FERNS HAkDY AND HXOTIC. 



351 



position, the wind and the blazing sun should be avoided as far as possible ; hence a 

 bed under the foot of a wall facing north, or under the lee of a hedge or shrubbery, is 

 preferable to an exposed one ; but under overhanging trees even Ferns get out of condition 

 through lack- of sufficient light, and also through root-starvation owing to the monopoly of 

 the soil by the roots of the trees themselves. In planting, care should be taken to leave 

 ample room for development, and as far as possible the plants should be kept down to single- 

 crowns by persistent removal of offsets as they are formed. A crowded bunch of fronds is not 

 only an eyesore, but under such conditions the full character of a variety is rarely seen to 

 advantage. The larger forms should also be kept in the background, reserving the front for the 

 smaller ones ; and it is a good plan, even on a flat bed, to insert rough pieces of porous stone or 

 brick burrs between the plants, as these not only check overcrowding to some extent, but retain 

 moisture in the soil during dry spells, to the great benefit of the plants. Under glass the great 

 thing to avoid is an excess of 

 heat in the summer ; in our 

 ideal hardy Fernery we should 

 never see the thermometer 

 over 7odeg. at the utmost. 

 Hence hot sunshine must be 

 excluded by shading — either 

 thin scim outside the glass, 

 or a wash of white upon it ; 

 a removable blind is of course 

 the best, as the more daylight 

 plants get the healthier they 

 are. With very precious 

 plants it is well to have them 

 in two pots, the outer one 

 keeping the inner one cool ; 

 and when this is done the two 

 may be placed in a saucer con- 

 taining sufficient water for the 

 outer pot to stand in, while 

 the inner one is free of the 

 water, and hence, while bene- 

 fiting by the percolation, 

 the soil cannot get water- 

 logged. 



Space, however, 



precludes more than these few hints, and we will now proceed to describe a few of 

 the best forms. Athyrium Filix-fcemina (the Lady Fern). Beyond question the most 

 charming are the plumosums, A. f. f. Axminster and its progeny A. f. f. pi. elegans, 

 A. f. f. pi. superbum, dissectum, plumosum Drueryi, crispatum, and kalon, all gems of first 

 water, large in growth and finely cut. A. f. f. pi. Horsfall, Wills, and Barnes are also lovely, 

 while A. f. f. Kalothrix, which needs glass protection, is like spun glass or floss silk, and stands 

 alone in its peculiar line. Among the crested or tasselled varieties, A. f. f. percristatum Cousens, 

 A. f. f. Elworthyi, A. f. f. corymbiferum James, A. f. f. Vernoni;o cristatum, A. f. f. regale, 

 A. f. f. setigerum percristatum, and A. f. f. pi. superbum percristatum are all grand robust 

 growers, even the pinnules being tasselled in the last-named. Then we have the curious 

 allied to the beautiful in this line in A. f. f. Victoria?, each side division in duplicate, and set 

 at such an angle that the frond is a string of tasselled crosses, a unique Fern in all the world, 

 and yet a native; A. f. f. Vernoniae and conioides have a frilly look in their divisions; 



