26S 



JOURNAL OP HOETICTJLTTJEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ October i, 1864. 



your agreeable company is humbly solicited, and whatever 

 donation you may be pleased to confer on us then will be 

 thankfully received, warmly acknowledged, and cheerfully 

 repaid whenever called for on a similar occasion, by your 

 obedient servants, David Jones, shoemaker, and Hester 

 Morris." What a wedding it seemed to be, as I gazed for a 

 few minutes on the soberly merry scene ! What an incon- 

 gruous heap of presents the bidding had collected — chairs, 

 tables, a clock, cups, jugs, pots and pans ! What a Babel of 

 voices ! and what dancing i Nothing rude or boisterous 

 but the fiddle, which gave spasmodic attempts to be jocund 

 only ending in a growl, to which one young dancer after 

 another trod a sedate and solemn measure, while the elders 

 exclaimed, " Look ! see what a grand dance ! Tes, yes, it is 

 fine." Thinking the " Sasseneg" might be a hinderer of 

 mirth, I departed. 



This frond of Aspleniuni marinum, measuring 1-J- foot, I 

 consider the gem of my old book ; it bears a look of learning 

 about it ; it reminds me that at this time I invested half a 

 guinea (its then price), in Moore's " Popular History of 

 British Ferns," and that it has been quite worth its cost to 

 me. In the local distribution of Asplenium marinum I found 

 mentioned, " Cliffs between Tenby and Saunder's Foot." I 

 tremble when I think of those cliif's. Armed with a bamboo 

 15 feet long, with a knife tied on the end, I sallied forth 

 one day in search. By using the utmost dexterity the bam- 

 boo was carried safely over the ferry ; but the land passage 

 was not so easily accomplished, the retreating tide leaving, 

 not sand or shingle, but huge boulders of slimy stones and 

 rock, covered with various Algaj, each more inimical to 

 walking than the other, while little pools of water with 

 tiny crabs in them seemed lying in wait at every step. I 

 measured the bamboo with my eye, and grasped it fairly 

 in the middle, but now its head would entangle itself in the 

 seaweed ahead, its poor body starting up like an overstrained 

 bow, threatening to precipitate me backwards ; and now it 

 would buiy itself in the sand, from which, at an unwary 

 jerk, it flew madly in the air, dancing the knife about in 

 dangerous fashion. 



Yet, how beautiful was that coast ! Cliff after cliff broken 

 into every fantastic form, with masses of trailing plants 

 adorning them, and here and there, high and dry, a bit of 

 sand from which poor dried-up grass issued, sent, as it 

 seemed, to bear the tender weight of pink and white Con- 

 volvulus. The white ripples of the retreating tide returned 

 for a moment to gaze upon the intruders, while far overhead 

 a solitary bird went sailing into the blue distance, sending 

 forth a plaintive cry to its lost fellows. And hi some little 

 cave amidst this unbroken solitude I was to see for the first 

 time my friend Asplenium marinum, and at last I found it ! 

 A damp dripping cave it was, with no bit of dry rock to 

 promise a safe perch if the waves caught you; steep cliffs 

 around with no escape ; but hanging here and there above 

 my reach, even with the bamboo, I saw the long shining 

 sprays of the beautiful Marinum. 



But how to get at it ? 



Mounting as high as I dared on a tiny ledge till hat and 

 chin peered over the projecting rock, steadying myself with 

 one hand, with the other I hoisted up the bamboo, and be- 

 gan a sort of sky fishing, making desperate jerks to reach 

 my object, when suddenly there boomed on my ear like a 

 cannon, " Bless my soul, madam, you '11 be killed ! Hold on 

 till I come." But who was " I ?" Just rounding the cliff 

 came a little boat, and in it a gentleman, a lady, and a sailor. 

 Stout and ruddy against the blue sky showed the pair as I 

 sighted them over the point. The "situation" was not 

 exactly happy, but with a firm hold I was master of it. The 

 party landed. The gentleman bowed, and asked leave to 

 take my place; but even then we were but a few inches 

 nearer the Fern. Then the sailor came, and, like Caesar, 

 saw and conquered. " Tes, yes," he said. " Sure she 's 

 high, but I '11 get her. May I stand on your shoulder, sir ? " 

 In a moment the boatman was on the stranger's arm, cling- 

 ing to a scrap of rock. A spring, and he was safe on a ledge, 

 securing root after root of the desired treasure ; and thus 

 I became possessed of the first living specimen for a fernery 

 that has been my pleasure for ten years. 



The little party in the sea-cave gathered round the Fern, 

 feeling we could hardly admire it enough, with its black 

 s hinin g stipes, its simply pinnate frond — not stiff, as in cul- 



tivated specimens, but with a waving curve of dark bright 

 green on which the light glinted — its fructification (it was 

 autumn), rich, full, and brown, traversing from either side 

 of the mid-vein of the pinnule to the serrated outer edge. 



After due examination, the sailor took a " cordial " from 

 our pic-nic flask, jumped into his boat, and the party, so 

 strangely brought together in pleasant fellowship in that 

 lonely spot, parted for ever. I planted the roots in pots half 

 full of drainage, and I have them now as green and beauti- 

 ful as then. In looking at them I often wonder whether 

 there still exists in another English home one of the trophies 

 of this day, of which a gentleman says in a jolly voice, "That, 

 my love, is the Fern I found the day I saved the lady's life 

 in the Welsh cave;" and whether the rejoinder remains, 

 "My dear, you were very foolish, and it was the sailor !" — 

 Pilix-Pcemina. 



AisnsrrjALS and bulbs fob garden 



DECORATION. 



The time is drawing near when there will be a blank in 

 the flower garden from the removal or destruction of its 

 summer occupants, unless prompt measures be taken to 

 replace them by plants calculated to do away with the dreary 

 aspect which the beds too frequently present in winter, 

 spring, and early summer. The flower garden can be made 

 interesting from the appearance of the Snowdrop to the 

 blooming of the Eose ; in winter, by a discriminate use of 

 small or miniature evergreen shrubs ; in autumn by the pre- 

 paration of the beds for bulbs and other spring-flowering 

 plants; in spring and early summer, really beautiful by 

 means of a variety of plants. 



It is high time to sow seed of the following annuals for 

 flowering in the ensuing spring, and as the beds will not 

 be ready for them for some time, it is advisable to sow 

 rather thinly in a sheltered situation, and, if possible, on 

 well-drained ground. If the soil is poor and light a dressing 

 of leaf mould an inch thick, spread on the surface and neatly 

 pointed-in, will benefit the plants. Prior to sowing tread 

 the surface firm if the soil is at all light and sandy ; but if 

 tenacious in character treading will not be required. It is 

 necessary to have the soil firm that the plants may make 

 fibrous roots, so that they can be removed with a close 

 ball. It is also certain that seedling plants withstand frost 

 much better in a firm than in a loose soil, and they are there 

 stronger and more dwarf. Having levelled the surface and 

 sown the seeds thinly, but rather more thickly than in spring 

 sowing, only just cover them with very fine soil. H all go 

 on well they will be up in a few days, when a vigilant watch 

 must be kept on the seedlings to prevent their destruction 

 by slugs. A little soot sprinkled around them will do much 

 to prevent the ravages of these ; but the best plan is to 

 search for them at night with a lantern, and the next best 

 to dust a little quicklime over the plants at dusk in order to 

 kill the depredators. 



If the winter prove mild all will do well and be of suffi- 

 cient size to transplant into their blooming quarters when 

 the first mild weather occurs in March. Take them up 

 with good balls and plant them thickly, consolidating the 

 soil about their roots. Water copiously if dry weather 

 ensue, and thin the plants if they stand too closely ; but 

 this will rarely be necessary, the difficulty being to obtain 

 enough of them to cover the surface densely. 



To provide against accidents and to fill up blanks, it is 

 advisable to sow a quantity in pots and afford them the 

 protection of a cold frame, admitting air freely on all oc- 

 casions, and protecting only in severe weather, when a cover- 

 ing of mats will do much to keep off frost, and if the mats 

 be left on until the plants are thawed the injury sustained 

 will be much less. To preserve the roots the pots should be 

 plunged to the rim in coal ashes. Those who have room 

 may keep them on shelves near the glass in cool green- 

 houses, and if an early bloom is desired they may be potted 

 in spring and allowed to flower in the greenhouse. They 

 should be transplanted to then- final quarters if wanted for 

 flower-garden decoration by the beginning of April. Light 

 loam and leaf mould in equal parts form the most suitable 

 compost. The seeds should be sown from the middle of 

 September to the beginning of October, that being the 

 latest period. September is the most suitable month. 



