532 



TJtli^. GARDEN AND FIELD. 



May, 1914 



plants, will not produce a good head of 

 bloom unless the pot is full of roots. 



— The Fernery.— 



There is little doul)t the Adiantums 

 (Maiden Hair) hold the premier posi- 

 tion as regards usefulness, as well as 

 beauty, and the great number of varie- 

 ties there are. and a number compara- 

 tively hardy, should induce growers to 

 add many more to their collection. There 

 are scores of other very beautiful and 

 useful ferns, some of Which, when the 

 fronds are changing to their autumn 

 hues, are most useful for table and 

 floral work. Now the cold weather has 

 fairly set in. a great number of Ferns 

 will be showing evidence that a rest from 

 growth is needed. This the amateur 

 must assist by not giving the plants the 

 same quantity of water, as was necessary 

 in their full and vigorous growth. As 

 autumn advances, remove all yellow and 

 dead fronds (with the -exception of 

 Davallias and a few others), and keep 

 all the stems free from scale. By care- 

 ful watering. &c., the plants will winter 

 safely, and be ready for potting or divi- 

 ding in early spring. Many small spore- 

 lings may be potted on now. especially 

 if they can be kept nice and warm. 



The great secret in growing Ferns is 

 to have them properly drained. The soil 

 is not such an important matter as it 

 has always been considered to be. The 

 time has gone when to successfully grow 

 Ferns without peat was considered im- 

 possible. Tt has been proven that speci- 

 mens have been, and still are, grown in 

 soil perfectly innocent of peat that will 

 compare with others grown in the best 



imported material. So much for the 

 soil. We do not say for a ntoment that 

 the use of peat is not a great advantage 

 to some species, but we contend that it 

 is not absolutely necessary. Use half 

 sharp sand and half made up of the 

 well-rotted scrapings from an old cow- 

 camp under a gum tree. 



During the winter .slugs usually make 

 their appearance in greater numbers. 

 The grower should endeavour to trap 

 and destroy these, for they do incredible 

 damage to the young fronds in a short 

 time ; they lie often concealed amongst 

 the crocks at the bottom of the pots. 

 These plants should be carefully knock- 

 ed out, and the drainage examined. 

 Many may be trapped with a little moist 

 bran, or a few lettuce or cabbage leaves. 



Tt is scarcely advisable to do much 

 potting at present ; I leave this operation 

 till later on. A few pots of Selaginel- 

 las may be got ready and placed under 

 a bell glass, also a few boxes ; these can 

 be covered with a sheet of glass. This 

 Club Moss is most useful for the sur- 

 face of table plants. &c. 



Should insects appear on the young 

 fronds, vaporise with pure tobacco 

 juice. Init do 'not smoke with disinfec- 

 tants or tobacco, and beware of using 

 sulphur. 



Let all the surroundings be kept per- 

 fectly clean and slightly moist, except 

 on very cold nights. 



As liefore stated, the drainage is the 

 great secret of good culture, and this 

 must be dnnc thoroughly. A pot 10 in. 



in diameter should have at least four 

 or more inches in depth of broken 

 crocks or rough charcoal, with a layer 

 of cocoanut fibre or shreds torn from 

 an old tree Fern trunk placed over them 

 to prevent the soil mixing with drain- 

 age. When repotted, any plants should 

 be kept moist and shaded for a few 

 days. Init avoid giving too much water 

 at the roots for a time ; one good soak- 

 ing after potting to settle all the soil in 

 its place will last for a while. 



^ 



Evergreens. 



Few suburban gardeners have room 

 for an extensive collection of shrubs, but 

 some varieties are so dwarf in habit that 

 quite a number can be grown in a modc!- 

 rate-.sized bed. Daphne Indica rubra, 

 with its rfed and white sweet-smelling 

 bloom will, of course, be one of the 

 first selected. It is small and neat, so 

 are Diosma alba, white ; Abelia rupe 

 stris, rose and white; Pimela dec'ussata. 

 rose : Lantana sellovina, purple ; Punica 

 nana. fl. pi., scarlet; Adenandra uniflora, 

 white and pink; Agathea coelestis, blue; 

 Chorozema cordata, orange and red ; 

 Ageratum Mexicanum, blue ; Correa 

 speciosa. scarlet ; Statice macrophylla, 

 whUe and blue ; Veronica imperialis, red 

 ^nd Veronica Andersoni, blue; Swain- 

 sona alba, white ; and Swainsona rosea, 

 pink; Limim Trigynum, yellow; Genista 

 fragrans, yellow ; and Libonia flori- 

 bunda, orange and red. Coming to those 

 which though naturally not quite so 

 dwarf, are quite suitable for the smallest 



The fctllowing set f)f choice Pcrpetuals C()mi)rises the cream of thi.s and recent years' introduct 

 and for all-r<iiind excellence would be hard to beat: — 



ions. 



Galicia fini ! novelty) — Lars^e, dee]) yellow ground, 

 fancy. 



Kioto r)-^Yello\v suffused and flaked ])ink. 

 Mayence (1914)— Yellow-edged and pencilled 

 ( h( icolate. 



Miss Edith (1914)--Pure wliite s])ort fmm Kers- 



lake's yellow. 

 Winsome — Very large white ground, fancy. 

 Mrs. Kerslake — One oi tlK" finest yellow fancies, 



extant. 



Sabine — Large white, l^ieautifully laced, delicate 

 l)ink. 



Gold Lace — drand yellow ground, fancy for exhil)i- 

 tion. 



Gazelle — White laced carmine, grand petal. 



Kerslake's Yellow — Large soft yellow. 



Leura Scarlet — Grand large bright scarlet. 



Robt. Williams — Beautiful orange fancy sport from 

 Mrs. Kerslake. 



One strong jjlant of each of the above s])lendt (l set post free for 20/. 



Oar*r^a.tioni Si>ecis^lists, Oami>ei'<3lowrx, Victoria, 



Illustrated Carnation Catalogue Post Free. 



