12 
The Fern Garden. 
those who planted them did their best to vindicate the 
quiet beauties of God's great harvest, knowing that for 
more demonstrative forms of vegetable splendour vindi- 
cation was unnecessary. When little ferneries like 
these are constructed, only the commonest and most 
robust-growing ferns should be planted in them. Gene- 
rally speaking, the common soil of the place will do, but 
if a quantity of leaf mould or cocoa-nut fibre can be 
mixed with it the better. If there is any doubt about 
the soil of the place being suitable, get some sandy or 
peaty earth from a common where ferns and heather 
are found in plenty, and have enough to raise the 
position above the general level, then cover it with 
stones or burrs, and plant the ferns between. There 
are sorts well adapted for this simplest form of fernery, 
namely, the four just named, as likely to be found in 
the fern dealer's basket, and the following : — the 
Bracken or Brake, Pteris aquilina , the Broad Prickly 
Buckler fern, Lastrea dilatata , the royal Osmund, Os - 
munda regalis , the common Polypody, Polypodium vul- 
gar e, the Common Shield fern, Polystichum aculeatum. 
Many more may be added if the soil is a mellow, friable 
yellow loam, with plenty of sand in it, but it will be 
well to get a little used to ferns before launching out 
into grand speculations. When you have had some 
practice in this humble way, and have, perhaps, suc- 
ceeded in growing a few ferns in pots in a frame or in 
a fern case in the drawing-room, you will become am- 
bitious, and resolve on having a grand fernery, with, 
perhaps, a model of a ruin for the main feature of the 
scheme. 
