Gardening for Amateurs 



829 



and exhibit great variation. They love 

 damp, shady spots, and are particularly 

 satisfactory in chalky soils. A few good 

 varieties are : crispum, fimbriatum, crista- 

 tum. cristulatum, ramo-cristatum, ramo- 

 marginatum, and undulatum cornutum. 



Common Polypody (Polypodium vul- 

 gare). The varieties of the Common Poly- 

 pody are very distinct and pleasing. The 

 rhizomes love a peaty soil in which to ramble ; 

 perhaps the best com- 

 post is a mixture of 

 fibrous loam, leaf- 

 mould, peat, and old 

 broken mortar rub- 

 ble. The Polypodys 

 are evergreen. Half- 

 a - dozen pleasing 

 varieties are : cam- 

 bricum (the Welsh 

 Polypody), Barrowii, 

 cristatum. grandiceps, 

 Forster's variety, and 

 plumosum Hadwin's 

 variety. 



Other distinct 

 kinds of British 

 ferns are : Adiantum 

 Capillus-Veneris (the 

 Common Maidenhair), 

 Asplenium Tricho- 

 manes (the Common 

 Spleen w.ort , which 



does best in the crevices between large 

 boulders), Blechnum Spicant and varieties, 

 tho lovely Osmunda regalis (Royal Fern) 

 for swamps, and Phegopteris Dryopteris 

 (the Oak Fern). 



reddish-purple stems are attractive ; in 

 autumn come the large heads of closely 

 packed rosy -red flowers. These are fragrant, 

 the name " foetidum " referring to the 

 odour of the leaves when bruised. Increase 

 is readily effected by root cuttings and 

 suckers which spring up around the clumps. 

 Pieces of the fleshy roots 2 to 3 inches long 

 taken off in early spring may be planted in 

 sandy soil outside or in a frame. 



A Hardy Glerodendron. In Cleroden- 

 dron foetidum we have a very attractive 

 shrub flowering in September and early 

 October. The plants, which are natives of 

 China, require a little, protection in winter, 

 such, for instance, as is provided by a 

 position at the foot of a sunny south or 

 west fence. A well-drained sandy loam is 

 the most suitable soil, though this Clero- 

 dendron will thrive in most heavy garden 

 . soils that are well drained. The plants 

 grow from 3 to about 5 feet or a little more 

 in height, the shoots dying back each winter 

 often to the ground. The large leaves and 



Common Bracken (Pteris Aquilina). 



Wasps. Wasps are among the worst 

 foes of the fruit-grower, and the only effectual 

 way of dealing with them is to go to the root 

 of matters and destroy the nests when these 

 can be found. If the example given in some 

 districts of killing every possible queen wasp 

 early in the season were followed everywhere, 

 we should soon be troubled less, for every 

 queen "killed means a whole colony the less 

 during the summer and autumn. The best 

 method of destroying the nests is to dissolve 

 cyanide of potassium in water at the rate of 

 2 oz. to 3 gallons, and pour this into the 

 holes late at night. Fill up the hole to 

 confine the fumes, and not a wasp can escape. 

 The cyanide is deadly poison, and the fumes 

 should not be inhaled. A gallon of the 

 liquid should be sufficient for several nests, 

 unless they are extra strong, but it should 

 be used up as soon as it is prepared. 



