FERN 



FERN 



575 



in shade and sunshine, but will grow equally well in 

 rich soil only fairly moist. 



Osmunda regalis prefers a peaty soil in very wet, 

 boggy position in partial shade, but will grow as well in 

 full sunshine if soil is rich and not dry. 



Pellcea atropurpurea prefers rather dry positions in 

 partial shade, winter and summer, with soil not deficient 

 in lime. It will not endure heavy mulching. Will grow 

 in full sunshine, but not to its full size. It may be 

 transplanted at any season. 



Phegopteris Dryopteris prefers good soil in shade not 

 over moist or dry. Avoid coating of leaves. It is a 

 beautiful species and useful for planting on rockwork in 

 shade. The fronds die in August. 



Phegopteris hexagonoptera needs good soil in shade. 

 Fronds die down rather early. 



Phegopteris poly podioides prefers moist, shaded posi- 

 tions, but will grow in any good soil not too dry. The 

 fronds die down in late summer, especially in the drier 

 positions. 



Polyoodium vulgare prefers good, light soil in well 

 drained but moist situations in shade, with no other plants 

 growing with it. It will endure very dry places, but 

 will be dwarfed. Will also do well in full sunlight if 

 soil conditions are good. As a native it grows in posi- 

 tions where it does not receive any yearly coating of 

 fallen leaves, and, wherever planted, should not be cov- 

 ered with coarse material. Plant perfectly evergreen; 

 height 6-10 in. 



Pteris aquilina, to be grown to perfection, should 

 have considerable sunlight, with moist, rich soil, kept 

 cool and loose with a coating of leaves or other mate- 

 rial. In such a position it should grow 4-5 ft. high, with 

 other dimensions corresponding. However, it will grow 

 in almost any position. Although easy to transplant, it 

 is likely to do poorly until established. It has strong, 

 creeping rootstocks, so that attention is necessary to 

 keep a healthy group within bounds. The earliest 

 fronds put forth die in late summer, but those of later 

 growth remain green until frost, so that with attention 

 to the removal of dead fronds a group will look well 

 until fall. 



Woodwardia angustifolia wants a moist situation in 

 deep shade. Does well in moist peat north of a bank or 

 wall. Will endure full sunlight in positions where it has 

 become established, but will not grow well when trans- 

 planted to sunny position. F. W. BARCLAY. 



CULTURE OF TENDER FERNS. To grow commercial 

 varieties of Ferns profitably, the first care should be to 

 secure the necessary number of properly built and 

 equipped houses, with a conveniently arranged work- 

 shop. The house which gives the most general satis- 

 faction runs north and south. Have an even-span roof, 

 with a fall to roof of 6 inches to the foot. Its benches 

 should be arranged to be about 7 feet wide, with a 24- 

 inch path on either side. In an 18-foot house this will 

 permit of having a 7-foot center table, two 3% -foot side 

 benches and two 24-inch paths. Benches should not be 

 more than 3 feet above the walks, as this will bring 

 every part of the bench within easy reach, and will per- 

 mit of every plant being in constant sight and easily 

 cared for, which fact is essential in the profitable culti- 

 vation of trade Ferns. 



The width of house is immaterial, but when houses 

 adjoin, a width of 27 feet has been found to be very 

 satisfactory, as this permits the construction of three 7- 

 foot benches, two 24-inch paths, and two paths 2% feet 

 wide under each gutter. 



Thorough provision should be made for ventilation. 

 For a 27-foot house, a continuous row of ventilators of 

 t least 3 feet in width should be provided, with some 

 reliable apparatus for raising same. Heating is the 

 next important consideration. Either steam or hot wa- 

 ter will give equally good results if properly installed. 

 The safest way for the average grower is to give the 

 heating contract to some reliable firm. Water taps 

 should be so arranged that a 25-foot hose attached to 

 same will easily reach any part of the house. A 25-foot 

 lose can easily be carried about without injuring either 

 If or benches and plants; and iron pipe is of only 

 C the cost of good hose. In most Fern houses drip is 

 a source of great annoyance, and should be prevented 

 by the use of drip-bars, by having a drip-groove plowed 



37 



into the headers immediately under the ventilating sash, 

 and also by having a groove in sides of gutter plates. 

 This very slight additional expense will very soon pay 

 for itself by saving a great number of plants, especially 

 when growing very small Ferns in houses, such as have 

 been transplanted from spore-pots into boxes. Ventila- 

 tors should fit into a groove in ridge of house and be 

 hinged to the ridge. When ventilators are so arranged, 

 air, which is very desirable on a good many warm, 

 rainy days in the summer, can be given without having 

 plants in the houses suffering from excessive moisture. 

 Burning of the foliage will also be avoided, as the plants 

 will at no time be exposed to the direct rays of the sun. 

 Ventilators hinged on header and opening on ridge will 

 always give trouble. No matter what kind of covering 

 is put over the opening, if it efficiently excludes the 

 burning sun's rays it will also prevent the ingress of 

 air. 



Propagating room should be provided for ; and in the 

 case of general trade Ferns raised from spores, it is a 

 very safe rule to calculate on having from 60 to 70 

 square inches of room in the propagating frame for 

 every 1,000 plants desired. The propagating frame 

 should be 3% feet wide, have sides 9 inches high, and, 

 to insure an even moisture, its bottom should be cov- 

 ered to the thickness of 1 inch with fine cinders with 

 the fine ashes removed, which make very clean and effi- 

 cient drainage material. The frame should be covered 

 with light sash constructed with drip-bars, to carry off 

 condensation. 



Shading of Fern houses should have close attention. 

 It is best effected by the application of a suitable wash 

 to the outside of glass on roof. The following composi- 

 tion for a wash has given excellent results for a num- 

 ber of years : To 2 gallons of benzine or turpentine add 

 1 pint (or more, according to time the shading is de- 

 sired to remain on houses) of linseed oil, 5 pounds of 

 pure white lead and enough whitening to make proper 

 thickness (which can very easily be ascertained by ap- 

 plying some of it to a piece of glass while adding the 

 whitening) ; thoroughly mix and apply to outside of 

 glass with a soft brush of the same width as glass. 

 This shading, by the addition of more or less linseed 

 oil, may be made to stay on houses up to one year. If 

 properly applied in spring, it will be just right during 

 the hot days of summer, and in the fall and winter, 

 when more light is gradually required, the frosts gradu- 

 ally will have reduced the shading, thus admitting more 

 light at the necessary time. 



Much time, annoyance and expense will be saved by 

 a careful arrangement of the workshop, or potting room , 

 a thing which in most cases is totally neglected. It 

 should be so built that potting benches are about 3 feet 

 above the floor and 5 feet wide. They may be perma- 

 nently constructed of substantial material, in order that 

 a number of pots of different sizes can be conveniently 

 stored, and that potting material can be thrown from 

 cart or wagon directly onto potting benches. By an im- 

 proper arrangement of workshop great expense, loss 

 of time and material are incurred by having to handle 

 material repeatedly in small quantities. 



Propagation by Means of Spores. To grow Ferns 

 from spores successfully, it is advisable to sterilize soil 

 on which spores are to be sown, which can best be done 

 by subjecting it to a high temperature by means of 

 steam under a pressure of from 10 to 15 pounds ; and 

 for this purpose a properly equipped workshop should 

 be provided with a tight box about 3 by 3 by 8 feet or 

 larger if an uncommonly large number of Ferns is to 

 be grown. It should be fitted with a grating made of 2- 

 inch laths spaced one inch apart and placed 2 inches 

 from bottom of the box. This grating may be covered 

 with burlap, and if a %-inch steam pipe is fitted between 

 bottom of box and grating, and connected to highest 

 point of steam boiler (to insure getting perfectly dry 

 steam) we are ready to sterilize the soil. After having 

 cooled off, the soil is in practically the same condition 

 as before as far as moisture, friableness, etc., are con- 

 cerned, and this cannot be said of soil that has been 

 sterilized by burning and by other methods. This 

 steaming process will effectually destroy all forms of 

 life in the soil and leave it for the use of spores alone. 

 In most localities, the water used for moistening spores 



