130 The Fern Garden. 



they generally come with pretty good success, a large 

 majority of them quite safely. And now, as we unpack 

 them, let them be placed upright in some close, cool, 

 dark corner — under the stage of a greenhouse is as good 

 a place as they can have. Give them a syringing once 

 a day for the first week, and after that two or three 

 times a day ; never allow them to get quite dry. By 

 the end of a fortnight, or even sooner, you will observe 

 the points of new roots starting out upon the stem, and 

 the closely coiled-up fronds in the centre to be pushing 

 upwards. 



They may now be safely potted. I have no faith in 

 exact proportions for mixing soils, and my candid 

 opinion is that the mechanical condition of the soil has 

 more influence than anything else. Let it then, above 

 all things, be open and porous. Use pots as small as 

 you can in the first place, and shift them from time to 

 time as the plants may require it, using rough peaty 

 soil as before. If allowed to become pot-bound, the 

 fronds 'soon dwindle in size. Keep them always moist 

 at the root, and during nine months of the year the 

 stem should be kept constantly moist. This can easily 

 be done without wetting the fronds much, which is not 

 always beneficial. Do not expose your plants to 

 draughts of dry air, and be sure to shade them from 

 bright sunshine. Following these simple rules, your 

 tree-ferns will be an ever-increasing source of pleasure. 



