66 



FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. 



the broken material is placed in the pot or fernery, 

 many of the roots of the larger plants will find 

 their way into it, and suffer from want of the nour- 

 ishment which the earth only can supply. More- 

 over, if under these circumstances the plant be- 

 come at all dry, these projecting roots will be the 

 first to perish, much to the detriment of the ferns. 



Hardly any two gardeners agree exactly on the 

 best proportions of materials to be used in making 

 up a soil for ferns. Taking an average of their 

 general recommendations, we may safely employ 

 the following for most ferns in pots, ferneries, bas- 

 kets, &c. : one part peat well broken up, one part 

 leaf-mould from the woods, one part mason's sand, 

 one part virgin loam. The bits of peat will serve 

 for the roots to cling to, while the sand and loam 

 enable us to press the whole quite firmly into 

 place. Instead of the leaf-mould, cocoanut-refuse 

 may be used. This is sold by many of the large 

 horticultural dealers. Messrs. B. K. Bliss and 

 Sons, 34 Barclay Street, New -York City, write 

 that they can supply this material at fifty cents a 

 peck, or one dollar and fifty cents a bushel. For 

 use by amateurs it is particularly valuable, as it 

 is clean ; and it may be employed with common 

 loam, or even quite poor soil, in equal parts, for 

 almost any plants. Meadow-muck, when dried 

 and broken up, can be substituted with advantage 

 for the peat ; but, in this case, it will do to take 



