322 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



April 20, 1912. 



THE OLD-FASHIONED 



GARDEN. 



A garden of ol<l-fasliioneil flowers may be 

 ma<l« either according to a regular or an 

 informal plan^ but prooably the nrst method 

 gives nioiit pleasure if it can be carried 

 out on a fairly large scale^ the second being 

 better suited to the small plot that can 

 be overseen at a glance, a. round lawn 

 is an attractive centrepiece for the formal 

 garden; it should De surrounded by 

 borders that would make the whole into 

 a square if continued on all feides; the 

 necessary exits and entrances from the 

 lawn may be four in number, one at each 

 side, and had better be also of turf, lead- 

 ing to a wide gravel walk, that, in its turn, 

 is Hanked by a four-feet to six-feet border. 

 If there is space another gravel path may 

 follow this border, flanked by a border 

 ending in a trim hedge of evergreens. 



Here we have the foundation for a suc- 

 cessful regular old-fashioned garden ; by 

 the time a sundial is stationed in the centre 

 of the lawn, and the four grass paths are 

 each spanned by a rose and jasmine-covered 

 arch, the scene will l>e already attractive. 



A QUEER FERN. 



In all classes of vegetation there are very 

 queer or curious forms to be found, some 

 spcH^ific and others varietal; but it is fairly 

 certain that the queer forms assumed by 

 some of our native haixly ferns entitle them 

 to rank amongst the most curious ot all, 

 A recent hnd near Woody Bay, in iNorth 

 Devon, suggests these notes. 



1 visited that paradise of ferns which 

 exists under the shelter of the umbrageous 

 woods which clothe the slopes leading 

 downward to the sea in that beautiful loca- 

 lity. On one of the more exposed declivi- 

 ties, covered by oak trees stunted somewhat 

 by their direct exposure to the wind, 1 

 found the soil composed of largish frag- 

 ments of stone, more or less buried in de- 

 posits of oakleaf-mould, the accumulated 

 result of centuries of autumnal slieildings. 

 The trees affording shade of not too dense 

 a nature, this soil had l^ecome the home 

 of innumerable large plants of the hart's- 

 tongue fern, which extended in all direc- 

 tions as far as the eye could penetrate the 

 recesses of the woo<:L The large majority 

 of these, owing to the stony character of 

 the soil, were isolated plants, and conse- 



J., the wide gravel walk, opposite each grass guently'well developed and of large size. 



path, may stand a round or square green- 

 painted tub containing a variety of sul)- 

 jects, according to choice. Heliotropes and 

 chrysanthemums, rhododendrons, Madonna 

 lilies, moss roses, Michaelmas daisies, snap- 

 dragons, phloxes, clove carnations, all may 

 be successfully cultivated in sufficiently 

 deep and well-drained receptacles. 



The border between the two paths should 

 contain a massing of all kinds of plants. 

 A Maiden's Blush ros(^ bush can spring out 

 of a group of polyanthuses, lavender may 

 be surrounded by giant pansies, and the 

 old Cabbage rose with Lilium candidum by 

 its side and hen-and-chicken daisies in front 

 will always please. Here should be tree 

 lupins, as well as others, congregations of 

 rich-tinted sweet williams, some of the older 

 kinds of dahlias, strij^ed carnations, wall- 

 flowers and stocks in abundance, with asters 

 of the ancient types, not the modern Comet 

 and Ostrich Plume varieties. French 

 honeysuckle should not be forgotten, nor 

 lychnises and i)entstemons, while pinks 

 must be in great evidence. 



Where a shady bit of border exists violets 

 can blossom in profusion, with St. John's 

 wort, honesty, Solomon's seal , woodruff, 

 London pride, and ferns. Occupants for 

 the border by the liedge should include day 

 lilies, the cottager's orange lily, monks- 

 hood, single hollyhocks, and phloxes. 



The informal old-fashioned garden ought 

 to be so planted that the special trees 

 and shrubs make obstacles to the view, and 

 create "spots of mystery" beyond them. 

 A thi<ket of briar roses, a bit of hedge 

 formed of everlasting peas, a bower of 

 honeysuckle and sweet briar mingled, will 

 effect this, so^ too, w^ill avenues of holly- 

 hocks, and a hedge of lavender. 



A paved Avalk, with a wide border, hedge- 

 backed on either side, ivill make a charming 

 old-fashioned garden within the garden 

 proper. It should lead to an arl)Our and 

 seat at the end, and may be spanned by 

 an archway or two. A round ardh of ivy 

 is a fitting entrance to it. The borders 

 should l>e e<lged wuth dou})le daisies, pan- 

 sies, pinks, polyanthuses, etc. All the tall 

 plants ought to be kept well to the back, 

 as tlie grouping of high perennials or an- 

 nuals in a foreground is of distinctly 



mo^lern origin. 



The gardener w^ho makes a feature of 

 an old-M orld rose garden will be helping to 

 ]>res<M \ o anionic us the dear ancient varie- 

 ties that aro in danger of being discarde<l. 



M. H. 



For a long time, though examination 

 was so ejisy, I could not find the slightest 

 abnormality, every frond was of perfectly 

 normal outline, varying only to the extent 

 of small difi'erences in width or a tendency 

 to slight waviness or frilling of the usually 

 flat, strap-Jike fronds* Suddenly, however^ 



i^y ^y© caught sight of a frond with divi- 

 ded ends, on the lines of the common 

 lobatum, or forked type. I noticed, how- 

 ever, that, instead of tapering to the usual 

 blunt point, each division was quite round, 

 and on nearer examination I found all the 

 frond tips so characterised, some fronds 

 dividing into two near the top, and others 

 being simple. I found this to be due to 

 the fact that in everv case the midrib, 

 which normally continues to the very point, 

 suddenly stopped short, the veins then 

 radiating from it, and carrying the leaf- 

 tissue with them in such a way as to form 

 a perfectly semicircular finial ; while the 

 long sausage-shaped dual spore heaps, 

 hitherto arranged herring-l)one fashion on 

 each side of the midrib, radiate<l at regu- 

 lar intervals in conformity, exactly like 

 the figures of the upper half of a clock 

 dial. 



As an undivided, but othemvise similar, 

 form is already in collections named by me 

 " radiosorum,'' in allusion to this pecu- 

 liarity^ I have named this new find ^' S. v. 

 radiosorum lobatum," to indicate also the 

 secondary character. It is, of course, im- 

 possible to imagine the cause of such a 

 singular and thorough alteration of struc- 

 ture. The ])lant was, as I have in<lirate:l, 

 one of many thousands, all growing under 

 identical environmental conditions ; there 

 was nothing to check d(n'olo])meiit ; it was 

 perfectly healthy and robiKst ; an<l y<t, in 

 each and every frond, the unrolling mid- 

 rib altere<l its mind, as it wore, when near- 

 ing the end of its task, and, instead of 

 forming a normal tip to the frond, finished 

 it up in this symmetrical and neat fashion. 



This type must be allocated to what is 

 known as the truncate section of the hart's- 

 tongue variants, w^hich embraces a number 

 of distinct forms, all characterised by a 

 sudden stoppage of the midrib develop- 

 ment. I^sually. however, it continues ex- 

 ternally to the frond for a short distance, 

 forming a thorn-like projection, constitut- 

 ing the " cornutum " or horned section, this 

 iiorn protruding either from the front or 

 the l)ack of the abbreviated frond tip. Or 

 it mav spring from the centre or elsewhere 

 of a sort of pocket (poraforens) ; and, if 



conjoined, as has been done, by crossing 

 with branching forms, such pockets ana 

 thorns may be produced at tlie terminals 

 of each division, the midribs obeying as 

 it were, the law of the varietal section con- 

 cerned, and invariably stopping shoit of 

 forming a normal tip. AMiere the normally 

 round basal lobes of the frond are extended 

 so as to show independent midribs, these, 

 too, will stop and form basal pockets (tri- 

 peraferens). 



This trick, if we may so term it, curious 

 as it is, since it cannot possibly be imputed 

 to any environmental check upon growth, 

 is by no means peculiar to the hart's- 

 tongue, though in that species it assumes 

 many forms. It is also seen in Lastrea 

 filix mas, L. montana (quite frequently in 

 the Avild state), Polyi>odium vulgare (in 

 irregular lines), P. hexagonoj^terum, Athy- 



ricum filix foemina (excurrens), Polystichum 

 angulare, and Osmunda regalis; and, out- 

 side the ferns, we see it in the leaves of 

 the tulip tree. 



Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S. 



POND'WEED AND COPPER 



SULPHATE. 



A frequent application for advice made to 

 Kew is from correspondents whose ponds or 

 lakes are infested durin<j summer by the 

 various forms of alga? or weed^" found in 

 British waters. Everyone, writes W. J. B./' 



in the " Kew Bulletin," knows the unpleasant 

 nature of the scum-like and other growthti 

 that are nearly always seen at that season 

 on still, or nearly still, water. They not 

 only frequently destroy the beauty of ponds 

 entirely for a time, but are offensive to the 

 nostrils as well. A good deal of this annoy- 

 ance may be avoided by the use of copper 

 sulphate. Owing to the water of the Lake at 

 Kew being pumped for garden purposes (in- 

 cluding the watering of ferns and other low 

 types of vegetation) it is considered inadvis- 

 able to use cx>pper sulphate there, but it is 

 employed with advantage in the smaller 

 ponds. The proportion used is one part 

 copper sulphate to anywhere from 750,000 to 

 1,00(3,(KK) parts of water. It is first neces- 

 sary to ascertain, approximately at least, 

 the cubic contents of the water to be treated. 

 The sulphate of copper should be obtained 

 in a pulverised state, placed in a porous 

 bag, and dragged through the water until 

 dissolved. It does not matter how the sul- 

 phate is distributed so long as it is done 

 thoroughly. It may l>e dissolved previously 

 and sprayed evenly over the surface, pro- 

 vided no water-lilies or other aquatic phane- 

 rogams are in growth. It may be men- 

 tioned that a cubic foot of water weighs 



about 62Alb. 



During the last two summers a striking 



example of the effective use of copper sul- 

 phate has been provided in St. James's Part 

 Previously, it had been a co^stly and trouble- 

 some matter to kee]) the water there prei=ent- 

 able in hot weather by employing men in 

 boats to remove the Aveed with rakes, etc. 

 The copper sulphate treatment Avas adopted. 

 A\dth the result, we learn, tliat ui a nnicli 

 lesis expenditure in money and labour it can 

 now be kept practically free from weed.^^^ 



The 



A fact of considerable interest 

 been reported by the Superintendent, 

 ponds are cleaned out tricniiially and tn 

 surplus fish disjxK^ed of. In recent years 

 has been found that many of the fi«h ^^«re 

 badly attacked by fungus, so much 

 that it became doubtful whether 

 was advisable to transfer them 

 other waters. We learn that at tli^/^' 

 cleaning out the fish were quite free iroro 

 fungoid dii^ease and remarkably clean an 

 silvery. This is of especial interest because 

 one of the doubtful matters about +1^^"^^',, 

 copper sulphate in water Avas its oftec 

 fish. It has been found in Ainei ica ^^'^^^ 



species wore ^^,^,1]}. 



tain delicate species wore aftVotea, -jjv 

 usuallv AA-hen a consideral»lv stnmg^'i' api 

 catioirAvas itemed than that meiilioinnl a»'<' 



