60 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Freesias Grown in the Window 

 Photograph by Pfof. F. T. Shutt 



while had he had patience they would 

 soon have rewarded him with an abund- 

 ance of bloom. 



Freesias should be started in August 

 if the bulbs can be obtained, and even 

 if kept growing steadily no flowers need 



be expected before the last week of 

 December, unless with Rermuda-grown 

 bulbs, which can be purchased early in 

 July. With them flowers should be 

 produced a little earlier. As the bulbs 

 are very cheap, about $1.00 per 100 

 retail, they may be used freely, and 

 there will be a greater mass of flowers 

 if planted fairly close. Freesias are 

 very effective when grown in boxes, as 

 is well shown in the illustration. They 

 should be placed in the window so that 

 the plants will get an abundance of 

 light, for it takes a considerable time 

 for them to come into bloom, and the 

 plants will be very spindley and the 

 flowers small unless they get plenty of 

 light and sunshine. 



The bulbs should be planted from 

 one to two inches apart to get the most 

 effective display of flowers. From) a 

 pot of six bulbs 124 flowers were pro- 

 duced. As the plants grow tall before 

 blooming, they should be supported,.by 

 a wire. They are very easily grown, 

 but as they make a great deal of growth 

 before the flower-buds show, one must 

 have patience, but the reward is well 

 worth waiting for. 



THERE is no branch of plant cul- 

 ture so fascinating as the col- 

 lecting, arranging and growing of ferns 

 in the garden. About 10 years ago I 

 started to make a collection with the 

 object, at first, of being in the woods 

 and close to nature with my two little 

 boys, but gradually the quest assumed 

 new interests, until I was absorbed by 

 it, and now I have a collection of 40 

 to 48 varieties all growing in the gar- 

 den as well as they did at home in their 

 own haunts. With about six excep- 

 tions all these varieties have been col- 

 lected in the district surrounding Ham- 

 ilton. Last fall I had a collection of 

 33 varieties at the Horticultural Ex- 

 hibition held in Hamilton. Although 

 the exhibit was interesting, it would 

 have been much more so had the show 

 been in July rather than in September. 



When I began making the collection 

 I was told by some men of wide ex- 

 perience, that ferns would not grow 

 in such an exposed situation as mine 

 was, but time has proved that they 

 were wrong. The bed of Adiantum 

 pedatum shown in the photograph, is 

 nine years old, and is better than can 

 be found in the woods anywhere to-day. 



Several important points regarding 

 the handling of these plants have been 

 learned since the first specimens were 

 put in the garden. Great care must 

 be taken in gathering them. Less dan- 

 ger of loss will result if they are trans- 

 planted when in a quiescent state, but 



Our Native Ferns 



Dr. Douglas G. Storms, Hamilton, Ont. 



with my limited time 1 have been 

 obliged to take them at whatever sea- 

 son they were found, and I have rarelj- 

 lost any specimens. Plenty of earth 

 should be taken up with the plants, 

 especially if they are removed out of 

 season. A moderately good soil in as 



shady a place as possible is the most 

 suitable for their development. After 

 being planted they should be left alone. 

 If ferns are coddled they die. 



Conditions, as nearly as possible the 

 same as existed where the ferns were 

 found, should be maintained at all sea- 



Seventeen Varieties of Ferns in Dr. Storms' Garden 



