330 



Garden and Forest. 



[September 5, 1888. 



One of your delightful Magnolias, M. g/auca, or Swamp 

 Laurel, has been in bloom for a month past, and the 

 beauty of its ivory white cups and its delicious fragrance 

 are a surprise to us. Our wet weather has appar- 

 ently suited it, for I have ne\'er seen it so fine as it is this 

 year. Uusally the flower buds become scorched on dry 

 soils before they have time to expand. 



London, .-August 3lli. iS8S. 



If. Goldring. 



New or Little Known Plants. 



Spira?a pubescens. 



THIS dwarf Spirsea is a decided acquisition to gar- 

 dens, flowering, as it does here, from the tenth to 

 the fifteenth of May, or i\wa or three weeks earlier than 

 the well-known .9. triloba, which it resembles in habil, 

 although smaller in all its parts. Its flowers, as are 

 those of that species, are produced in dense, umbellate 

 corymbs from the ends of short, lateral, leafy branches of 

 the year, and quite cover a considerable portion of the 

 main stems. These are slender, terete, zigzag, slightly 

 pendulous, two or three feet high, the shoots of 

 the year densely covered with pubescents. The leaves 

 are ovate-acute, sharply serrate above the middle or 

 somewhat three-lobed, puberulous above and densely 

 villous-pubescent on the under surface, especially on the 

 midrib and two or three principal veins. , The inflores- 

 cence, as pointed out by Ma.ximowicz, is quite naked, with 

 the exception of a line of hairs on the ventral sinus of the 

 follicles. This plant must not be confounded with the 

 6'. pubescens of Lindley, which is referred by Maximowicz 

 to i'. CIiiiie?isis, which is considered by Mr. Hemsley the 

 same as the 6'. dasya?il]ia of Bunge, of which he remarks, 

 ".S". pubescens is certainly very closeh' allied, yet easily 

 distinguished by its narrower, less distinctly veined 

 leaves, having longer hairs on the under surface, and 

 glabrous flowers." 



S. pubescens* is a native of the mountains of northern 

 China and Mongolia. The plant from which our illus- 

 tration on the opposite page was made, flowered in the 

 Arnold Arboretum this year for the first time. It was 

 raised from seed sent some years ago, by Dr. Bretschneider, 

 from Pekin. ' C. S. S. 



Cultural Department. 

 Cultivation of Native Ferns. — II. 



SOME very delicate native Ferns whicli are difficult to culti- 

 vate do well grown in pots and wintered in a pit. In 

 summer such potted Ferns may be simk in a bed of coal 

 ashes in a shad\- place. A frame tor potted Ferns, alpine 

 plants, etc., whicli lias proved successful, is made as follows : 

 .^ large shallow bo.x, with loosely titting bottom, is raised pn 

 logs about ten inches from the ground. .Stones, broken crocks, 

 etc., are laid on the bottom of the bo.x to the deptli of several 

 inches, then covered with several inches of sand. The pots 

 are sunk in the sand. This gives perfect drainage, which is 

 a primal requisite, and no earth worms get into the pots on 

 account of being raised from the ground. 



In potting Ferns use plenty of Ijroken crocks tor drainage. 

 The mixture of soil advised liy Mr. John Robinson is peat, 

 leaf mould from the woods, mason's sand and virgin loam, 

 equal parts. He says cocoanut refuse may be used instead of 

 leaf mould. The admi.xture should be li.ght and porous, with 

 no tendency to hold stagnant water. It should not be sifted. 

 Charcoal broken in l:>its and crushed is a good thing to mi.x 

 with soil for Ferns, as it tends to counteract anv injurious 

 results from excessive moisture. 



Few of the Ferns we have to consider require pot-culture, 

 and for more detail on this subject the reader may profitably 

 consult Mr. Robinson's book on Ferns— referred to in the 

 first article of this series. 



It is often desirable to establish in pots choice Ferns which 

 have been collected, before planting them in the open 

 ground, especially if collectei.1 at a very unseasonable time. 



^ Spiresa pubescens, Turcz ; Bull. Soc. Nat. ATosc. v. 190. Maxim.. .Act. Hort . 

 Pctrcp., vi. 93. Franchet, PI. David, 106. Forbes & Hemsley, Eniiiii. PI. CJihi.i. 

 in your. Linn. Soc, xxii, 227. 



Much pleasure may be derived from fine native Ferns potted 

 and kept in the house for summer decoration. Onoclea, 

 Struthiopteris, the Osmundas, large species of Aspidium and 

 Adiantum, are particularly suitable for this purpose. 



In cultural directions, a word should Ije said about rockeries. 

 Rockeries, as commonly made, are unsatisfactory. Tliey are 

 too apt to be made of rocks with a little soil, whereas they 

 should be large bodies of soil, with rocks buried and cropping 

 out on the surface. Rockeries are frequently built to a con- 

 siderable height above the surface of the adjacent soil ; in 

 fact, much too hit^li, as they then reciuire excessive watering 

 to prevent their drying up. For a small rockery of four to 

 eiglit feet in width twelve to eighteen inches, or, at most, two 

 feet, is c|uite liigli enough for the highest parts. That is quite 

 sufficient to give the varying elevations desirable for different 

 kinds of Ferns and to give a pleasing effect. 



All of the Ferns considered, except those specially noted, 

 can be grown perfectly well without rocks, and in so far they 

 niav be considered superfluous. In my garden there is no 

 rockery, properly so called. Stones and rocks of considerable 

 size, however, may be laid on the ground and half buried in 

 Fern-beds, giving a good eft'ect and helping materially to 

 retain moisture by covering the soil. 



The moist, cool surface of rocks makes a grateful surface 

 along which the roots of Ferns, and other plants as well, like 

 to creep. At the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge, some deli- 

 cate species, such as Aspleniiim viridc, Pellaa g?-acilis, etc., 

 are grown very successfully in niches of rock-work, with very 

 little soil, although plentiiulh- supplied with moisture, and 

 covered with sashes in winter. 



Rocks may be used with great advantage and moderate cost 

 on a natural lianlc or steel) incline, and in such placesare most 

 a(.linirable. 



Directions for making rock-works are to lie found in 

 Roliinson's ".'\lpine Flowers."* 



It is to be understood that we are considering rockeries for 

 growing Ferns and for small garden effects, not rockeries of 

 sufficient ilignity to gi\e landscape elfect^; for these special 

 studies are required. 



The propagation of Ferns of the class under consideration 

 is generally an unimportant aft'air, as they are, for the most 

 part, comparatively easilv obtained from the woods. They 

 may lie propagated by dividing the crowns or running root- 

 stocks during the dormant season, in autumn or early spring. 

 They can also be propagated from spores. For directions 

 for this last method, see Mr. Robinson's liook. Ferns are 

 seldom much troubled by insect pests. Onoclea sensihilis is 

 the only Fern which attracts insects to any extent. Garden 

 slugs sometimes do damage to the smaller s])ecies. 



Ferns may be purchased from a few collectors and dealers in 

 this country, but by ffir the most interesting way, if possible, 

 is to collect them one's self. It vastlv increases the pleasure to 

 be derived from the Fern garden to have each specimen a 

 pleasant reminder of the woods, mountain, valley or swamp 

 where it was collected. Seek out some rich locality for Ferns, 

 and with a beginning thus made, a good collection may soon 

 lie built up. Fortunately, some of the most desirable species 

 for cultivation are also the commonest. 



Ferns are best transiilanted in the dormant season, but they 

 may be moved successfully at any time of year. For the Ije- 

 ginner earlv autumn is a good time to collect, as the dormant 

 season is approaching, and yet the various species are easily 

 recognized, as the fronds have not yet dried off. 



It is not necessary to consider the season in collecting Ferns, 

 for they can be transplanted at any time with scarcely the loss 

 of a single plant. Success in transplanting most native Ferns 

 is so certain as to lie a foregone conclusion, if reasonable 

 care is given them. 



When collecting get up all the roots possible and pack in 

 slightly moistened sphagnum moss for transportation. In de- 

 fault of sphagnum, anv moss, fern fronds, leaves or grass 

 will do, if the journey is not a long one. Excessive moisture 

 is objectionable in packing, as it induces the Ferns to throw 

 out a weak, sickly growth. The fronds may be cut off with- 

 out permanent injury, if it is necessary to save space in pack- 

 ing, although it is best to leave them on, especially with ever- 

 green species. 



To show the extreme hardiness and vitality of Ferns, it may 

 be mentioned that some years ago, in midsummer, several 

 species of Ferns were collected far from home. The 

 tops were cut oft", the roots wrapped in moss, and for eight 

 weeks they were carried in a hand-bag, without the loss of a 

 single specimen. Again, in Covent Garden Market, London, 

 dry roots of Ferns are exposed for sale and grow perfectly 



* ••Alfine Fhu'er-sfor English Gardens," by W. Robinson, F.I..S. London, 1879. 



