832 



Gardening for Amateurs 



spores, care must be taken that the spore 

 cases are almost ready to discharge their 

 contents, while it is also of equal importance 

 to see that the cases are not open and the 

 spores already escaped. The fronds being 

 gathered should be put in a piece of clean 

 white paper and correctly labelled. In a 

 dry atmosphere the spore cases will have 

 discharged their contents in about ten days, 

 the spores themselves being found in the 

 paper in the shape of a very fine powder. 

 They are sown in a compost made up of 

 loam, peat and a little sand ; this should be 

 baked before use in order to destroy any 

 living organisms. If this is not done moss 

 will often put in an appearance and choke 

 the young ferns. Whether pots or pans are 

 used, they should be clean and well drained. 



Part of the compost may be passed through 

 a sieve with a |-inch mesh, the rougher por- 

 tions being placed immediately over the 

 drainage material, while the finer is placed on 

 the top. It is then made level and pressed 

 down moderately firm, the pans or pots 

 being placed in some receptacle containing 

 water that reaches nearly to their rims. 

 In this way the water will enter through the 

 hole or holes in the bottom, and percolate 

 through the whole of the soil, thus completely 

 saturating it. While the surface is still wet, 

 sprinkle the spores as thinly as possible 

 thereon, and cover with a pane of glass. 

 Then put the pan or pot in a close, shaded 

 place, if in a propagating case so much the 

 better. When they need water the pots or 

 pans should be soaked as before advised. 

 The first sign of growth will be a moss-like 

 carpet on the surface of the soil. This may 

 be pricked off into pans of soil prepared as 

 for sowing, though the soil should be even 

 finer. With the additional space thus 

 allotted them, the sporlings will spread out 

 and in time produce fronds of their own, 

 If few spores germinate they may be left 

 undisturbed until the fronds appear, but 

 this rarely happens, as the spores are so 

 minute that it is almost impossible to scatter 

 them thinly. 



Most of the ferns enumerated below will 

 thrive in a winter temperature of 50 to 60. 



Adiantum. A very extensive genus of 

 beautiful ferns, among which are included 

 the various forms of Maidenhair. They are 



much appreciated for general decorative 

 purposes, both as large and small plants. 

 Among the best are aethiopicum, amabile, 

 Capillus-Veneris, cuneatum, decorum, elegans, 

 formosum, fulvum, gracillimum, Legrandii, 

 mundulum, Pacotti, reniforme and tinctum. 

 The handsome Adiantum Farleyense needs 

 a warmer greenhouse than the others named. 

 The hardiest of all is our native Adiantum 

 Capillus -Veneris, but the most generally 

 groAvn, and to which the term Maidenhair 

 is usually applied, is Adiantum cuneatum, 

 native of Brazil. Though an easily-grown 

 plant, it needs a temperature somewhat 

 above that of an ordinary greenhouse. This 

 Maidenhair, and in fact most of the others, 

 can be readily increased both bv spores 

 and division 



Alsophila. A group of Tree Ferns, of 

 which the best are A. australis and excelsa. 

 Their tall stems and wide-spreading fronds 

 need considerable space, but they are also 

 very ornamental when in a smaller state. 



Anemia. This belongs to the flowering 

 ferns, that is to say, those of which the 

 spores are borne on separate erect spikes 

 from the centre of the plant. A very pretty 

 sort is Phyllitidis, while rotundifolia, with 

 long, drooping fronds, is seen to advantage 

 when suspended in a basket or pot. 



Asplenium. These are for the most part 

 ferns of symmetrical form, with finely- 

 divided leaves. They are of considerable 

 ornamental value. Prominent among them 

 are biforme, bulbiferum, caudaturn (a beauti- 

 ful basket plant), Colensoi, dimorphum, 

 flabellifolium, Herbstii, laxum pumilum, 

 nidus (Bird's Nest Fern), Shepherdi, and 

 zeylanicum. 



Blechnum. Blechnum Brasiliense is a 

 miniature Tree Fern, while another of much 

 the same class is Corcovadense. Occidentale 

 grows about 1 foot high, the pinnate fronds 

 being so numerous as to form a large tuft. 



Gheilanthes. The fronds of some of 

 these are so finely divided as in one 

 species at least elegans to be called the 

 Lace Fern. Others are farinosa, hirta and 

 micromera. A distinctive feature of many of 

 the Cheilanthes is the scurf-like scales with 

 which the fronds are clothed. The different 

 Cheilanthes thrive in a drier atmosphere 

 than most ferns. 



