THE “ PANDORA BOX” OF NATURE. 
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capital hanging pots. These hanging pots are very 
useful, for even moderately dark corners of any room 
may thus be brightened, with benefit to health, taste, 
taking up but little room and giving even less trouble. 
For remarkable and abnormal growths, ferns are 
more subject to these freaks of Nature than almost 
any other class of plants. For one case of abnormal 
growth (natural) in the flowering plants, we at least 
come across four or five in the ferns, taking plant for 
plant in equal numbers; in fact, we may say the ferns 
are the “Pandora Box” of Nature, beauty of form and 
strength of growth being their well-known characteristic. 
In technical language these abnormal growths are called 
“Sporting” or “Bifurcation.” Ferns, as a rule, are not 
subject to insect “pests;” the only insect that I am 
aware of is the thrips. These little “ nuisances ” often 
attack the under side of the fronds, but they are soon 
killed by syringing with a mixture, one part glycerine 
to forty or fifty parts water, the next day giving the 
ferns a good watering with pure water to carry off 
waste matter from the surfaces of the fronds, ferns 
being more delicate in this respect than other plants. 
