of these ferns have to the formation of 

 a large feather. 



The long whip-like, half drooping fronds 

 of Pteris serrulata, and the crested varieties 

 of this Pteris, such as Pteris cristata and 

 Pteris wimsetti, with the tips of their hard 

 glossy green fronds more or less covered 

 with the moss-like formation that give them 

 the common name of crested ferns, are 

 perhaps amongst the easiest grown and 

 most enduring types of the Pteris, especially 

 when grown as house or window plants. 



Pteris cretica or Cretan Pteris is another 

 variety that succeeds well in a dwelling 

 house and is quite as easily grown as any 

 variety of Pteris, in fact many prefer it to 



