386 My GARDEN. 



house to the pure air of heaven, and even the tropical Hypolepis 

 repens grows with great vigour in the summer months. The Platycerium 

 alcicorne, which is apt when in the house to be attacked by coccii 

 remains perfectly healthy in the Forest of Ferns ;' and Pteris tremula, 

 Nephrodium molle, Pteris vespertilionis, and Todea africana, are much 

 improved by their summer visit to their natural atmosphere. It is 

 probable that most of the exotic ferns we cultivate would be benefited 

 by being out from the ist of June till the ist of October, and it is 

 my intention to try every species in that position as I obtain plants. 

 Even the Indian fern Pteris argyrcza does well in summer. 



At my garden there is only one indoor fernery ; but this, as I have 

 already explained, has every gradation of heat, from the temperature' 

 of the equator to the lowest in which ferns can grow. By this arrange- 

 ment we are enabled to have specimens of all the more important 

 species of ferns in the world, so arranged that they can be seen at a 

 glance (see plate 19). Experience, however, shows that every fern which 

 can live permanently out of doors, or which can be placed out during 

 the summer, flourishes better than when it grows under the artificial 

 conditions and atmosphere of a glass-house. In this glass-house some 

 ferns are grown in peat amongst blocks of sandstone, but the natural 

 temperature of the earth and the rivulet which flows through the 

 house is somewhat too low for vigorous growth. These conditions 

 lessen my power to grow ferns planted in the house itself; and those 

 who construct fern-houses should remember that exotic ferns require 

 warm soil. Ferns are easily grown, but my collection once suffered great 

 damage from the treatment of a gardener who neglected the conditions 

 of healthy growth. Some ferns are grown in pots and in earthen pans, 

 so arranged as to make but little show, and the first impression 

 upon a glance inside the house is that the whole fernery is but~a 

 fragment of wild natural scenery covered with glass. 



Many ferns are grown in circular wire baskets and suspended from 

 the roof, or in baskets so shaped that they may hang against pillars 

 or the sides of the house. 



The earth usually employed for the culture of our ferns in pots is 



