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CASSELL'S POPULAE GARDENING. 



glass and -white-pamted rafters is altogether a too 

 violent contrast to the verdure of the ferns to he 

 pleasing. By using green glass for glazing, and 

 painting the rafters with soher tones, the garish 

 character of the roof may he subdued. But the 

 form is almost as faulty as the colour. A great deal 

 may he done to modify the form of the roof by a taste- 

 ful disposition of cork. This, from its Ughtness, may 

 T)e used in considerable masses without injury to the 

 roof, and so arranged as to give it a rustic and 

 irregular appearance. By forming pockets in the 

 cork, and furnishing these with drooping ferns, 

 Selaginellas, and such grasses or rushes as Isolepsis 

 graeilis, and other of the smaller drooping plants or 

 ^c^eepe^s, such as the Strawberry Saxifrage, varie- 

 -gated Panicum, Tradeseantia multicolor, &c., the roof 

 ^f the in-door fernery might often be made the most 

 beautiful portion of it. 



As the roof of a fernery should he seen as little as 

 -possible, it matters not how plain it is so long as it 

 Ts strong and weU glazed, that it may bear wind and 

 -«-eather without letting wet in; but it is essential 

 -to have plenty of light admitted, without which no 

 T)lants wiU do well. Many go to great expense and 

 trouble in shading their ferneries by attaching 

 "blinds thereto during the summer, but it is much 

 better to give the shade in a more natural manner, 

 -as not only is it more congenial to the ferns under, 

 but chmhers, if chosen suitable for the purpose, are 

 -a great ornament to' any house, as by training and 

 securing the main leaders, the side branches or 

 laterals may be allowed to droop down in their own 

 graceful way, when they not only afford the requi- 

 ;site shade, but furnish a part of the house which 

 without them would he bare. The best climbers are 

 -the Passifloras and Tacsonias, as they make all fresh 

 -annual growth and wiU bear much cutting hack of 

 the shoots and thinning during autumn and winter, 

 which is just the time the ferns need what light the 

 short days afford; then when spring comes round 

 they break again and re-embellish the roof. For a 

 cold house the sorts of Tacsonias most to be recom- 

 mended are T. Van Volxmii, T. mollissima, and T. 

 Exoniemia ; the first-named being a most brilliant, 

 free-fiowering kind, and the last-mentioned a hybrid 

 raised from it and T. molliasiina, the good qualities 

 of both of which it has in an equal degree. 



Among the Passifloras, F. CampbelU, P. cwrulea, F. 

 ccerulea raeemoaa, F. Colvilli, F. hyh'ida grandiflora, 

 and F. Impiratrice Eugenia are as good as any, and 

 will make a fine show. For a shady part of the roof 

 there is nothing equal to the Lapagerias, and if the 

 Ted and white varieties are allowed to grow together 

 and commingle, they form a most pleasing and 

 lovely sight for several months in the year. Passi- 

 -floras and Tacsonias do well in any ordinary soil, if 



the borders are properly drained below ; but in ad- 

 dition to good and free drainage, the Lapagerias 

 require peat, which should be used somewhat rough, 

 and have a heavy sprinkling of silver sand mixed 

 with it to keep it porous and open. The Grape- vme 

 is also admirably adapted for shading in-door 

 ferneries, as it affords most shade when it is most 

 needed, and can be close-pruned into shadelessness in 

 winter. For this useful purpose the Black Ham- 

 burgh is the best variety. In cases where climbers 

 cannot be used, and artificial shading has to be re- 

 sorted to, the cheapest and perhaps the most effi- 

 cient is a little thi'ii limewash, in which some green 

 paint-powder has been stirred, just to give it a tinge. 

 This can then be put on outside the glass with a 

 brush and made to look neat ; and, if smeai-ed over 

 Kghtly, will cast a soft shadow below which wiU be 

 of an agreeable nature to the ferns it falls on. 



Construction and Pumishing of tlie In- 

 door Fernery. — ^This, if formed on right principles, 

 becomes one of the most ornamental and interesting 

 adjuncts any one canliave to a place, as by employ- 

 ing the skilful and experienced builder, the work 

 may be so carried out that the rock will look quite 

 natural and so real as to almost defy detection, 

 except by dever geologists. This may readily be 

 seen by any one who has visited some of the most 

 noted private and public gardens in England, 

 where much has been effected, as well as at the 

 different aquaria, and the Health Exhibition lately 

 closed, where there were good specimens of this 

 comparatively new and charming art. 



Rock-work has never been carried out in anything 

 like the present style, and not only is it now made 

 grand and natural-looking, but, what is of equal 

 importance, it is so arranged by Messrs. Pulham of 

 Broxboume, or other specialists in such work, as 

 to be particularly suited to plants. These they pro- 

 vide for by using tufa or other soft porous stone, and 

 so constructing the rock that the pockets or recesses 

 run far back and down, many of them extending to 

 great depths so as to hold large bodies of soil, and 

 thus afford the roots plenty of room and a well- 

 filled larder. The great advantage in having 

 these in-door ferneries is that they form refresh- 

 ing retreats, where any one may roam' under de- 

 lightful shade, and, if kept cool, enjoy the beauties 

 of nature on any hot summer's day, as well as in 

 comfort in winter. There are many lofty conserva- 

 tories or buildings connected with dwellings, that 

 might easily be converted into charming ferneries 

 by clothing the walls, and even portions of the roof, 

 with rock-work, in which not only ferns may be 

 grown, but other plants besides which associate 

 well with them, of which there are many. If tender 



