126 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. 



can have. Give them a syringing once a day for the first 

 week, and after that two or three times a day : never allow 

 them to get quite dry. By the end of a fortnight, or even 

 sooner, you will observe the points of new roots starting out 

 upon the stem, and the closely-coiled-up fronds in the centre 

 to be pushing upwards. 



"They may now be safely potted. I have no faith in 

 exact proportions for mixing soils ; and my candid opinion 

 is, that the mechanical condition of the soil has more influ- 

 ence than any thing else. Let rt, then, above all things, be 

 open and porous. Use pots as small as you can, in the first 

 place, and shift them from time to time as the plants may 

 require it, using rough peaty soil as before. If allowed to 

 become pot-bound, the fronds soon dwindle in size. Keep 

 them always moist at the root, and during nine months of 

 the year the stem should be kept constantly moist. This 

 can easily be done without wetiing the fronds much, which 

 is not always beneficial. Do not expose your plants to 

 draughts of dry air, and be sure to shade them from bright 

 sunshine. Following these simple rules, your Tree-Ferns 

 will be an ever-increasing source of pleasure." 



Smith, in "Ferns, British and Foreign," gives 

 the following suggestions regarding the re-potting 

 of Tree-Ferns : 



" When large ferns are to be re-potted, an inverted pot 

 should be placed in the new pot, placing a layer of drainage 

 around it, the height of the pot to be such that the crocks of 

 the old ball (which must not be taken out) rest on top of the 

 (inverted) pot. By this means the outer circle of new roots 

 are not crushed by the weight of the plant." 



If, in cultivation, a Tree-Fern becomes too tall 

 for the house in which it grows, it is possible to re- 



