44 BRITISH FERNS 



the mound, holes being dug sufficiently deep to embed the pieces 

 firmly on their centres of gravity, soil is then worked well in behind 

 them, and it is advisable that this soil be a good compost of friable 

 loam, leaf mould, and coarse silver sand (2, 2, 1), since it is this 

 into which the Ferns will have to be planted later. Regularity of 

 position or size should be avoided as far as possible, and the stone 

 should be so arranged on similar lines of firm bedding, as to form, 

 as the work proceeds, pockets, nooks, and crevices such as ferns 

 delight in. The construction finished, the whole should be well 

 watered and allowed to settle for a few days, when planting may 

 be done. Planting can, of course, be done as the work of con- 

 struction proceeds, but we prefer to do it separately, to preclude 

 the risk of damage by local settlements and dislodgements. Ferns 

 vary as to their requirements of moisture in the soil. Osmunda 

 regalis, the Royal Fern, is naturally a bog Fern, and so is Laslrea 

 thelypteris. Blechnum spicant, the Hard Fern, Athyriwm filix 

 fcemina, the Lady Fern, and Laslrea monlana, the lemon-scented 

 Fern, all prefer moist soil, and hence should be planted low down, 

 while the other species may be distributed at higher levels, the 

 Spleenworts being inserted in the chinks and crevices contrived for 

 them. The various Polypodies should have special stations filled 

 with leafy soil in which their travelling roots can spread, and if 

 the Limestone Polypody is planted, some old mortar, chalk, or other 

 limey material should be mixed with the soil. The size of the Ferns 

 used must also be considered in arranging them, and it is better 

 that at the outset the rockery should look a little bare, than to 

 cover it with plants which almost immediately invade each other's 

 domain, mix their fronds together, and hence lose all charm, while 

 the smaller species probably perish by the overgrowth of their 

 neighbours. Ferns of the shuttlecock form of growth should be 

 planted as single crowns ; if they are in clumps of several, it is 

 quite easy to part the individuals by pulling asunder or prising off 

 with a blunt trowel. If connected by a stout neck, a cut in this 

 with a sharp knife will facilitate division, and each crown will come 

 away with its own roots. 



Although rockeries are undoubtedly more effective than fiat 

 beds when occupied by Ferns, they are by no means essential for 

 garden culture as regards a number of species. The Lady Ferns, 

 Shield Ferns, Lastreas of several species, Hard Ferns, the Common 

 Polypody, the Hartstongue, all will do very well on the flat if good 

 open leafy, loamy soil be available, and water be supplied in cases 

 of extended dry weather. We are assuming an annual rainfall of 

 about twenty-five inches, but in places where this is exceeded there 

 is very little risk of damage by drought at all, especially if masses 

 of porous rock, or the burrs aforesaid, are scattered over the soil, 

 and thus prevent general evaporation. The best place for a Fern 

 is under the north or east side of a large piece of rock, which shelters 



