THE PLANT DECORATION OE APARTMENTS. 277 



suspended vases or baskets. Rhopala corcovadense is a 

 plant that exhales a somewhat disagreeable odour^ but it is 

 nevertheless much sought after, on account of its very 

 elegant and gracefal appearance during the development of 

 its young leaves. Hecktia pitcairnifolia is capital for sus- 

 pending in baskets. Tradescantia discolor, Phormium tenax, 

 E-hododendrons, Camellias, Grevillea robusta, Euonymus, 

 Aucubas, Bonapartea, Agaves, variegated Yuccas, &c., are 

 also frequent. In ad- 

 dition to the common 

 Saxifr^ga sarmentosa, 

 which is frequently seen 

 with its slender runners 

 pendant from window 

 baskets in England, 

 several other allied spe- 

 cies would prove equally 

 useful in the same way 

 — Saxifraga Fortunei 

 variegata, and S. cus- 

 cutseformis, for exam- 

 ple. 



The family of Ferns, 

 although classed among 

 plants with delicate tis- 

 sues, and having a great 

 dislike to dry hot at- 

 mospheres, nevertheless 

 furnishes numerous ex- 

 amples which, ^dth 

 careful management, add very much to the beauty of 

 apartments. Thus I have very frequently remarked several 

 species of Adiantum, which, wherever they can be preserved 

 in good health, produce without doubt a most pleasing 

 effect. Pteris argyraea, P. cretica albo lineata, and P. ser- 

 rulata variegata likewise produce a good effect with their 

 prettily marked fronds. Alsophila australis and Dicksonia 

 antarctica are also sometimes employed for decorative pur- 

 poses in rooms of large dimensions, where their magnificent 



Pig. 115. 



Maranta vittata. 



