Gardening for Amateurs 



339 



hanging-baskets than in pots. The Lace with moss and peat, Platycerium grande, 

 Fern (Cheilanthes elegans), Nothochlaena P. Willinckii, and P. aethiopicum deserve 

 ferruginea (rufa), and Pellaea cordata flexuosa special mention. The best silver fern for a 

 are pretty, slender-growing ferns for hang- hanging basket is Gymnogramme schizo- 

 ing-baskets in the greenhouse. The ferns phylla gloriosa. Though the fronds of the 

 suitable for hanging-baskets in the warm Gold Ferns G. dobroydense, G. Alstonei, 

 greenhouse or hothouse com- 

 prise many kinds. Some of 

 these, notably the Ladder 

 Ferns (Nephrolepis) may be 

 accommodated in an ordinary 

 greenhouse in summer, yet to 

 cultivate the plants success- 

 fully they must be returned 

 to the warm greenhouse in 

 w inter. Nephrolepis exaltata 

 is a popular Ladder Fern 

 which has given rise to the 

 beautiful varieties elegantis- 

 sima. Fosteri todaeoides, Whit- 

 manii, etc., all of which are 

 most attractive in baskets. 

 N. cordifolia, N. pectinata, 

 N. acuta (ensifolia), N. daval- 

 loides are also suitable, the 

 two last-named being particu- 

 larly valuable for large green- 

 houses. The baskets become 

 covered with handsome fronds. 

 The Hare's-foot Ferns (Daval- 

 lia) make splendid basket 

 plants, among the best being 

 D. dissecta, D. Tyermanni, 

 D. immersa, D. solida, D. 

 Fijiensis, and D. plumosa. 



Equally important and ele- 

 gant in habit are the Maiden- 

 hair Ferns, Adiantum cunea- 

 tum, A. gracillimum, A. Moorei 

 (amabile), A. assimile, A. cilia- 

 turn, A. dolabriforme, and A. 



The Carrion flower (Stapelia), grown in hanging flower 

 pot. 



elegans. Polypodium (Goniophlebium) sub- 

 auriculatum and Asplenium longissimum 

 are notable examples of ferns with long, 

 drooping fronds sometimes approaching 

 6 feet in length. Polypodium Knightiae 

 is another remarkable fern. Among the 

 Stag's-horn Ferns, which may all be grown 

 in baskets or on pieces of wood covered 



and G. chrysophylla do not hang down and 

 hide the Iwse of the baskets, it is worth while 

 suspending them in baskets to get a view 

 of the beautiful farina or powder on the 

 under side of the leaves. Wooden (teak) 

 baskets should be used for Davallia and 

 Platycerium ; the roots seem to thrive 

 much better on wood than on wire. 



