220 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAEDEXING. 



glass and white-painted rafters is altogether a too 

 violent contrast to the verdure of the ferns to he 

 pleasing. By using green glass for glazing, and 

 painting the rafters with soher tones, the garish 

 character of the roof may he suhdued. But the 

 form is almost as faulty as the colour. A great deal 

 may he done to modify the form of the roof hy a taste- 

 ful disposition of cork. This, from its lightness, may 

 be used in considerable masses without injury to the 

 roof, and so arranged as to give it a rustic and 

 irregular appearance. By forming pockets in the 

 cork, and furnishing these with drooping ferns, 

 Selaginellas, and such grasses or rushes as Iso/epsis 

 gracilis, and other of the smaller drooping plants or 

 creepers, such as the Strawberry Saxifrage, varie- 

 gated Panicum, Tradescantia multicolor, &c., the roof 

 of the in-door fernery might often be made the most 

 beautiful portion of it. 



As the roof of a fernery should be seen as little as 

 possible, it matters not how plain it is so long as it 

 is strong and well glazed, that it may bear wind and 

 weather without letting wet in ; but it is essential 

 to have plenty of light admitted, without which no 

 plants will do well. Many go to great expense and 

 trouble in shading their ferneries by attaching 

 blinds thereto during the summer, but it is much 

 better to give the shade in a more natural manner, 

 as not only is it more congenial to the ferns under, 

 but climbers, if chosen - suitable for the purpose, are 

 a great ornament to any house, as by training and 

 securing the main leaders, the side branches or 

 laterals may be allowed to droop down in their own 

 graceful way, when they not onlj' afford the requi- 

 site shade, but ful-nish a part of the house which 

 without them would be bare. The best climbers are 

 the Passifloras and Tacsonias, as they make all fresh 

 annual growth and will bear much cutting back of 

 the shoots and thinning during autumn and ^dnter, 

 which is just the time the ferns need what light the 

 short days afford; then when spring comes round 

 they break again and re-embellish the roof. For a 

 cold house the sorts of Tacsonias most to be recom- 

 mended are T. Van Volxmii, T. moUissima, and T. 

 Exoniensis ; the first-named being a most brilliant, 

 free-flowering kind, and the last-mentioned a hybrid 

 raised from it and T. moUissima, the good qualities 

 of both of which it has in an equal degree. 



Among the Passifloras, P. Cam2)belU, P. ccerulea, P. 

 ccerulea racemosa, P. Colvilli, P. hybrida grandiftora, 

 and P. Imph'atrice Eugenie are as good as any, and 

 will make a fine show. For a shady part of the roof 

 there is nothing equal to the Lapagerias, and if the 

 red and white varieties are allowed to grow together 

 and commingle, they form a most pleasing and 

 lovely sight for several months in the year. Passi- 

 floras and Tacsonias do well in any ordinary soil, if 



the borders are properly drained below ; but in ad- 

 dition to good and free drainage, the Lapagerias 

 require peat, which should be used somewhat rough, 

 and have a heavy sprinkling of silver sand mixed 

 with it to keep it porous and open. The Grape-vine 

 is also admirably adapted for shading in-door 

 ferneries, as it affords most shade when it is most 

 needed, and can be close-pruned into shadelessness in 

 winter. For this useful purpose the Black Ham- 

 burgh is the best variety. In cases where climbers 

 cannot be used, and artificial shading has to be re- 

 sorted to, the cheapest and perhaps the most eSi- 

 cient is a little thin limewash, in which some green 

 paint-powder has been stirred, just to give it a tinge. 

 This can then be put on outside the glass with a 

 brush and made to look neat ; and, if smeared over 

 lightly, will cast a soft shadow below which will be 

 of an agreeable natm-e to the ferns it falls on. 



Construction and Furnishing of the In- 

 door Fernery. — This, if formed on right principles, 

 becomes one of the most ornamental and interesting- 

 adjuncts any one can have to a place, as by employ- 

 ing the skilful and experienced builder, the woik 

 may be so carried out that the rock will look quite 

 natural and so real as to almost defy detection, 

 except by clever geologists. This may readily be 

 seen by any one who has visited some of the most 

 noted private and public gardens in England, 

 where much has been effected, as well as at the 

 dift'erent aquaria, and the Health Exhibition lately 

 closed, where there were good specimens of this 

 comparatively new and charming art. 



Eock-work has never been carried out in anjiihing 

 like the present style, and not only is it now made 

 grand and natural-looking, but, what is of equal 

 importance, it is so arranged by Messrs, Pulham of 

 Broxbourne, or other specialists in such work, as 

 to be particularly suited to plants. These they pro- 

 vide for by using tufa or other soft porous stone, and 

 so constructing the rock that the pockets or recesses 

 run far back and dowTi, many of them extending to 

 great depths so as to hold large bodies of soil, and 

 thus afford the roots plenty of room and a well- 

 filled larder. The great advantage in having 

 these in-door ferneries is that they form refresh- 

 ing retreats, where any one may roam under de- 

 lightful shade, and, if kept cool, enjoy the beauties 

 of nature on any hot summer's day, as well as in 

 comfort in winter. There are many lofty conserva- 

 tories or buildings connected with dwellings, that 

 might easily be converted into charming ferneries 

 by clothing the walls, and even portions of the roof, 

 with rock-work, in which not only ferns may be 

 grown, but other plants besides which associate 

 well with them, of which there are many. If tender 



