CULTURAL DIRECTIONS. 



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after all, are only substitutes for pots. When planted in the way above 

 described, Ferns have more freedom of action allowed to their roots, which, 

 generally speaking, have a roaming propensity much greater than they are 

 usually credited with. Then, no regular pockets having to be provided for the 

 reception of the Ferns, a smaller quantity of stone material is required, while 

 a greater bulk of earth generates proportionately a greater amount of natural 

 humidity not obtainable from stone, even when this is very porous, which is 

 not always the case. Another benefit derived from this mode of planting 

 consists in the total absence of sourness in the soil through the air having 

 free action all around the surface of the earth — a state of comfort foreign to 

 plants grown in pockets, however spacious and well drained these may be. 



The plantation on mounds is particularly recommended for all species 

 provided with running rhizomes, such as certain Adiantums and Acrostichums ; 

 but principally for the majority of Davallias, Nephrolepis, and Polypodiums, 

 whose rhizomes soon take possession of the outer surface of the mound ; this 

 then becomes rapidly covered with foliage, all the more luxuriant in that the 

 plants have more room allowed for the extension of their rhizomes. These 

 organs, in most instances, require to be kept on the surface of the ground, 

 to which, when planting, they may be fastened by means of wooden pegs ; 

 but their adhesion to it, as the plants get established, soon dispenses with 

 the necessity for pegs. In some instances, where the fronds are somewhat 

 sparsely disposed on the rhizomes, it is advisable to prune the latter from 

 time to time, with a view to promoting and encouraging the formation of 

 a greater quantity of rhizomes, which, though of a smaller size, produce a 

 greater abundance of foliage. This operation, which consists in nipping off 

 the extremity of the rhizome and producing bifurcation, is frequently adopted 

 by our market growers, and may be safely performed at any time during 

 the active period of vegetation, but not during the resting season. 



The warm Fernery should, all the year round, be kept at a moderate 

 and comfortable temperature ; for it has been conclusively proved that, far 

 from being necessary to the comfort of the Ferns, a greater amount of 

 artificial heat than they really require is highly injurious to them. Many 

 growers still entertain the idea that strong heat, combined with heavy shading 

 and abundance of permanent moisture, are essential points in the culture of 

 Ferns, whereas the production of elongated and weak foliage is invariably 



