September 25, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



465 



Fern Notes. 



SPECIMEN Ferns should now be in their best condition, as 

 in most instances the growtli will be fully developed, and 

 showing the characteristics of the perfect fronds, whether 

 fertile or barren. y\nd, when the fronds are fertile, it will l)e 

 well to select some from which the future stock of young- 

 plants may be raised. In this selection of fronds it will be 

 found most satisfactory to cut them as soon as the spore- 

 cases begin to open, because when taken in this condition a 

 fair supply of spores are usually obtained ; whereas, if they 

 are allowed to remain on the plant imtil the spores begin to 

 drop, much of the best of the crop is frequently lost. But 

 owing to the great differences in the arrangement and appear- 

 ance of the spores on different species of Ferns, it requires 

 the excercise of some judgment in gathering them to 

 ensure success, and in this operation as in most others con- 

 nected with the growth of plants, experience is the best 

 teacher. 



It seems hardly necessary to repeat that the fronds gathered 

 for seed should be wrapped in clean paper and put in a dry 

 place for ten days or two weeks, at the end of which period 

 the spores may be shaken out and sown, or else stored away 

 in small phials for futin-e use. The month of September is a 

 good time to sow Fern-spores for an early spring crop, for 

 though the seedlings do not make rapid growth during the 

 winter, they will progress far enough to be in good condition 

 for an early start in the spring. 



Good use may be made of an odd corner in the green-house 

 b}' planting out a few Ferns for cutting. They n:ay be either 

 on the bench or underneath it, but it is preferable to grow 

 them on the bench, as they are better under control, and 

 the fronds are stiffer and have more substance than those 

 grown beneath where the light is less distinct. In growing 

 Ferns tor this purpose it is best to plant them in a compara- 

 tively stiff soil, as the fronds thus grown are harder and con- 

 sequently stand better after they are cut. 



The following species and varieties are well adapted for this 

 purpose : Adiantum cuneatinn, A. Wiegandii, Pteris serrulata, 

 P. Cretica magnifica, Onychiiim Japoniciiin and NcpJiroIepis 

 pectinata, and all of them may l)e readily grown in a green- 

 bouse temperature. Water should now be given quite early 

 in the day, and the moisture kept off the foliage as much as 

 possible by free ventilation. As much air at night as the 

 weather will permit should be given, because when kept too 

 close some of the foliage is sure to damp off. 



Among the easiest to be injured by moisture on the foliage 

 are the Golden and Silver Ferns (Gymnogrammas), several of 

 which grow l^est under stove treatment, while some few va- 

 rieties flourish in a green-house. Of those most susceptible 

 to injm"y from excessive moisture on the fronds, three or foiu- 

 are among the finest varieties, for instance : Gymno gramma 

 Peruviana argyrophylla, G. Laucheana magnifica, G. Laicch- 

 eana grandiceps and G. Wetenhalliana, the latter being con- 

 sidered l)y many persons one of the finest of the genus, 

 although it is not always easy to handle. While speaking of 

 Gymnogrammas we should not neglect G. schizophylla, a 

 charming basket Fern with very delicate, feathery foliage, and 

 possessing a notable peculiarity among its relatives of this 

 genus, its fronds being proliferous, and producing young 

 plants on or near the apex of the mid-rib. 



In the treatment of many of the stronger-growing Ferns an 

 occasional watering- with liquid n-ianure of medium strength 

 will be found beneficird after the plants become pot-bound, 

 tending to keep up the rich green of the fronds, but unless the 

 plant is quite pot-bound it is just as well without any special 

 feeding, and if the drainage of the pot is defective it is very 

 easy to overdo the application of stiniidants in this manner. 

 Probably the best manure to use for the above is cow-dung, 

 it being not so likely to injure the roots, though at all times 

 discretion should be used in its application. It is useless to 

 give liquid manure to a weak, over-potted Fern in the hope 

 of inducing it to break into growth, and it should be remem- 

 bered that tliis liquid should never be given to a Fern while 

 it is very dry, else more harni than good will result. 



Those pests of the Fern-grower, slugs and snails, are 

 usually present in considerable mmibers at this season, and 

 especially so in old green-house structures, and -should be 

 carefully luuited for at least once a day. The use of Cabl)age 

 and Lettuce leaves as traps for the slugs is about the simplest 

 ren-iedy, and, by a regular examination of these leaves n-iorn- 

 ing and evening, many of these troul)lesome eneniies may be 

 destroyed. 



As the time for the various horticultural shows is near at 

 hand, some thought will be given by growers to Ferns for ex- 

 hibitions, and preparations will be made for thesecompetions. 



It should be rememljered that the tasty arrangement of an ex- 

 hibit is always a point in its favor, and to this should be 

 added clean [)ots and correct and neat naming of the speci- 

 niens shown, the latter being absolutely esssential to a good 

 exhibit. In the prejjaration of the plants for this purpose it 

 will be found necessary to stake up the fronds of some spe- 

 cies ; but in doing this as few stakes as possible should be 

 used, and due consideration should be given to the natural 

 form of the plant, so that its gracefulness may be retained. A 

 stiff and fornial arrangement of the fronds of a Fern is an 

 aboniination from an artistic standpoint, and should be utterly 

 condemned. W. H. Taplin. 



Holniesliiirg', Pa. 



Orchid Culture, past and present. — This suljjcct is of such 

 interest that I venture to offer a continuation of the notes sent 

 last week 



The profound ignorance which prevailed on the subject of 

 Orchid culture during the early days of the present century is 

 well illustrated by the following extract from the Botanical 

 Register for 1817, under plate 220 : " Air plants," for such were 

 Vandas, Aerides and Saccolabiums then called, " posssess the 

 faculty of growing when suspended so as to be cut off from all 

 sustenance but that derived immediately from the atmosphere. 

 Plants of other genera of this tribe, and even of a different 

 tribe, are endowed with a like faculty ; in none, however, can 

 such insidation be considered as the state of existence which 

 suits them best, but merely as one they are enabled to endure, 

 as a carp is known to do, that of being suspended out of water 

 in a danip cellar." On reading this, one cannot help thinking of 

 the days when birds of paradise were supposed to be altogether 

 devoid of legs and to spend their whole lives upon the wing. 



The part which the Horticultural Society of London took in 

 obtaining information on the subject may here be mentioned. 

 Owing to the want of success which had attended the cultiva- 

 tion of Orchids, a stove was set apart for their exclusive cul- 

 ture, but we read that "the first experiments were unsuccess- 

 ful ; the plants were lost as qiuckly as they were received." 

 This led Lindley to inquire more closely into the conditions 

 under which Orchids grew in their native countries, and thus to 

 supply data for more successful cultivation. These data were 

 chiefly obtained from the lowlands of Brazil and from India, 

 and from them Lindley concluded that high temperature, deep 

 shade and excessive humidity are the conditions essential to 

 tfie well-being of the plants. These conclusions, published in 

 1830, he subsequently had reason to modify, but they appear 

 to have been generally followed for many years afterwards. 



Various travelers, who had seen the plants growing at con- 

 siderable altitudes on tropical n-iountains, gave utterance to 

 monitory warnings against the folly of sujjjecting Orchids, 

 which naturally grew in a temperate climate, to tlie stifiing 

 heat of an Indian jungle, and these views were gradually 

 adopted by a few gardeners of intelligence. Cooper, at Went- 

 worth, adopted a lower mean temi^eratiu-e, and admitted fresh 

 air into the house. Paxton, at Chalsworth, added an iniproved 

 method of potting to secure suf'licicnt drainage, and occasional 

 watering of the paths and stages of the house, so as to secure 

 a moist atmosphere. In 1838, Lindley wrote, " The success 

 with which epiphytes are cultivated by Mr. Paxton is wonder- 

 ful, and the climate, in which this is effected, instead of being 

 so hot and danip that the plants can only be seen with as much 

 peril as if one had to visit them in an Indian jungle, is as mild 

 and delightful as that of Madeira." 



One of the causes, however, which entirely revolutionized 

 the cultivation, not only of Orchids but of all kinds of exotic 

 plants, was the substitution of heating by hot-water pipes for 

 the old system of hot-air flues, with its attendant evils of smoke 

 and other noxious vapors escaping through the cracks and 

 fissures of the flues into the atmosphere of the house. This 

 change had been gradually effected at a still earlier period, but 

 deserves to be mentioned as one of a combination of circum- 

 ciu-nstances which gradually brought about a more rational 

 treatment of Orchids generally. XP "s, who are fan-iiliar with 

 the modern svsten-i of cultivation, the- wonder seenis that the 

 change should have been brought about so very slowly. But 

 the fact remains that, up to about i860, the numerous beautiful 

 Alpine Orchids of New Granada were killed almost as fast as 

 they were imported by the barbarous treatment thev received, 

 and which Lindley, towards the end of 1859, confessed to be 

 " a deplorable failm-e." 



There yet reniain a number of refractory subjects. Mr. 

 Veitch enunierates Cattleya citriiia and a few Lo'lias and Epi- 

 dendrunis from the Mexican highlands, the Barkerias, some 

 Brazilian Oncidiums, several fine Dendrobiums, the Bolleas, 

 Pescatoreas and others, as exan-iples of plants not yet ren- 

 dered an-ienable to cultivation, but which gradually dwindle 



