100 
The Fern Garden . 
as to render the air of the house so dry that the fronds 
will lose their freshness and health. 
Thousands of villas are now furnished with what are 
called “ conservatories/' which would answer admirably 
for ferneries where they happen not to be exposed to 
burning sunshine all the summer long. The sunniest 
of these little glass annexes answer admirably for grape 
vines and succulent plants, such as cactuses and eche- 
verias ; the shady ones would answer admirably for 
ferns, whether in pots or planted out in miniature 
rockeries. 
In the management of greenhouse and stove ferns 
the most important matter is to secure a suitable 
temperature for each department or group of plants. 
The greenhouse kinds require a temperature of 40° 
to 50° all the winter, but from the middle of April 
until the middle of October artificial heat may be dis- 
pensed with altogether, unless the weather is excep- 
tionally cold ; and stove ferns require a temperature 
ranging from 60° in winter to 90° in summer. 
In every case the amount of moisture must be pro- 
portioned to the temperature, the more heat the more 
water, both above and below. When the plants are 
growing freely the syringe should be used to produce a 
fine shower over them once or twice a day, and water 
should be sprinkled on the floor to cause an abundant 
evaporation. They will also require plentiful supplies 
of water at the roots. 
There is no large class of plants in cultivation for 
which we may so safely give general cultural directions 
as for ferns, yet certain kinds require exceptional treat- 
