94 
The Fern Garden . 
quires treatment similar to that of the Tunbridge fern. 
As the roots are tough and wiry, and spread on the 
surface, it will be necessary in planting a piece to 
spread them out on the surface of the stone, and fix 
them in their places with pegs, or by placing nodules 
of stone upon them. In due time they will attach 
themselves, and after that the plant will grow well if 
taken care of. Small cases appropriated solely to these 
ferns are intensely interesting. They ought never to 
be planted in cases with ferns that need ventilation, as 
nearly all other kinds do. I had a large leaky aquarium. 
Instead of having it repaired, a hole was bored in the 
slate bottom, and a sheet of very stout glass was cut 
to fit the top. A miniature rockery was then formed 
with coke and cement in one large block, and on this 
Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense, Trichomanes radicans, 
and the New Zealand filmy fern Todea pellucida w r ere 
planted. They have thriven and have a rich luxurious 
appearance. The leaky aquarium has thus become a 
grand fern case. 
In a damp stone or a very damp warm dark corner 
of a greenhouse, the filmy ferns grow freely if their 
rhizomes are merely fixed to the walls. They soon run 
up the bricks, and form a delicate felt or living wall¬ 
paper. 
Woodsia. — W. alpina , an Alpine Woodsia, is a pretty 
little fern, requiring frame or house culture. 
W. ilvensis is a beautiful pot plant. It may, how¬ 
ever, be grown in the open fernery, if in a sheltered 
well-drained position, in a sandy peat soil. The 
Woodsias are not adapted for beginners. 
