94 The Fern Garden. 



quires treatment similar to that of the Tunbridge fern. 

 As the roots are tough and wiry, and spread on the 

 surface, it will be necessary in planting a piece to 

 spread them out on the surface of the stone, and fix 

 them in their places with pegs, or by placing nodules 

 of stone upon them. In due time they will attach 

 themselves, and after that the plant will grow well if 

 taken care of. Small cases appropriated solely to these 

 ferns are intensely interesting. They ought never to 

 be planted in cases with ferns that need ventilation, as 

 nearly all other kinds do. I had a large leaky aquarium. 

 Instead of having it repaired, a hole was bored in the 

 slate bottom, and a sheet of very stout glass was cut 

 to fit the top. A miniature rockery was then formed 

 with coke and cement in one large block, and on this 

 Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense, Trichomanes radicans, 

 and the New Zealand filmy fern Todea pellucida were 

 planted. They have thriven and have a rich luxurious 

 appearance. The leaky aquarium has thus become a • 

 grand fern case. 



In a damp stone or a very damp warm dark corner 

 of a greenhouse, the filmy ferns grow freely if their 

 rhizomes are merely fixed to the walls. They soon run 

 up the bricks, and form a delicate felt or living wall- 

 paper. 



Woodsia. — W. alpina, an Alpine Woodsia, is a pretty 

 little fern, requiring frame or house culture. 



W. ilvensis is a beautiful pot plant. It may, how- 

 ever, be grown in the open fernery, if in a sheltered 

 well-drained position, in a sandy peat soil. The 

 Woodsias are not adapted for beginners. 



