FERN CASES. 



173 



FERN CASES. 



in almost infinitesimal quantities on the 

 fronds and sustain their verdure unim- 

 paired. 



Position. A shady bank, or cool spot 

 on the edge of a pond or the brink of a 

 rivulet, is a good position for an outdoor 

 fernery, and admits of treatment by the 

 aid of a few boulders and stones, and even 

 clinkers or masses of vitrified brick, which 

 produce an effect more closely akin to 

 nature than can be attained when the 

 structure is due entirely to art. Failing 

 such positions in gardens and back yards, 

 the best must be done by artificial means, 

 and even under such conditions a fernery 

 that is satisfactory to the eye and suitable 

 in every respect for the plants that are to 

 be placed in it, is by no means difficult to 

 attain or troublesome to manage, provided 

 that the primary requisites of coolness, 

 shade, and moisture are obtainable. 



Construction. When a position that 

 requires little assistance from art can be 

 obtained such as a cool, shady nook near 

 water, or by a running stream all that is 

 necessary is to dispose some masses of 

 stone, roots of trees, burrs, &c., in such a 

 manner that they may be partly embedded 

 in the soil, and afford corners, as it were, 

 here and there, in which various kinds of 

 ferns can be judiciously located with 

 regard to their respective habits and 

 appearance and the effect that each is 

 designed to produce. In making a piece 

 of rockwork for ferns, or otherwise build- 

 ing a. fernery, so to speak, supposing that 

 the work is done on the level or a little 

 below the level of the ground, as may be 

 the case when the upper part of the soil 

 is removed to furnish part of the material 

 for the structure, the first thing to be done 

 is to provide for thorough drainage below 

 the surface by excavating, and filling up 

 the hollow thus formed with brickbats, 

 stones, and other materials which lie 

 together in such a manner as to have 



interstices of various sizes between them, 

 and thus afford ample room for the escnpe 

 of moisture from the structure above and 

 its absorption by the soil below. If 

 economy with regard to soil is necessary, 

 a heap of the same material may be 

 thrown up on which to place the compost 

 in which ferns will best thrive, which may 

 be made of good garden soil mixed with 

 leaf mould, some good loam, and a fair 

 proportion of light fibrous peat and sand. 

 Then on the surface of the bank thus 

 formed place stones of various kinds, some 

 on the soil itself and others half buried 

 in it, with roots of old trees, flints, 

 clinkers, &c., disposed so as to leave 

 crevices here and there in which the ferns 

 may be planted. 



Planting. The fernery, or rockery, 

 being ready for the reception of the plants, 

 put the roots into the crevices provided 

 for them, keeping the crown just above 

 the soil, and pressing the earth firmly 

 about the roots. If the bank of earth 

 below the stones, &c., has been of 

 necessity made of garden earth alone, 

 introduce a liberal quantity of compost of 

 yellow loam, peat, and sand into holes 

 made in the soil to receive it before 

 planting the ferns. Some ferns require a 

 greater depth of soil than others, and 

 some again, such as the Common Poly- 

 pody and Hart's-tongue Fern, will grow 

 admirably on a wall, which shows that 

 they require but a minimum of soil in 

 which to root. In planting ferns, the 

 taller sorts should be placed at the back 

 of the bank, those of medium height in the 

 centre, and the dwarf varieties in front. 



Ferns suitable for Outdoor Culture. 

 The following will afford a list of ferns 

 suitable for outdoor culture, all of which 

 may be purchased at rates ranging from 

 2d. 10 6d. each. The ordinary name is 

 appended in most cases, and the letters 

 B, C, F, indicate the position in which 



