The Balcony and Window Garden. 101 
(.Athyrium ) ferns are eminently suited for it. Other robust kinds are the 
Buckler Fern ( Lastrea dilatata ), Hay-scented Fern ( Lastrea cemula ), Royal 
Fern ( Osmunda regalis ), Shield Ferns (Polystichum angidare and P. aculeatum). 
Dwarfer and equally suitable are the Parsley Fern ( Allosorus crispus ), Hart’s- 
tongue ( Scolopendium vulgare ) and its varieties, the Polypodies ( Polypodium 
calcareum , dry op ter is, phegopteris, and vulgare), Hard Fern ( Blechnum spica?it), 
Scale Fern ( Ceterach officinarium ), and the Maidenhair-spleenwort ( Aspleninm 
adiantum-nigrum). These should be planted in well-drained ornamental pots 
or boxes, in a compost of equal parts peat loam and leaf mould, in October or 
March. They are British species, and may be collected in a wild state by 
those who care to take the trouble to find out their haunts. Here we would 
offer a word of caution. Never purchase ferns from hawkers. These individuals 
invariably collect the ferns they offer for sale in a haphazard way, minus 
their roots, to save the trouble of digging them up. Such ferns, if planted, 
only live a short time, and have to be replenished by a fresh lot. It is better 
to go to a fern nursery and pay a trifle more, and get really good plants that 
will grow and flourish for years. 
In cases where the owner of a balcony wishes to make the utmost of it 
in the delightful pursuit of plant-collecting, a rockwork may be added with 
advantage. We have hundreds of fine subjects amongst the Alpine and 
succulent-leaved plants that are admirably adapted for the balcony garden, 
as a large section can be grown in little space, and with a minimum amount 
of skill or trouble. All that we shall name will thrive in either a shady or 
sunny position, and, excepting in the hottest part of the year, require no 
water, and even then once or twice a week will be quite sufficient under 
ordinary circumstances. A small rockery upon which to grow succulent 
plants may be erected on each side of the window, or at each end of the 
balcony, and, as it is useless to attempt an imitation of Alpine scenery in the 
limited space at disposal, a simple undulating surface only should be aimed 
at. Place a layer of brickbats or rough clinkers on the floor to drain off 
the water quickly, then a layer of light sandy soil about a foot in thick¬ 
ness over these, and a few large burrs along the front to keep it in its place. 
When the work has progressed thus far, take a few rustic-looking pieces of 
burr or stone, stand them on the surface, and fill in the interstices with soil, 
so as to leave the points of the material used visible. It is a very common 
mistake to call in the bricklayer and erect an elaborate rockery, with little 
or no provision for placing the soil in which the plants are to be grown; but 
