278 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Kew Gardens, where its crown is simply protected by a handful of dry 

 leaves during the winter. 



ROCK AND SUN-LOVING FERNS. It is a mistake to consider all 

 Ferns as plants requiring shade and moisture. There are, on the con- 

 trary, ferns which like full sunshine and bright light. Without count- 

 ing Cystopteris alpina and fragilis, which grow in our walls as well in 

 sun as in shade, there is one class of Ferns which actually requires 

 sunshine. Cheilanthes from the Old World, as well as those from the 

 New, only do well in a sunny aspect. I could not succeed at Geneva 

 in cultivating Cheilanthes odora, lanuginosa and vestita. In spite of 

 every care given to them, they suffered from general weakness, ending 

 in decay. At last I one day saw Woodsia hyperborea, that delicate 

 and fragile plant, in full sun along an alpine road in Italy, and on re- 

 turning I planted all my Cheilanthes in sunshine on a south wall. 

 The result was good, and I recommend the plan to Fern growers. 

 But it was necessary also to change the soil in which these plants 

 were cultivated, and I set them in soft porous mould composed of 

 Sphagnum Moss, peat and sand ; good drainage and frequent water- 

 ing ensured an immediate and excellent result. That which proved 

 satisfactory for Cheilanthes I then tried for Woodsia hyperborea and 

 ilvensis (the treatment did not do for W. obtusa) ; then for Scolopen- 

 drium Hemionitis, that pretty and curious Fern from the south so rarely 

 met with in gardens, where it is considered difficult to grow. Then I 

 gave the same treatment to Nothochlena Marantae ; and this lovely 

 Fern, which formerly did not do with me, turned out marvellously 

 well. It is, then, certain that many species of Ferns require sun and 

 plenty of air. H. CORREVON, in Gardeners' Chronicle. 



The following exotic Ferns may be grown in the open air if the 

 more tender ones are protected in winter by a covering of old fronds 

 or soft hay pegged down over the crowns. These would be better 

 in sheltered nooks in the rock garden in good peaty earth. Those 

 kinds marked with an asterisk should receive protection in this form. 

 Unless otherwise mentioned, the Ferns are natives of North America, 

 and this list is contributed by Mr. Birkenhead, Sale, an experienced 

 cultivator of these plants. 



