28 CULTIVATION OF FERNS. 



upwards through the mould, that they will be distorted in form and never attain their 

 full development. If the. fern has a caudex, you may plant it a little deeper than you 

 found it, because in this case the lower aerial root-fibres will develop into terrestrial 

 ones, but it is not advisable to plunge the plant too deep. 



If the fern has a creeping rhizome, notice whether that rhizome is under ground, 

 or merely creeps among the moss and dead leaves on the surface. In this latter case, 

 it will be useless to plunge it beneath the soil, as it will rot, or the fronds will not come 

 up healthily. You must arrange the rhizome, and peg it down on the surface of the 

 earth in the pot, and cover' it with leaf mould, dead leaves, and other vegetable matter. 

 Fine sawdust, or, better still, rotten wood pounded fine, is a good top dressing ; as it 

 absorbs and holds a certain amount of moisture, sufficient for the needs of a fern, yet 

 not too much. If your soil be clayey, it will be well to pound it to powder, and mix it 

 with half as much of the sawdust or pounded rotten wood. This will lighten the soil, so 

 as to enable the roots of the fern to penetrate it easily ; and, at the same time, hold 

 moisture, and prevent the ball of earth getting hard and impervious to water. It is 

 well to mix the same, and particularly the rotten wood, with sand in which you 

 propose to grow ferns. Some ferns grow only on tree trunks and rotten logs, holding 

 on by their roots; or among moss ; and it will be almost useless to plant these in earth. 

 Others grow on the surface of swamps, and others again have their rhizomes creeping 

 among stones, and in the crevices of rocks, and will thrive best if planted in a similar 

 manner. It really seems, in some cases, as if the tighter the rhizome is jammed 

 between rocks the better the fern grows and the finer fronds does it produce. 



Others, again, have a decumbent rhizome : that is, the rhizome, though perhaps 

 only a short one, lies flat, but with the soft new end turned up. As the wood ripens 

 and hardens, it lies down, and the new growth which lengthens it turns up in its place. 

 Such a fern must be planted in this fashion, or it will not thrive. I, some years ago, 

 bought a healthy looking fern from a Wellington florist, but found it would not thrive. 

 It just kept alive and that was all. At length, on looking at a description of the fern, 

 I saw it was stated to have a prostrate rhizome. Afting on this hint, I repotted the 

 plant in a proper position and it has grown well ever since. In another case, I have 

 tried for some years to force a New Zealand fern, which has a decumbent rhizome, 

 but is said occasionally to produce a caudex four feet or five feet high, to do so, but 

 utterly in vain. The upper part of the rhizome always bends over and travels across 

 the pot. At present it is forcing out the side of the pot rather than grow upwards. 



Of course, there are some ferns which grow under conditions almost impossible 

 to imitate : such, for instance, as grow at high levels on our mountain sides, where 

 they are covered up with snow for several months every winter, and during summer are 

 exposed to almost tropical heat during the day and intense cold during the night. 

 Those of my readers who have never ascended a lofty mountain will probably think 



