FERNS 265 



or water-can as will wash this compost entirely in and leave 

 the Ferns on the surface again. They are now fairly installed, 

 and all we have to do is to replace the glass, close all openings 

 as tightly as possible, and leave them severely alone. All 

 direct sunshine must be excluded, but as much daylight 

 afforded as possible, hence a position close to a north window 

 suits admirably. As a rule, after such an installation, they 

 may be left entirely untouched for several weeks, but no harm 

 will be done by an occasional gentle spraying of pure rain 

 water over the fronds. After a time it will be seen that new 

 fronds are pushing up here and there, and eventually the fresh 

 growth will entirely rectify the effects of disturbance, and all 

 the loveliness of the plants will be gradually developed. One 

 great charm about the Filmy Ferns is their persistent verdure, 

 the fronds in some cases remaining green and fresh through 

 several seasons ; hence there is no unsightly seasonal gap 

 such as occur with their drier kindred. Make the first 

 attempt with our hardy British species, viz., the dwarf-grow- 

 ing Hymenophyllum unuaterale and H. tunbridgense, which 

 form dense mats of delicate mossy growth a few inches high 

 at the utmost, and the delightful Bristle or Killarney Fern 

 ( Trichomanes radicans), which has a stouter rhizome and fronds 

 quite large enough to furnish any ordinary Wardian case. Of 

 this latter there are several beautiful varieties, especially T. r. 

 dilatatum, a grand leafy form, with fronds a foot high, and 

 T. r. Andrewsii, densum, dissectum, and cambrtcum, all varied 

 in cutting and make. It is beyond question that no Ferns 

 are so well adapted as the Filmies for case culture in rooms ; 

 all other species, however pretty they appear when first in- 

 stalled, are apt to get drawn and out of health before long 

 under such conditions, while a batch of Filmies, once fairly 

 started, thrives well, and if properly selected will never be 

 too large for the available space. For a large case, a central 

 plant of that exquisite yet hardy NewZealander, Todea superba, 

 may well be selected, but as a well-grown plant of this may 

 cover a circle of four feet in diameter, it is clear that in time it 

 will overgrow its room. Undoubtedly the easiest way to grow 

 Filmies is to sink a pit in a shady garden nook (i.e. toplights 

 but no sun), line it with bricks, red for preference, make a bed 

 as above described, and instal the Ferns, Todeas, and others 

 therein, covering the whale with a well-fitting light. In such 

 a pit the writer has had Todeas, Trichomanes, and Hymenophyl- 

 lums thriving marvellously, though shamefully neglected and 

 watered once a month at the oftenest, the sunken bed supply- 

 ing itself from the subsoil and the non-removal of the tight- 

 fitting light retaining the air in the necessary moist condition. 



