FERN ALLIES OP NEW ZEALAND. 113 



but it is one which can be very easily gratified, and at a very little 

 expense into the bargain. With a little practice ferns can be grown 

 as easily as other plants, and some species will thrive in most 

 unpromising situations. Considering how much labour and money 

 are often expended in ornamenting our gardens, and in growing 

 showy and expensive exotics in our greenhouses, it is somewhat 

 surprising that the cultivation of ferns has not received more 

 attention than has hitherto been the case. The appliances required 

 — even for their indoor culture — are not very elaborate, while out of 

 doors they are as easily grown as other plants, if a little consideration 

 is previously given to their mode and place of growth in a state of 

 nature. There are certain points which particularly call for attention 

 in dealing with these plants. Thus, many of them are to be found 

 only in the shade and moisture of the deepest parts of the forest, 

 and these must have a house of some kind to protect them ; while 

 others, which grow on the hare hill-sides, and among clefts of dry 

 rocks, refuse to grow altogether if put under cover, or else become 

 sickly and straggling in their growth. Again, many ferns which 

 will grow in the Auckland district in the open air cannot stand the 

 sharp frosts of the level parts of Canterbury and Otago, and must 

 have winter protection. To start with, then, it is necessary — if a 

 tolei'ably complete collection is desired — to have the means of 

 growing the plants under at least two different sets of conditions — 

 viz., in an open air fernery and in a house of some kind. 



An open-air fernery may be made in any spot sheltered by a wall 

 or building, or in any naturally irregular spot of garden ground, 

 where but little direct sunlight can penetrate, and where the force of 

 the wind is not felt. A rugged, uneven surface suits ferns best ; so 

 that it has become a very iisual practice to grow them in rockeries. 

 It requires considerable artistic skill to build a rockery in such a 

 way as to make it look natural ; but in whatever manner it may be 

 constructed, the principal advantage gained by adopting this plan 

 lies in the excellent drainage which can be ensured under it. There 

 is nothing that ferns are more liable to be destroyed by than stagnant 

 water at their roots ; and one of the first requisites, in preparing 

 ground for growing them in, is to see that it is well drained, so that 

 surplus water may pass quickly away from it. If a rockery is to be 



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