to prevent drip on 

 yui^ out of the soil. 

 i- liinfe'ed, so that it 

 iM-nliimse many in- 

 podiumsand Selagi 

 ch the same way as 

 OL N. Bruckner. 

 I THE Amateur.— 



578 FERN 



The bottom should be a zinc tr; 

 the floor and to prevent to., rupid 

 The top or roof of the b,,x slmuld 

 can be raised. In this miiiiaturi- 

 teresting Perns can be grown. Ly 

 nellas (which see) are treated in i 

 Ferns. jj, 



Growino Ferns prom Spores 

 Ferns may be raised from spores at almost any season 

 of the year, though the ffii-ly ^i.rint; inunths an' brst. 

 The shallow pans 2 in. df<-\> li\- il iii <n;iinct'T, unw smI.i 

 by pot manufacturers, we lia\.- fennel, aft.r- i-.|ii'ah.l 

 trials, best to sow Fern Kj.i.r,-, iu. 'I'li.-.' -Im.uI.I !"■ lill.-d 

 to within half an inch of the tup h iili a inixturr .,r silt, d 

 peat, leaf -mold and silver saudiii ii|iial |.r"|"irti"ii~. tli.' 

 surface being made very tine and ■■\.ii. l;y -Mwiim tli.> 

 spores thinly we have found that tli, y .n- laa ai lial.lr 

 to the attacks of fungus during tin- pi-Mtliailus stai.'.'. 

 They should not be covered with soil, as in sowing seeds. 

 Each pan should be placed in a pot-saucer, and all the 

 water necessary to keep the soil moist should be poured 

 into the saii.-er and allowed to soak up through the soil. 

 This nr.t c.i)l\ ].(r \ , ,,|- 111,. .,H,,vs beingfloated into clus- 

 ters, Im' ; ' ' t ■! , (t. r of any germs of low 

 forms I.I !, II I i^'ht prove injurious to 



the s]...r. .1 J J i;,,!,. After the prothallus 



sta;;.- is | . . i i lii.-, |in . ;uui..u is unnecessary; as soon 

 as th.' y.'iiiiL,' IfTus begin to develop fronds, they may 

 • "■ wall]-. I ir.idy overhead with a fine rose. The pans 

 -li..iil.| I..' [.l.a.-ed in a temperature of 65° to 75°, in a 

 sha.l.-.i p.isiti.jn. Each pan should be covered with a 

 pane of glass to keep the surface evenly moist, taking 

 care to remove the moisture which collects on the 

 glass at least twice daily ; but as soon as the spores have 

 germinated, which, in most cases will be in about ten 

 days, these should be gradually removed. A close watch 

 must be kept for fungus during the prothallus stage, and 

 if a pan should show the least sign of it, it should at 

 once be isolated from the rest and a little fine sulphur 

 dusted upon it ; if this fails to check it the prothalli 

 should be at once transplanted to fresh pans of soil, 

 which usually checks it. The chief reasons for fungus 

 are sowing the spores too thickly, a too stagnant atmos- 

 phere after germination, and a dripping greenhouse roof. 

 As soon as the young Ferns begin to make fronds, they 

 may be transplanted. Edwaru J. Canning. t^ 



FEBN BALLS are the dried rhizomes of Ferns, im- I 

 ported from Japan. Dealers start them into growth, and 

 sell them when the mass is well covered with its deli- 

 cate vegetation. To start them into growth, the balls 

 are drenched in a tub of water and then hung in a 

 warmhouse, not in direct sunlight. When the plants are 

 well started, gradually expose them to more light and 

 to a cooler air. Give liquid manure if they do not grow 

 satisfactorily. The species are mostly Davallias. oftenest 

 apparently 1). huUata and D, Maritsii. Xj. H. B. 



FERNS, POPULAR NAMES OF. Adder's Tongue F., 



Ophio,,l„ss,n,i n,l,,at,n„. Beech F., ^■/.../"/.^)v^•. Bird's- 

 ne8t F., TlinniHopirns yi.liis-Aris. Bladder F., Cys- 

 topterts. Boston F., .V. /.;.)■.. /.yji.v ,.r,:U,il,,. var. Bostotii- 

 fnsis. Bristle F.. Trirl,o,>i,ni,'s. Bmc^Ibt F., l>rii„pteris. 

 Californian Gold F., Ciimiiniiriuiuini iriiniiiKliiris. 

 Chain F., Il'...../»v;, •./;.(. Christmas F., I'^'hisiirhum 

 iicrustirln:nU'X. Cinnamon F., (tsiniiii.l.i <iiiiiaiiiiiniea. 

 Climbing F., L'i.r"lnn„. Deer F., I.^mnrm. Elk's 

 HomF., J'/<ihir, ,■,.,,„ .,/,,,■.,,■„.. Female ¥.,Asplenhtm 

 Fili.r-f,r„n,!„. Filmy F., II iimrimpl, iinnm. Floating 

 Y., ('t'nil.,pt, ris. Flowering'!"., (ismimila; sometimes 

 also An.:i,t't<i. Gold F., <jiiii,i:n,irii mma. Grape F., 

 Botrychiin,,. Hart's-tongue F., Plmllitlx .Sn,lopen- 

 drium. Hartford F.. I.ii.i.nlinm p.ihnalui,,. Holly F., 

 PoUjstirlu,,,, l...,i,-l,;iis. Lace F., Ili.iUmth.s ,,mcit- 

 lima. Lady F., Axplmhim Filix-ia miini . Lip F., 

 Cheilntitli. s. Maidenhair F., Ailln i,l,nii : iii..r.- j.articu- 

 larly .1. r„,);//,,.v-r,H.)-i.s- ahr.ia.l and A . p. , I., t„m a.t 

 .jil.ris Filij-,„„s. Marsh F., />ri/- 

 Oak F.. />/,,. /../.^, ■■s Iha^.ptpris. 



./ Strlithini'l. ris. PoA F.. < '. mtop- 



Rattlesnake F.. i;„t,-ii.'l,i,n„ Mr- 

 Sensitive F., 



FERTILITY 



P.attisti Ferrari, 1584-1653, 

 cr and collaborator with the 

 tli). Iridacew. There are 

 of Good Hope, rarely grow- 

 They have a large, irreg- 

 is fidiage, the lowest Ivs. 

 rest ..vate, clasping, succes- 

 tiy inflated sheaths from 



The 





derfully mar 

 purple and 

 and the fls. 



.r.a.lin^'. .tisj..-.!. ]..-taI-like lobes, won- 

 [ with many dull cjlurs, as yellow, green, 

 wn. Each spatbe contains several fls., 

 united at the very base, connivent and 

 cup-shaped below the spreading lobes. The fls. last only 

 from morning to afternoon of a siiij,^!.,' day, but there is 

 a fair succession. Some ar.. \i-iiiil l.v .airion flies. 

 Only one species, F. utuh'h: ,.[ . ~. .1 at pres- 



ent, but the other are .1... rial interest. 



The first is the oldest kin. I m luli li \^as known to 

 pre-Linniean authors as Fins Imiiriis an. I GInilioluit In- 

 dicus. E. S. Miller writes that the bulbs should be stored 

 like Gladiolus in a dry, warm place, away from mice. 

 A. Fls. dull brownish purple. 

 undul&ta, Linn. Stem stout, erect : upper Ivs. and 

 spathes 11^-2 in. long: fls. 2 in. across, largely dull pur- 

 ple; anthers oblong, with parallel cells. B.M. 144. 

 A a. Fls. greenish. 

 uncin&ta, Sweet. L'ts. 2-3, linear: fls. 2, "cream 

 colored, edged with sage green," according to W. E. 

 Endicott. « 



AAA. Fls. dark purple. 

 atrtta, Lodd. Lvs. about 4, sword shaped : fls. 3-4. 

 Other names are advertised by Dutch bulb growers, but 

 are not to be found in Index Kewensis or Flora Capensis: 

 F. Canariensia.coelestis. con^hiflora. grandiflora. immaculata, 

 HIiacea ami rosea. These can perhaps be accounted for under 

 Tigridia. where F. Pavonia belongs. ^^ jyf _ 



FERTILITY of soils: that condition of soils which 

 makes them productive. The elements of productivity 

 are, a full supply of available plant-food, a suitable and 

 continuous supply of moisture, good physical conditions 

 of the soil, coupled with suitable seed and climate. 



Land may contain vast quantities of potential nitro- 

 gen, potash and phosphoric acid and other plant-food, 

 and yet be unfruitful, — infertile. Most of the potenti; 



lazy. 



lot available in sufficient 

 I produce maximum crops. 

 .mtains from 3,000-4,000 

 "lilt of phosphoric acid 

 I li.tirst 8 inches of an 



MaleF.,7>/i/. 

 opteris Th,h(pl,-r;s. 

 Ostrich ¥.,Mntt,-H<-ci 

 teris thalictroidix. 

 giniamim. Royal F 



Onoclea sensibili.-i. Shield F., Ih- 



Stag-horn 



a-'i.,!.. . [.f.-iii. !• . ii':' I. 1 . 1 1 ■■ ' r N ...f wheat per acre, 

 w In- , r. .luii. ■, iMili 111., -iriiu , l.iit L'4, 13 and 20 pounds 

 of these thre.- eleni.-nts respectively. Therefore, land 

 may contain a great abundance of potential plant-food 

 and yet not contain enough of that which is available 

 for a full crop. To make land more fertile, one or more 

 of the following means may be employed. Usually 

 deeper and more thorough tillage should first be re- 

 sorted to, since most lands, by reason of careless farm- 

 ing, contain much inert plant-food. Superior tillage is 

 almost certain to produce fn:i»fi;In. - =. Trid thrrefore 

 should be resorted to befi.ri ■ , • ■ ' . uhiIioiIs 



are tried. Tillage not only nm ■; •imih avail- 



able, but it improves thepliy . , ;. .1 ill. -oil, 



thereby making it more coint-a lai-i.j i.ir the jilaiit; it 

 may also assist in relieving the hui.l of surplus water, 

 and give to the soil the power of retaining large stores 

 of moisture by capillary action. 



Moisture plays such an important part in productive- 

 ness that it may be said to constitute its prime factor. 

 Clay soil.s are usually composed of such fine particles 

 that water percolates "through them slowly or not at all. 

 The rainfall then must either run off over the surface, 



