January Jl, 1865. ] 



JOFENAL OP HOKTICTJLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



finely cut that it lias the appearance of lacework. It in- 

 creases rapidly, a number of small plants collecting rovind 

 the old root, which when planted out soon cjrow. 



There are many other foreign Ferns that look exceedingly 

 handsome in a fernery, but I have only cultivated those I 

 have named. I am hoping to find several of the Otago 

 Perns hardy enough to brave a Devonshire winter ; but I 

 shall not venture them out till I have proved them more 

 surely. 



I have never in my wandi^rings found either the "Woodsia 

 Uvensis or hyperborea. I have heai-d of them in Scotland, 

 and again at the Lakes, but I am obliged to confess that I 

 have met with neither of the plants either in its wOd or 

 cultivated state, so that I have been unable to buy one from 

 any collection I have been over. I believe they are too rare 

 and uncertain in growth to be trusted out of doors, even 

 during the summer. 



Another Pern I have never found is the Asplenium fon- 

 tanum. I have had several plants of this which I have tried 

 to harden sufficiently to trust in the fernery, but they are, 

 at best, unhappy-looking, and the slugs devour the little 

 juicy fronds, which are about 2 inches long, and in appear- 

 ance like the young fronds of Asplenium lanceolatum. In 

 a cool greenhouse fontanum grows well, throwing up a 

 compact cluster of rather pale green fronds. I plant it in a 

 pot half full of drainage, and leave a few bits of broken 

 flower-pot amongst the soil in which I plant it. I venture 

 one plant out in the summer, as I like to see at a glance all 

 my specimens gathered together. A well-stocked fernery, 

 and "Moore's Handbook," will teach a beginner in a couple 

 of lessons more than a month's study of all the learned books 

 on Perns published. The biography of a good man is a 

 pleasant thing to read, but to see that man face to face, and 

 to know him personally is far better. After this acquaint- 

 ance by sight, the study of little peculiarities, aided by 

 magnifying glasses, and by the experience of others, is made 

 doubly interesting. — Filis-fcemina. 



Pew creeping, trailing, or climbing plants merit so much 

 at our hands as the Ivy (Hedera helix). It is most accom- 

 modating as to soU and sit\iation, as it will grow almost 

 anywhere, in sunshine or in gloom, and it ever gives a 

 pleasing and lively appearance. It flowers at a time, when 



*' Tke raia and wind beat dark Doceniber," 

 at a time, too, when its leaves of vivid green are so much 

 sought after for the decoration of the " wide hall and cottage 

 smaU," in celebration of the Christmas festival. It blooms 

 at a season when all the rest of nature is dead alike to the 

 botanist and lover of flowers. Newly -introduced plants we 

 praise and pet ; but this rare old plant that clings so tena- 

 ciously to the old castle and tower, we do not fully appre- 

 ciate. From the days of the Druids , down to the present 

 time this plant has been held in high repute for covering 

 old buildings, and giving them a more ancient appearance. 



Ivies like a dry, well-drained soil, but will grow in almost 

 all soils and situations, and where scarcely anything else 

 will succeed. That is one of their greatest recommendations. 

 For covering unsightly buildings or palings, and in soil 

 mifavourable to the growth of any other plant, the Ivy has 

 no rival; if planted at the foot of a tree all but dead, it 

 quickly converts it into a lovely object; if trained on arbours 

 it adds mrrch to their coolness in summer, to their warmth 

 in winter, and to their beauty at all seasons : and for train- 

 ing on wire or wickerworfc round beds it is especially suited. 

 For forming belts in borders the Ivies are well adapted ; for 

 blending with other plants in suspended baskets in cool 

 conservatories they are effective ; and for ornamenting roek- 

 Tvork, the entrances of caves or caverns, and for rambling 

 over ruins they have no equal. ° 



Ivy is propagated naturally by seeds (the berries are 

 eaten greedily by wood pigeons, blackbirds, and other birds, 

 the blackbirds occasionally feeding their young with them), 

 but under cultivation it is best increased by layers. The 

 most suitable time to do this is in spring, a little before 

 growth commences in March. Having drained a 24-sized 

 pot weU, half fiU it with rather Hght soil, and plunge it to 



the rim, where a moderately strong shoot can be placed 



across it with a foot of growth beyond. Bending the shoot 

 into the pot, fasten it down in the centre with a peg, then 

 twist the growing end round the inside of the pot, covering 

 with earth, and finally bring the growing point to the 

 centre of the pot, tying it there upright to a small stick. 

 By coiling the stem round the inside of the pot more roots 

 wiU be emitted than if the stem were simply placed across 

 it, and it will better endure separation from the parent. 

 The shoots may be layered in the soil arovmd the plant, and 

 though they root with equal certainty the plants cannot be 

 so conveniently moved from place to place, nor can they be so 

 safely transplanted. In either case thej' will be well rooted 

 by autumn, when they may be detached from the parent, 

 and if in pots removed, plunging the pot in coal ashes in a 

 sheltered situation. The rooting of the layers will be more 

 rapid if they are watered occasionally during dry weather, 

 especially if in pots. 



In spring they may be potted in nine-inch pots if large 

 plants ai'e wanted for planting out, and a stake about 3 feet 

 high placed in the centre, in order that the shoots may be 

 fastened loosely to it as they advance. Though Ivy usually 

 grows amongst old rubbish, a little well-rotted manure 

 mixed with the soil will assist the growth of the plants. 

 ! Shoots layered in the soil around the ijlants may be sepa- 

 ■ rated from the parent in the autumn, and potted in six-inch 

 pots, plunging them in cool ashes in a sheltered situation, 

 and tying the shoots to a neat stake. In this position they 

 may remain another year, watering them in dry weather, 

 and by the autumn of the second year they will be strong 

 plants 3 feet or more in height, having a profusion of lateral 

 or side-shoots, and fit for planting in any position, and to 

 give an appearance at once. 



Ivy may also be increased by cuttings. Select young 

 shoots in summer about 1 foot in length, and wit'a a few 

 I inches of the old wood, and insert them 6 inches deep and the 

 same distance apart in a shady border of light sandy soil, 

 trimming the leaves off the part inserted. They will root 

 much more certainlj' and quickly if covered with a frame 

 and lights, shaded from 'oright sun, and kept in a moist soil 

 and atmosphere, and for the better or more tender va- 

 riegated kinds a frame is desirable, as they root rather 

 slowly in the open air. The most suitable time for insert- 

 ing the cuttings I find to be June and July ; but they will 

 strike at almost all seasons, if care be taken to select the 

 young healthy growths with a portion of the old wood, 

 especially those having rooting formations, as when running 

 along a wall or over the soil. The cuttings will be well 

 rooted and established by autumn — that is, presuming them 

 to have been put in by July ; they may then be potted in 

 six-inch pots if of the strong-growing kinds, or into a less 

 size if of smaller growth, and plunged in coal ashes in a 

 sheltered situation under a fence or wall. If such a position 

 cannot be afforded they should be protected in a frame, and 

 for some kinds a slight protection in winter is necessary, 

 especially in exposed situations. 



The plants should remain in pots until they become 

 strong, when they may be planted out, it being desii'able to- 

 employ strong plants only, for the positions they have to 

 occupy are frequently not conducive to free growth : besides, 

 when strong, they take more readily to any place, and give 

 an appearance at once. In planting the soil should 'oe taken 

 out for a space of about a yard, and about a barrowful of 

 sandy loam (that from turves is to be preferred), well rotted 

 manure, and leaf mould in equal parts, to each plant, will 

 give them a start. This addition of fresh soil is particularly 

 desirable when the plants are against walls, the soil near 

 which is for the most >jart formed of old rubbish, and when 

 planted around old stumps of trees, where the soil is gene- 

 rally exhausted. 



For planting against walls that are a considerable height 

 the common Ivy (Hedera lieUx) has no rival, and it grows 

 equally well on all aspects, but is best suited for a northern 

 one. It is also the best of all for climbing up the boles and 

 along the branches of trees, and may frequently be seen 

 covering many trees to a height of 40 or 50 feet from the 

 ground. The finest sight I have seen of this kind was the 

 trunk and majestic arms of an Oak covered to a height of 

 45 feet. It had six arms at 12 feet from the ground, and 

 these were covered fbr 10 feet from the trunk, and 12 feet 



