485 



111 the tropics Ferns may be repotted almost at any 

 time without ill results. Pots should be clean and dry when 

 used and new pots should be thoroughly soaked in water 

 and then dried before using. The question of drainage is 

 an important one, especially here where the rain-fall is so 

 heavy. When potting Ferns it should be borne in mind 

 that the majority of them grow naturally in partly decayed 

 vegetable matter usually of a soft nature, they should there- 

 fore be made firm in their pots but on no account potted 

 hard. 



A compost of an open sandy nature should be used 

 through which the water will pass readily, a mixture of two 

 parts of sandy loam with one part of leaf mould and one 

 part of fibrous peat or Eesani (Gleichenia linearis) root 

 and one part of coarse sand will be found to suit most. 



Basket Ferns should be planted in Resam root 

 mixed with lumps of peat and pieces of sand-stone and 

 charcoal. These composts may be given as possessing all 

 the qualities required by the majority of Ferns usually 

 cultivated in gardens. Many of the more delicate Ferns 

 such as some Adiantums resent too much water over head. 

 A position under a shady verandah suits these best. It is 

 only by experience and constant observation that the best 

 position can be found for the more fastidious Ferns. Very 

 often a move of only a few yards makes all the difference 

 between a good and a bad specimen. Windy positions 

 should be avoided and care taken that no manure enters 

 into the potting compost. An occasional application of 

 liquid or artificial manure is beneficial when growth and 

 l-oot action is vigorous but heavy manuring of maidenhairs 

 should be avoided. It is an error very often made here 

 and is often the cause of the failure of a gardener to grow 

 good pots of these Ferns. In most cases where an amateur 

 complains that his maidenhairs are not in good condition, 

 it is due to one or all of these errors, watering over head, 

 allowing to stand in a windy or dusty j^lace, or manuring. 



In the Botanic Gardens, Singapore a large number of 

 Ferns are raised on the wall of the green-houses. These 

 walls are of coral limestone and form a good nest for the 

 spores, specially of the Maidenhairs. Pans of broken brick 

 and coral rock are very suitable for raising Fern spores. 

 The pans should be kept damp and if moss or the minute 

 algae w hich appear on damp spots are growing on the rock 

 >o nmcli the better. The fruiting fronds should be taken 

 before the spores are blown away, about the time that the 

 sori become brown, and shaken or left lying on the pan 



