88 
FERNS, AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 
variety among a collection of Orchidacege. In the stove, too, they would greatly 
enliven the general effect, and, by being thus elevated, their inflorescence would 
more easily be seen and examined. 
The better method of suspending them, however, will be to fasten three or four 
rough pieces of bark -covered wood together in as rustic a manner as is attainable, 
and to put a few lumps of very fibrous heath-mould in the midst of these, inserting 
the plants therein. Or a common rustic basket may be formed, or one made of 
wire employed, and filled with moss and very turfy heath-soil. The Acrostichums 
would look well if managed in this manner, and many others of the more graceful 
sorts. 
When conservatories and stoves, which are of any considerable height, have the 
plants in them grown in beds or borders, the specimens, as they grow up, gene- 
rally become bare towards the bottom, and leave the ground beneath them so 
completely exposed to view, that the eye of taste demands something verdant 
on which to rest. In short, as in open-air plantations, some kind of undergrowth 
is needed, to prevent the eye from ranging solely among bare stems. 
The cultivator of exotics is not so amply furnished with these as the out-of- 
door gardener. The Periwinkles and the Ivy of the latter have no related species 
for the greenhouse and the stove ; and to attempt to grow ordinary dwarf-shrubs 
beneath taller ones is sure to end in failure. If, nevertheless, nothing but a ver- 
dant carpet were desired, the Lycopodiums would supply this in a perfection 
excelling even that of Ivy. But something taller and more diversified is requisite, 
and we know of no plants which would come in so well for this use as 
Ferns. They w^ould be certain to flourish under the shade of other plants, and 
they would not rob them of their nourishment. There would also be great variety 
in their heights and aspects, and the lovely pale green of their leaves would be all 
the more delighful as seen in conjunction with the leafless stems of the plants above 
them. In addition to which, they would seem in their natural and proper places. 
Of course, we would merely select the most robust, and the least scarce species 
for the purpose thus referred to. It would not do to put the smaller sorts in 
such a position, nor would they effect the required end. If there should be any 
danger of the plants getting injured by moisture, or if the soil in the bed or border 
should not be exactly appropriate, pots may be used to keep the specimens in ; and 
these can be plunged deeply enough to be imperceptible above the surface of the 
earth. 
Adverting to our next point, which is the embellishment of masses of Orchi« 
daceous plants, every one who knows the tribe is aware that some Orchidace^ have 
prominent pseudo-bulbs, with scarcely any leaves ; while others bear their foliage 
after the plant has bloomed, and only during a portion of the year. To atone for 
this defect, Lycopodiums are introduced among the pseudo-bulbs by some culti- 
vators; and their pleasing appearance is certainly a great improvement. But 
more leafy plants, or those with larger foliage, seem to be wanted ; and we have 
