FELWORT 



352 



FERNS 



GREENHOUSE EVERGREENS. 



F. abyssi'nica (Abyssinian). Lilac. Trop. Africa. 1895. 

 angustifo'lia (narrow-leaved). 4. Lilac. May. 1812. 

 ,, gla'bra (smooth). 6. Blue. May. 1804. 

 echina'ta (prickly). Yellow. May. 1820. 

 frutico'sa (shrubby), i to 2. Purple. May. This is 



Aster fruticosus. 

 petiola'ta (petioled). Rosy-purple, with yellow disc. 



1907. 



refle'xa (bent-back). Red, white. February. 1759. 

 villo'sa (shaggy). See F. ANGUSTIFOLIA. 



EELWORT. Swe'rtia. 



FEMALE FERN. Asple'nium Fi'lix-f&'mina. 



are employed to mark the boundary of pro- 

 perty, to exclude trespassers, either human or four- 

 footed, and to afford shelter. They are either live fences 

 and are then known as hedges ; or dead, and are then 

 either banks, ditches, palings, or walls; or they are a 

 union of two, to which titles the reader is referred. 



FENDLE'RA. (A name commemorative of Mr. 

 Fendler, who collected plants in Trinidad. Nat. ord. 

 Saxifragaceae.) 



A hardy shrub, with small leaves and large, solitary, 

 showy flowers, with conspicuous stamens. Seeds ; 

 cuttings under a hand-light in summer ; also by layers. 

 Well-drained garden soil. 



F. rupi'cola (rock-inhabiting). 2 to 4. White. S.W. 

 United States. 1888. 



(Fceniculum vulgare) in a dry soil is longest 

 lived. It is propagated both by offsets, partings of the 

 root, and by seed, any time between the beginning of 

 February and the end of April. The best season for 

 sowing is autumn, soon after the seed is ripe, at which 

 time it may also be planted. 



Insert the plants a foot apart, and the seed in drills, 

 six or twelve inches asunder, according as it is intended 

 that the plants are to be transplanted or to remain. 



When advanced to the height of four or five inches, 

 if they are intended for removal, the plants are pricked 

 put eight inches apart, to attain strength for final plant- 

 ing in autumn or spring. Water must be given freely at 

 every removal, and until established, if the weather is 

 at all dry. 



The stalks of those that are not required to produce 

 seed must be cut down as often as they run up in summer. 

 If this is strictly attended to the roots will last for many 

 years ; but those which are allowed to ripen their seed 

 seldom endure for more than five or six. 



FENNEL-FLOWER. Nige'lla. 

 FENUGREEK. Trigone'lla. 

 FE'NZLIA. See GILIA DIANTHOIDES. 



FERNANDE'ZIA. (After Fernandez, a Spaniard. Nat. 

 ord. Orchids [Orchidaceae]. Linn. zo-Gynandria, i-Mon- 

 andria.) See LOCKHARTIA. 



F. acu'ta (acute-leaved). See LOCKHARTIA ACUTA. 

 tflegans (elegant). See LOCKHARTIA ELEGANS. 

 longifo'lia (long-leaved). July. Merida. 

 lunifera (crescent-lipped). See LOCKHARTIA LUNI- 



FERA. 

 robu'sta (robust). See LOCKHARTIA VERRUCOSA. 



FERNELIA. (Named after /. Fernel, a French 

 physician. Nat. ord. Cinchonads [Cinchonaceas]. Linn. 

 4-Tetrandria, i-Monogynia. Allied to Condalia.) 



Stove evergreen shrubs. Cuttings of firm young shoots 

 in May, in sand, under a bell-glass, and in bottom-heat ; 

 peat and loam, lumpy and sandy. Summer temp., 60 to 

 80 ; winter, 50 to 55". 



F. buxifo'lia (box-leaved). Isle of France. 1816. 

 obova'ta (teversed-egg-leaved). Isle of France. 1816. 



FERNS. STOVE FERNS. 



Propagation : by Division. Any species of Fern that 

 sends out stolons, or creeping stems underground, readily 

 increases by division. This requires considerable care. 

 They should never be divided till the parts to be separated 

 have a portion of roots to each. Turn the plants out of 



the pots, and with a sharp knife divide the plants into as 

 many parts as have roots and a small ball ; pot them 

 into pots only a little larger than the little ball ; drain 

 them well, give a gentle watering, and place them in a 

 shady place till they begin to grow again, and send up 

 fresh fronds. 



By Young Buds on the Fronds. Several species produce 

 miniature or embryo plants on the fronds. These should 

 be pegged down in a pot filled with the proper soil, and 

 placed so near to the parent plant as to allow the fronds 

 to remain attached to it. When the buds have made 

 roots into the new soil, and pushed forth some new fronds, 

 they should be detached from the parent, and potted 

 into 2j-inch pots, gently watered, and placed in a shady 

 place. Some few kinds have these buds or knobs so 

 strongly developed, that they may, when in a sufficiently 

 forward state, be cut off and potted at once. Examples 

 of this kind of bud may be observed in Pte'ris palma'ta, 

 P. effu'sa, Da'rea rhizophy'llum, and Woodwa'rdia 

 radi'cans. 



By Spores. Several of the finest Ferns cannot be 

 increased by division, or, if they can, several years elapse. 

 If right means are followed, they may be raised by spores. 

 This requires a constantly humid, warm atmosphere, and 

 little, if any, sunshine. Procure a wide earthen pan, a 

 hand or bell-glass that will go within it, and rest on the 

 bottom, and a shallow, wide pot that will stand within 

 the glass and above the rim of the pan two or three inches. 

 Fill this pot half full of potsherds, and upon them a 

 sufficient number of small pieces of turfy peat, mixed 

 with small pieces of sandstone, about the size of peas, 

 to come up to the pot. Then take the frond of any Fern 

 that is full of spores or seeds, and, with the hand, brush 

 them off upon the prepared pot, set it in the pan, place 

 the glass over the pot, and fill the pan nearly with water. 

 Place the whole in the warmest part of the stove, shading 

 it from the sun. The small pieces of turf and stone can 

 be easily separated, and the seedlings on each put into 

 small pots, without any danger of destroying them by 

 the process of potting. In the moist atmosphere of the 

 orchid-house, several species of Fern will come up spon- 

 taneously in the pots, baskets, and upon the blocks. 

 These may be carefully detached as soon as they are large 

 enough, and potted in small pots, placed for a tune in a 

 shady situation, and they will soon make nice, bushy 

 plants. 



Other methods are followed with great success. One 

 plan is to carefully prepare some pots or pans as above 

 advised, half filling them with drainage. Fill up tne 

 remainder with a compost of two parts of finely sifted 

 peat to one-half part each of sand and finely broken pot- 

 sherds or soft red brick. Press this firm and sow the 

 spores. Another plan is to get some burnt clay and break 

 it up into small particles, filling the pots with the same, 

 and sowing the spores on the top. The burning of the 

 clay serves to sterilise it and prevent the growth of 

 moss, which is so destructive to young ferns. Stand the 

 pots or pans in a vessel containing water, so that the 

 compost may be moistened from the bottom upwards. 

 Never water on the top, nor must the water be so deep 

 as to rise to the surface, or the spores will be'washed away. 

 Stand the pots on moist ashes in a moderately warm 

 house in a shady situation and cover them with a hand- 

 light. 



Soil. Ferns require a light, open soil. A compost of 

 sandy, fibrous peat two parts, turfy loam one part, and 

 leaf-mould one part, with a free admixture of sand, will 

 suit them well. 



Summer Culture. Temperature, 65 minimum, 75 

 maximum by day, and 60 by night. 



Time of Potting. Early in March, dr^in well, and give 

 a moderate shift. Small plants may be potted twice, the 

 second time the first week in July. 



Watering. Ferns are like Heaths, if they once get 

 thoroughly dry they will perish, therefore keep them 

 constantly well watered, more especially when the pots 

 are full of roots. Should they by any chance appear to 

 be suffering severely from drought, take such and let 

 them stand in a vessel of water, that will cover the top 

 of the pot, for an hour or two. This will thoroughly wet 

 every part of the ball, and often recover the plant. If 

 such a convenience is at hand, the smaller Ferns, like 

 other stove plants, will be greatly benefited by a few 

 weeks sojourn in the middle of summer in a deep, cold 

 pit. Here they should be well supplied with water, and 



