096 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



1)ecembeb 28, 1912. 



SOILS FOR FERNS. 



In tlie cultivation of ferns it is^ of course, 

 essential, as with other plants, that as far 

 as possible the most congenial soil should 

 be chosen, and this, of course, is best as- 

 certained by a study of the soils in which 

 uudor wild conditions they flourish best. 



we shall find them, 

 so far as regards the terrestrial species, 

 as distinct from those which affect crevices 

 on rocks and walls, in greatest luxuriance 

 in an open, loose, leafy soil, with an ad- 

 mixture of rocky debris, such as we find 

 in glens and woodlands. In such places 

 the Lady Fern, Male Ferns, Broad Buck- 

 ler Ferns, polystichums, and hartstongues 



As a general rule 



grow in abundance, its long creeping 

 rhizomes, peculiar to this lastrea among 

 our native species, forming dense mats in 

 the very mud itself. 



Under glen conditions the spleenwort 

 family is not thoroughly at home^ though 

 Asplenium trichomanes and A. adiantum 

 nigrum may here and there find a habitat 

 where rocks protrude enough to afford con- 

 genial chinks. All the members of this 

 genus — A. trichomanes, A. adiantum nig- 

 rum, A. ruta murarum, Ceterach officina- 

 rum, A. lanceolatum, etc. — are. indeed, 

 true 



?u Tf ^''^ ^^'^ polypodies, and also 

 the bladder ferns, associated with spleen 

 worts, these being able to hold their own 



u ^^ " '^l *H '^''^''^^ ^P^^i^^ bemg 



held m check for lack of soil and root room 



As a matter of fact, all the larger-^row 

 ing hardy ferns will thrive in 



owmg 



od open garden soil; but stiff 



ordmary 



clay IS 



totally unsuited, and for pot culture it is 

 well in any case to see that the openness 

 of the soil is secured by a liberal admix- 

 ture of leaf-mould 



sand. It 



rock 



or wall Terns, requirin^ 

 thoroughly well-drained positions ; thus 

 we consequently find them, as a rule, 



ferns 



A new 



pearly-white Japanese variety; F.C.C., 

 Xovember 21. Mr A. Smith 



W, T. SMr 

 N.C.S,, Nov 



assume their greatest size 



while 



. as 



aller-growing species associated with 

 them, we find rampant colonies of the oak 

 fern, beech fern, and common polypody 

 where th(A rocky substratum comes to the 



surface nnd gives them a congenial foot- 

 hold. 



A\Tiere extra moist conditions prevail 

 Osnninda regalis^ the Royal fern, if out 

 of tlie reach of the vandal, ma v assume 

 the iispe<t of 



higher; while here and there in 

 drained l)ut still 



a coppice man-high 



or 



better- 

 moist conditions, the 

 mountaui histrea and the hard'tern 

 thnvo together, ahvays prnviderl that no 

 'Hie 1^ nnmediately present. It. al.M)Iute]v 



t>^>ggy ground the marsh buckler fern will 



will 



n ^ ^ , '^^^^ ^-^I-, R.H S 



Convent Gardens, Roelianipton. 



in elevated sites, and some of them often 

 m places where one wonders how they ob- 

 tain suflacient water for their needs Their 

 roots, however, penetrate very deeply into 

 the crevices they occupy ; and their fronds 

 moreover, are so constituted that, though 

 in times of drought they may shrivel up 

 they are capable of resuming their verduJe 

 wiien rain recurs. 



In Jiumid parts of the country, and par- 

 ticular y where, as m Devon and Doiet 

 stone dykes are frequent, consi'sting prac- 

 tically of two rough stone walls with an 

 earthern core between them, seedlings of 

 nearly all spec.es are found associated ; 



aie stunted and small. Under such con- 



plus some coarse silver 

 not well to sift the compost 

 fine, as a more or less lumpy condition faci- 

 litates the aeration of the soil, and pre- 

 vents sourness by stagnation of the mois- 

 ture. For the wall or rock species a good 

 admixture of old lime rubbish or pieces of 

 porous stone is advisable; and, above all, 

 good drainage must be provided for. 



For filmy ferns, the tenants of wet and 

 even dripping caves or of ever-wet rocks, 

 a coarse p^aty, sandy compost is required, 

 phis the protection of a glass shade or 

 AVardian case, as these fronds are so sus- 

 ceptible to drought as, if once shrivelled, 

 to be irrecoverable. 



The limestone ferns-^Polypodium cal- 

 careum and Lastroa rigida— require some 

 lime to be mixed with the soil. P. vul- 

 gare attains its largest size in hedges or 

 on accumulations of dead wood, in woods, 

 and in both cases we shall find the rambling 

 rootstocks to be anchored by their roots 

 proper in very loose, leafy, sandy material, 

 on the surface of which the rhizomes travel 

 freely. The stiflFer the soil under cultiva- 

 tion the less the plant thrives. 



C. T. Drueky, V.M.H. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM 



MRS, W. T. SMITH. 



The number of new seedling white chry- 

 santhemums that come up each year for the 

 consideration of the Floral Committee of 

 the National Chrysanthemum Society or 

 the Floral Committee of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society is very large, and, though 



many be called, few are chosen." Lately, 

 however, exhibitors have had little to com- 

 plain of in counection with white Japanese 

 varieties. Mrs. A. T. Miller; Wm. Turner, 

 and the two new sorts. Queen Mary (see 

 p. 861), and Mrs. W. T. Smith, make up a 

 splendid quartet. The last-named was 

 raised by Mr. A. Smith, The Convent Gar- 

 dens, lloehampton, and is a seedling from 



It is a pleasing variety 

 and pearly white- 



Mrs. A. T. Miller, 

 of refined appearance 



ness. Flowers of large size are made up 

 of loosely incurving florets, but the blooms 

 are firm to the touchy though quite grace- 

 ful. If the variety takes after Mrs. A. T. 



r in being an easy doer," then it 

 should ha\'e a brilliant future. It was on 

 Novemher 11 that Mrs. W. T. Smith 

 cured a First Glas-s Certificate from the 

 National Chrysanthemum Society, and it 

 was ten days later that the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society granted it lan Award of 

 Merit. We understand that the stock of 

 this new variety has passed into the hands 

 of Mr. H. J. Jones, Ryecroft Nurseries, 

 Lewisham. 



Oxalis Ortg:iesi. 



us — in foliage at least — closely mimic mem- 



•Some of the oxa- 



gpecief 



IS widely removed therefrom. It is of a 

 fibrous-rooted nature, and pushes up a stout 

 branching stem to a height of eighteen 

 inches or therealxmts. The (shoots and alsc 

 the petioles of the leaves are deep red. The 

 leaves are trifoliate, and the leaHets, which 

 are dark green above and ]>ur|)lc l:cncath 

 are remarkable for a curious triangular notcl' 

 m the apex of each. Tlie flowers are yellow, 

 and produced over a lenpthened rieriod.— K. 



