196 THE GARDEN, YOU, AND I 



ably in the angle of a house or under a fence, and will 

 be a standby in your wall rockery. 



The ferns that seem really to prefer the open, one 

 taking to dry and two to moist ground, are the hay- 

 scented fern (Dicksonia punctilobula) , the New 

 York fern (Dryopteris Noveboracencis), and the Marsh 

 Shield-fern. Dicksonia has a pretty leaf of fretwork, 

 and will grow three feet in length, though it is usually 

 much shorter. It is the fern universal here with us, 

 it makes great swales running out from wood edges to 

 pastures, and it rivals the bayberry in covering hillsides ; 

 it will grow in dense beds under tall laurels or rhododen- 

 drons, border your wild walk, or make a setting of cheer- 

 ful light green to the stone wall ; while if cut for house 

 decoration, it keeps in condition for several days and 

 almost rivals the Maidenhair as a combination with 

 sweet peas or roses. 



The New York fern, when of low stature, is one of the 

 many bits of growing carpet of rich cool woods. If it 

 is grown in deep shade, the leaves become too long and 

 spindling for beauty. When in moist ground, quite in 

 the open, or in reflected shade, the fresh young leaves 

 of a foot and under add great variety to the grass and are 

 a perfect setting for table decorations of small flowers. 

 We have these ferns all through the dell. If they are 



