December 12 , issa. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
501 
’HERNS have much natural beauty to recommend them, for 
X' with a prevailing grace of form we have a surprising range 
■of variation in frond outline, composition, and habit. Flowerless 
themselves, they constitute admirable foils to th9 rich colours and 
showy or delicate flowers of other plants. In this way they are 
invaluable for decorative purposes, but alone they possess sufficient 
beauty to command a place in gardens, and those who have taken 
aip their culture as specialties have soon become as enthusiastic as 
-orchidists and others who have made studies of particular plant 
families. Nor are the attractions of Ferns confined to exotic 
•species, for the almost innumerable varieties of British Ferns 
present some charming frond developments, many in delicacy and 
intricacy of detail equalling or even surpassing the best intro- 
-dnetions from other countries. 
To form an idea of the marvellous extent of variation in Ferns 
it is only necessary to glance through the great collection at Kew, 
moting the stately tree-like Cyatheas and Dicksonias, which rear 
their imposing crowns of fronds far above all their relatives ; the 
graceful Adiantums, the powdered Gold and Silver Gymnogrammas, 
the luxuriant and elegant Davallias, the exquisitely beautiful 
•Cheilanthes and Nothochlsenas with fronded tracery, the distinct 
■climbing Lygodiums forming long wreaths and festoons of twining 
-fronds, the bold Aspleni'um3, the rugged Marattias and Angiopteris, 
the creeping Polypodiums, and lastly those gems of the Fern 
world, the “Filmies,” Trichomanes, Hymenophyllums, and Todeas, 
the translucent fronds of which appear in some cases frosted with 
crystals or glittering with liquid diamonds. The:e aro only a few 
•of the types that take the attention of a passing visitor to our 
■national collection, but to those who possess a more intimate know¬ 
ledge of the hundreds of species now cultivated in British gardens 
there are abundant other attractions of scarcely less importance ; in 
fact nearly every individual Fern is invested with sufficient 
character to render it an interesting study to all who care to 
•devote a little time to its careful examination. 
Many amateurs have made specialties of some genera, or even 
•of the varieties of certain prolific species, but this has chiefly been 
•done with British Ferns and the “ Filmies.” Collections of the 
former are frequent, particularly in the north of England and 
around such towns as Sheffield. Wonderful collections have been 
formed by the late Mr. Carbonell and Mr. Lowe near Uske in 
Monmouthshire, by the late Colonel Jones near Bristol, and others ; 
while of smaller collections there are hundreds cf considerable 
interest, to some of which we shall have occasion to refer in the 
course of these notes. 
The decision of the Royal Horticultural Society's Council to 
hold a Fern Exhibition and Conference in 1890 was a wise on?, 
for there is no doubt that from a public exhibition point of view 
Ferns have been comparatively neglected. Their history, structure, 
and culture, too, afford abundant materials for discussion at a 
conference, which can easily be rendered of an exceedingly interest¬ 
ing and important character. It is true that some societies have 
provided classes for specimen Ferns at the larger exhibitions, the 
northern societies in particular also giving encouragement to hardy 
Ferns, but beyond that little has been done. Two important 
exceptions must, however, be noticed—namely, at Brighton and 
Bath, where attempts have been earnestly made to do justice to 
No. 494 .—Vol. XIX., Thibd Sebies. 
this large and beautiful family of plants. At Brighton classes 
have been devoted to groups of Ferns arranged for effect, and the 
results have been satisfactory in the extreme, instructive as show¬ 
ing what can be accomplished with Ferns alone, and affording a 
refreshing contrast with the bright masses of colour furnished by 
Pelargoniums and other flowering plants. Compared with the con¬ 
ventional groups at shows these are far superior when tastefully 
designed, not crowded, but allowing every distinct character of 
frondageand habit to be distinctly seen. Much, of course, depends 
upon the individual taste of the competitor and the Ferns at com¬ 
mand, but diversity of stylo often compensates for a restricted 
collection of varieties, the banking method being avoided in all 
cases. The Bath Society at one of their summer shows a year or 
two since had a large tent exclusively occupied with Ferns, British 
varieties largely predominating, and the late celebrated pteridologist, 
Col. Jones, was one of the chief exhibitors with others in the 
district, and Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead from the north. In a 
large experience of shows throughout this country I have never 
seen a more interesting or pleasing tent of plants, and it was quite 
refreshing to turn from the gay floral display in other portions of the 
grounds to the coolness and varied shades of green in the Fern 
tent. These are only examples of what can be effected in exhi¬ 
bition of Ferns, and working upon some such lines as these the 
Royal Horticultural Society will have little difficulty in producing 
something quite worthy of their efforts. 
With regard to the commercial value of Ferns for decorative pur¬ 
poses it might be safely stated that, though as collections represent¬ 
ing the family, Ferns are neglected in private gardens, yet never in 
the history of horticulture have they been so extensively employed 
for house adornment and in floral arrangements as at the present 
time. It would be difficult to estimate the number oc Ferns sent 
into the markets in the course of a year, and impossible to give 
even a vague idea of the quantity of cut fronds of Adiantums and 
other Ferns either sent from growers in this country or imported 
from the continent. Suffice it that some “ market men ” devote 
themselves almost exclusively to Fern3, and there are several large 
growers around the metropolis who derive a substantial income 
from the sale of these plants alone. Wherever cut flowers are a 
special feature in market nurseries Ferns are grown extensively as 
well, and a consignment of flowers for sale would be deemed incom¬ 
plete without its accompanying proportion of Fern fronds. The 
extension of the cut flower business has induced a corresponding 
increase in the demand for suitable foliage, and the result has been 
that a great stimulus has been given to the culture of Ferns. Of 
course, few species are grown for this purpose, Adiantum cuneatum 
and its variety gracillimum largely predominating ; but amongst 
the importations we have several others, and it might in some cases 
be worth the attention of market growers whether they could not 
add to their stock of varieties. 
In the general nursery trade nearly every firm of any 
importance has a department for these plants, but few have made 
specialties of Ferns in the same way as Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons 
of Chelsea, Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son of Upper Holloway, 
and Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead cf Sale near Manchester. For 
many years these firms have steadily increased their collections, 
adding to them all the best of the novelties obtainable, either 
amongst new introductions or home-raised plants, and now together 
they comprise nearly all the Ferns in cultivation in this country. 
As a collection, however, that in the Royal Gardens, Kew, is 
unrivalled, and as the history of its advance is to some extent 
the index of Fern progress in Great Britain, we may appropriately 
glance at the record thus afforded us. 
The first edition of Aiton’s “ Hortus Kewensis ” was published 
in 1789, and in it were included sixty-seven species of Ferns, a 
small proportion of which were exotics, chiefly from horth 
America or the West Indies, comprising Onoclea sensibilis, Osmundas 
regalis and cinnamomea, Pteris longifolia and arguta ; several 
No. 2150.—Yol. LXXXI., Old Sebies. 
