526 



CYSTOPTERIS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



it grows in open boggy woods, moist 

 meadows, and also in peaty bogs in the 

 Northern States. Good native specimens 

 produce from fifty to seventy flowers on a 

 single tuft, 3 ft. across, formed on a thick 

 mat of fleshy roots. The plant is hardy, 

 and succeeds if planted out in a deep, 

 rich peaty soil, with a few nodules of sand- 

 stone or rough sandstone grit mixed with 

 the soil. It also thrives in turfy loam on 

 a moist bottom ; in any case, however, 



two or three varieties, Dickieana being 

 the best. C. alpina is much smaller, and 

 when once established not difficult to 

 cultivate or increase, but more affected 

 by excessive moisture than C. fragilis. 

 A sheltered situation in a well-drained 

 part of the rock-garden suits it. C. mon- 

 tana is another elegant plant requiring 

 the same treatment as C. fragilis. 



CYTISUS (Broom}. Beautiful shrubs, 

 mostly from the warmer and arid hills of 



Mocassin-flower (Cypripedium spectabile). 



deep planting is necessary, as the roots 

 are then cool and moist during the hot 

 weather, and do not suffer from frost in 

 the winter. 



CYSTOPTERIS (Bladder Fern). The 

 cultivated kinds of this native group are 

 small elegant Ferns of delicate fragile 

 texture. They grow on rocks and walls, 

 chiefly in mountainous districts. The 

 best-known are : C. fragilis, which has 

 finely cut fronds about 6 in. high. It 

 is of easy culture, succeeding in an 

 ordinary border, though seen to best 

 advantage on shady parts of the rock- 

 garden in a well-drained soil. There are 



southern and western Europe, some hardy 

 in our country. They are easily raised 

 from seed and profuse in effective bloom. 

 No doubt in the colder parts of the 

 country some are short-lived and tender, 

 and they may also have the drawback of 

 getting rather ragged after a time. A 

 number of kinds which come from the 

 Canary Islands (Teneriffe,&c.)are tender, 

 and are excluded from our selection for 

 the open air. Amongst yellow flowering 

 shrubs few are richer in their display than 

 the Brooms, for, while other colours are 

 represented, shades of yellow prevail, and 

 as soon as one kind fails another takes its 



