r)7s 



FEliX 



The bottom should be a zinc tray, to prevent drip on 

 the floor and to prevent too rapid drying out of the soil. 

 The top or roof of the box should be hinged, so that it 

 can be raised. In this miniature greenhouse many in- 

 teresting Ferns can be grown. Lycopodiums and Selagi- 

 nellas (which see) are treated in much the same way as 

 Ferns. Nh'HOl N. Brucknee. 



Gkowest, Fkkns from Stores by the Am.vtei-h.- 

 Ferns may be raised from spores at almost any season 

 of the year, though the early spring months are best. 

 The shallow pans^'i in. deep ijy G in diameter, now sold 

 by pot manufacturers, we have found, after repeated 

 trials, best to sow Fern spores in. These should be filled 

 to within half an inch of the top with a mixture of sifted 

 peat, leaf -mold and silver sand in equal proportions, the 

 surface being made very flue and even. By sowing the 

 spores thinly we have found that they are not as liable 

 to the attacks of fung\is during the prothallus stage. 

 They should not be covered with soil, as in sowing seeds. 

 Each pan should be placed in a pot-saucer, and all the 

 water necessary to keep the soil moist should be poured 

 into the saucer and allowed to soak up through the soil. 

 This not only prevents the spores being floated into clus- 

 ters, but probalily filters the water of any germs of low 

 forn>s of vegetaljle life which might prove in.iurious to 

 the spores during ^germination. After the prothallus 

 stage is passed this precaution is unnecessary; as soon 

 as the young Ferns begin to develop fronds, they may 

 be watered freely overhead with a fine rose. The pans 

 should be placed in a temperature of ().5° to 7.5°, in a 

 shaded position. Each pan should be covei'ed with a 

 pane of glass to keep the surface evenly moist, taking 

 care to remove the moisture which collects on the 

 glass at least twice daily ; but as soon as the spores have 

 germinated, which, in most cases will be in about ten 

 days, these should be gradually removed. A close watch 

 must be kept for fungus duringthe prothallus stage, and 

 if a pan should show the least sign of it, it should at 

 once be isolated from the rest and a little fine sulphur 

 dusted upon it ; if this fails to check it the prothalli 

 should be at once transplanted to fresh pans of soil, 

 which usually cheeks it. The chief reasons for fungus 

 are sowing the spores too thickly, a too stagnant atmos- 

 phere after germination, and a dripping greenhouse roof . 

 As soon as the young Ferns begin to make fronds, they 

 may be transplanted. Edward J. Cannino. 



FERN BALLS are the dried rhizomes of Ferns, im- 

 ported from Japan. Dealers start them into growth, anil 

 sell them when the mass is well covered with its deli- 

 cate vegetation. To start them into growth, the balls 

 are drenched in a tub of water and then hung in a 

 warmhouse, not in direct sunlight. When the plants are 

 well started, gradually expose them to more light and 

 to a cooler air. Give liquid manure if they do not grow 

 satisfactorily. The species are mostly Davallias, oftenest 

 apparently D. buUata and D. Maritsli. j^ j-j 3 



FEKNS, POPTTLAE NAMES OF. Adder's Tongue F., 

 Opliioglossum tnilgatum. BeechF., Ph'^ijojifcrls. Bird's- 

 nest F,, Thamnopteris Nidus-Ai'is. Bladder F., Vys- 

 topteris. Boston F., NephroJepis cxaUata. var. Bosfoni- 

 cH.-i/.s. Bristle F., Trichoma np^. Buokler'F. , Drifoptfiris. 

 Californian Gold F., Gyninoijratunia tria iir/ulari^. 

 Chain F., Wwidu-itrdia. Christmas F., Pohjstu-liiini 

 acro.^ticJi'iidcs. Cinnamon F., (h)nniiiht cintiatnonnut . 

 Climbing F., Lii'jndiitiH , Deer F., Lomariit. Elk's 

 Horn F., riotiiccri nih ah-icorne. Female F., AspJeiiiiim 

 FUix-fiviiiiua . Filmy F., IlynximpliyUnm. Floating 

 F., Oeralopfrris. Flowering F., Oxiiinndn ; somelinn-s 

 also Ainniirf. Gold F., ijyiintoqriniinni . Grape F., 

 BotnirhiiiiH. Hart's-tongue F.,' Pln/Uih's .Sr.dnpni- 

 dri'um. HartSord F., Lip/ndhaii piihiialnin . Holly F., 

 Pohjstichfun Lntirh'ii^. Lace F., < '/'rHinifJns (ji-arll- 

 lima. Lady F., J.^jiletdiim Pili.r-freiin mi. Lip F., 

 Che.ihinlhrs. Maidenhair F., Adiiiiihim: more jiarticu- 

 larly A. < 'iipiUiin- I'eiirrix .abroad and A . pidniiim :il 

 home. Male F., Ihijoplirin Fili.r-nmx. Marsh F., Dn/- 

 optcrh Thtliiplerix. Oak F., Phrrptpferix DninjPrri x . 

 Ostrich F., Mnlhurri,, l^truliriopln-ix. Pod F.,'(',rulf,p. 

 Icrix thalictriiidi's. Rattlesnake F., Buti-ip-hiinii \'ir- 

 </inianii'tn. Royal F., < hyuitvdn rrt/alix. Sensitive F., 

 Otinclea xi-nsihilis. Shield F., Dripiptrri.s. Stag-horn 



FERTILITY 



F. See Platyceriuiii. Sun F., Phegopteris. Sweet F 

 Myriea aspUnifolia ; abroad, various Dryopteri. 

 Sword F., Nephrohpis rsuHnla. Venus' Hair F., Ad 

 allium CapiUiisA'i'iieri.i. "Walking F., Camptosnn 

 rhlzoplii/Ilii.i. Wall F., Poljipodium vulgare. Wal 

 rue, Asphnium Ruta-mnraria. Washington F., N 

 phrolepis eraltafa, var. Waxhingtoniensis. 



FEREARIA (Giovanni Battisti Ferrari, log-t-lG.:; 

 Italian Jesuit, botanical writer and collaborator with tl 

 celebrated artist Guide Keni). Iridilcem. There ai 

 7 species, all from the Cape of Good Hope, rarely groT 

 ing more than G in. high. They have a large, irrej 

 ular corm and very glaucous foliage, the lowest Iv 

 being long and linear, the re.st ovate, clasping, succe 

 sively smaller, and topped by inflated sheaths fro: 

 which emerge the oddest fls. imaginable. These ha-s 

 G triangular, spreading, crisped, petal-like lobes, wo] 

 derfuUy markeil with many dull colors, as yellow, greei 

 purple and brown. Eacli spathe contains several fls 

 and the fls. are united at the vei-y base, connivent an 

 cup-shaped l)elow the spreading lobes. The fls. last onl 

 from morning to afternoon of a single day, but there 

 a fair succession. Some are visited by carrion flie 

 Only one species, F. iniduliita, is advertised at pre 

 ent, but the other G are doubtless of equal interes 

 The first is the oldest kind in cult. It was known 1 

 pre-Linnjean authors as Flos Indicits and Gladiolus li 

 dicux. E. S. Miller writes that thebulbs should be store 

 like Gladiolus in a dry, warm place, away from mice. 



A. Fls. dull hrownisli purple. 

 undulita, Linn. Stem stout, erect : upper Ivs. an 

 spathes l>i,-2 in. long: fls. 2 in. across, largely dull pu 

 pie; anthers olilong, with parallel cells. B.M. 144. 



AA. Fls, greenish. 

 uncinata, Sweet. L\'s. 2-;i, linear : fls. 2, "creai 

 colored, edged with sage green," according to W. I 

 Endicott. 



AA.\. Fix. dark jnirple. 

 atrata, Lodd. Lvs. about 4, sword shaped ; fls. 3-4. 



Other names are advertised by Dutch bulb growers, bi 

 are nut to be found in Index Keweiisis or Flora Capensi; 

 F. Oaiiarieiixis.ea'lestix, Cniichiflora. grandiflora. immaculot 

 lilincea and rosea. These c.in perhaps be accounted for undi 

 Tigridia, where F. Pavoiiia belongs. y^^ jj 



FERTILITY of soils; that condition of soils whic 

 makes rhem productive. The elements of productivit 

 are, a full sui:)ply of available plaut-food, a suitable an 

 continuous supply of moisture, good physical conditio! 

 of the soil, coupled with suitable seed and climate. 



Land may contain vast quantities of potential nitr 

 gen, potash and phosphoric acid and other plant-foo( 

 and yet be unfruitful, — infertile. Most of the potenti. 

 plant-foo<i in the soil is lazy, not available in sufficiei 

 quantities in a single season to produce maximum crop 

 Average arable land which contains from 3, 000-4, 0( 

 liounds of nitrogen, an equal amount of phosphoric ac: 

 and f(jur times as much potash in the first 8 inches of a 

 acre, may p>roduce only 15 bushels of wheat per acr 

 wliicli retfuires, with the straw, but 24, 13 and 20 pount 

 of these three elements respectively. Therefore, lar 

 may contain a great abundance of potential plant-for 

 and yet not contain enough of that which is availab 

 for a full crop. To make land more fertile, one or mo: 

 of the following means may be employed. Usual 

 deeper and more thorough tillage should first be r 

 sijrted to, since most lands, l>y reason of careless farr 

 ing, ci.intain much inei't plant-food. Superior tillage 

 almost certain to produce fruitfulness, and thereto: 

 should be resorted to Ijefore more expensive metho( 

 are tried. Tillage not only nuikes plant-food more avai 

 aide, lint it ini|irovcs tile physical conditions of the soi 

 tlieri-iiy making it more roiiifort.ablo for the plant; 

 may also assist in relieving tlie land of surplus wate 

 ami give to tlie soil the i)Ower of retaining large stori 

 of moisture by capillary action. 



Moisture plays such an important part in productiv 

 iirss lliat it may be said to constitute its prime facto 

 <'la\' soils are usually composed of such fine partich 

 that water percolates tlirougb them slowly or not at al 

 The rainfall Ihen must either run off over the surtac 



