150 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



that of the plants above, and this luxuriance should reach to the very margins 

 of the walks ; such results can only be attained by the free admission of light 

 in all parts of the Fernery at all times of the year, but especially during the 

 winter months, when we can hardly get a quantity sufficient for the require- 

 ments of all evergreen species. 



The grottoes, as well as the arches and masses of overhanging rock, which 

 one is so accustomed to see in most Ferneries, should be carefully dispensed 



with ; for, however attractive 

 the effect may be, it is invari- 

 ably spoilt by the sickly appear- 

 ance of the Ferns planted in 

 nooks which are perforce de- 

 prived of the necessary light. 

 A view of an underground 

 Fernery in which there are no 

 overhanging rocks, is shown at 

 Fig. 11. Tufa not only has a 

 pleasant appearance, but is also, 

 through its very porous nature, 

 the material best adapted for 

 the building of Ferneries. The 

 comfort of the plants should be 

 considered of primary import- 

 ance, and must on no account 

 be sacrificed to the appearance 

 of the rockwork itself, as is too 

 frequently the case nowadays. 

 For the well-being of the Ferns, 

 quite as much as for the sake of the general appearance of the place, 

 these should be planted on the sloping sides and on some little mounds 

 made of turfy peat securely held together by means of wooden skewers, 

 and covered with a layer of common moss, which at first requires pegging- 

 down, but which in such a position rapidly grows, and firmly binds the whole 

 mass together. This mode of planting is found to be far more agreeable to 

 the eye, as also more beneficial to the plants, than the use of "pockets," which, 



Fig. 77, View of Underground Fernery. 



