ON FERNS. 



543 



and the ordinary stage or shelf can hardly correspond to the 

 requirements of the plants. The most suitable material on 

 which to place P'erns in general is a solid bed of ashes or one of 

 sand covered with a layer of coal-cinders, w4iich have the property 

 of remaining fresh and sweet for an indefinite time. Wherever 

 practicable, the houses in which Ferns are intended to be grown 

 in pots should be comparatively low structures, sunk i5in. or 

 I Sin. below the surface of the ground, and provided with solid 

 beds, bricked on their vertical outer surface. The walks 

 should be made either of coarse gravel, or of the natural earth 

 if of a sandy nature, simply covered with a thickness of 2in. or 

 3in. of coal-cinders, these being the most porous, and at the 

 same time the best moisture-retaining materials that can be used 

 in a house in which constant humidity is of the utmost importance. 



Fancy Ways of Growing Ferns. — Pans. — Besides pot 

 culture, pure and simple, there are several other equally practical 

 ways of growing Ferns, some of which have been devised by 

 the cultivator to render the plants more attractive by presenting 

 them under their most- favourable aspect, w^hile others have 

 been suggested to him by the nature of the plants under his 

 care. 



Among the ways intended to encourage the culture of the 

 plants, and add to their comfort, we may note the hanging- 

 basket and the shallow pan, both of w^hich offer to certain 

 species advantages which they could not obtain if grown in 

 the time-honoured conventional flower-pot. The shallow pan 

 is especially useful for the culture of most Ferns provided 

 with running rhizomes, These organs, in a few instances, 

 prefer being kept underground, but, in most cases, they 

 delight in running over the surface of the soil to w^hich they 

 should from time to time be carefully fastened down by means 

 of small wooden pegs, which are useful until the rhizomes 

 have produced sufficient roots to keep themselves in position, 

 when the pegs may be entirely dispensed with. As the plants 

 grow, and the rhizomes extend, they are apt to come over the 

 sides of the pans ; for the w^elfare of the plants this must be 

 prevented, and it is easily done by carefully turning them inside 

 the pans and pegging them securely on to the soil. Under 

 these conditions, the rhizomes producing fresh roots all along 

 their length add strength to the plant, whereas, when they extend 

 over the sides of the pan and out of the damp soil or moss, 

 they seldom produce any roots, and have to be supported by 

 the plant instead of helping it, and the results are anything but 

 satisfactory. When used, the pans, like the pots, must be clean 

 and dry. Drainage is an essential point ; the holes should be 

 covered with large crocks, which should be covered wdth either 

 moss or rough peat ; this, again, should be covered with a layer 

 of very rough compost, higher in the middle than at the sides ; 



