120 
JOURXAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 9, 1894. 
part loam, and a plentiful addition of sharp sand. The whole is 
passed through a half-inch sieve, well mixed, and then pressed 
lightly into the boxes, after which a thin layer of sand is placed on 
the surface. Into this the Ferns are dibbled from 1 to 2 inches 
apart, according to their size ; as each box is filled the contents are 
thoroughly watered with a fine rose, the whole being then covered 
with a square of glass. These miniature propagating boxes may 
then be placed in almost any glass structures where regular shade 
can be given, and the surrounding atmosphere kept regularly moist. 
Cucumber and Melon houses fulfil these conditions admirably, 
therefore the beds underneath the plants afford excellent positions 
in which to place the boxes. Propagating houses are, of course, at 
all times suitable for the same purpose, but it is often a difficult 
matter to find room in it for a large number of Ferns. 
Where neither of the above named structures is available cold 
pits may be turned to excellent account for raising Ferns during 
the summer months. A few inches of cocoa-nut fibre refuse placed 
in them provides suitable material to stand the boxes upon. 
These pits should be kept heavily shaded and close for a couple 
of weeks, after which air may be gradually given. With this 
treatment syringing once or twice daily will be necessary to 
maintain a moist atmosphere. The squares of glass covering the 
boxes ought also to be daily reversed to prevent condensed moisture 
causing the young fronds to damp. Watering when required 
should be done through a fine rose, and whenever the surface soil 
becomes green it ought to be stirred with a pointed stick. 
When the young Ferns begin to grow freely the glass covering 
the boxes should be removed, then, with proper attention in the 
way of watering, syringing, and shading, rapid progress will be 
made. I find it necessary to allow the Ferns to be thoroughly 
established before transferring them to pots, they then lift with 
a good amount of soil adhering to the roots, and feel the check 
but little. In potting I use soil of a similar nature to that given 
them in their early stages. The strongest are placed in 3-inch 
pots, and the rest in thumbs. After potting they are again placed 
in cool pits, the pots being plunged to about half their depth. Regular 
shading is of course resorted to, but little air is given, and the 
frames are closed with abundant moisture early in the afternoon of 
bright days. About the middle of September it is necessary to 
remove them to warmer quarters, where they will remain throughout 
the winter months. The temperature of an intermediate house 
suits them admirably, but a dry atmosphere must be guarded 
against until about a week before they are required for use. 
should plants be wanted in larger pots some of the strongest may 
^ shifted into 5-inch ones, but I usually find them so useful 
in a small state that they are kept in miniature pots as long as 
they can be preserved in a healthy condition. 
Turning to Lycopods, I find that none is more useful than 
the old and easily grown Selaginella denticulata for forming deep 
green cushions, and a groundwork for dot plants ; well-grown 
potfuls are in great demand for dinner-table decorations. Five 
and 6-inch pots are a useful size in which to insert cuttings ; these 
should be nearly half filled with drainage, over which a layer of 
manure from a spent Mushroom bed may be placed. A compost 
consisting of loam and leaf soil in equal parts, with sharp sand 
added, the whole being passed through a half-inch sieve, is a suit¬ 
able one for inserting the cuttings in. This should be pressed in 
the pots rather firmly, receive a surfacing of sand, and be watered 
both before and after the cuttings are inserted. I generally select 
sprays about 2 inches in length, as I find they root quite as freely 
as ^ shorter pieces, and, moreover, grow to a dense mass more 
quickly. If placed in cold frames and given exactly the same 
treatment as advised for Ferns in a similar position, by the middle 
of September good progress will have been made. The plants 
will then succeed well if placed either in a greenhouse or warmer 
structure, but for the purpose of having them in good con¬ 
dition for use as soon as possible the latter position is of course 
preferable. 
Selaginella apoda and S. apoda aurea are also useful for 
certain kinds of decorative work, but I find they require a little 
artificial heat even in summer to keep them in good condition. 
Old plants should be divided into tufts, each division being 
placed in a thumb or 60-sized pot ; a little finely broken charcoal 
may with advantage be mixed with a compost similar in other 
respects to that advised for S. denticulata (Kraussiana). Set the 
pots in a close frame or hand-light, placed in a propagating house 
or Melon pk, and with ordinary care no difficulty will be experi¬ 
enced in securing good growth. S. csesia is another variety which 
IS generally useful, as its long trailing shoots have an appearance 
peculiarly their own. A good method of propagating is to dibble 
pieces about 3 inches in length into pans, and place under a 
TOll^lass in a house where a brisk moist heat is at command.— 
THE NUTRITION OF ROOTS. 
I AM much obliged to Mr. Bishop (page 100) for his interesting 
letter, and have no idea of attempting to set him right. I have 
gained what I wanted to prove, for my original questions were, I 
am sorry to say, purely selfish. Mr. Bishop upholds my own ideas 
in every particular, for both the word “ only ” and the sentence 
about “ mechanical decomposition ” came from the authority who 
so unfortunately muddled the matter, and would otherwise not 
have been used by me. Happily, the result has been an interesting 
discussion for all, as well as the resolving of problems for— 
W. R. Raillem. 
Mr. Bishop (page 75) is quite correct in his statement aboat 
distilled water, and I am quite wrong. I am told by an authority 
that it is very difficult to obtain absolutely pure water, owing to 
ammonia and other gases passing over in the still. I can only 
express my regret to the readers of the Journal of Horticulture for 
having put forward the statement, and assure them that when I 
did so I fully believed it to be correct. 
At the same time I wish to point out that this does not in any 
way affect my contention with my friend Mr. Raillem (if he will 
allow me to call him so), that plants cannot live or thrive on vapour. 
The fact of there being present in vapour two or three elements 
of plant food is not sufficient to prove the case. While against 
this there are many elements that cannot be found in the atmo¬ 
sphere nor in condensed water, the absence of any one of which is 
sufficient to show the fallacy of the whole theory. 
On reading the whole of Mr. Bishop’s communication (page 75), 
I confess I am at a loss to understand what he means. He seems 
to me to be a little more at sea than he makes me out to be. He 
first shows that a certain process cannot take place, and then 
calmly goes on to show that it can and does. Here are his words 
(page 75) :—“ Let me tell Mr. Grilmour that all soluble elements 
and compounds which volatilise at a lower temperature than water, 
and even those which require more heat to volatilise them, may be 
found in the water condensed on the glass.” Again (next para¬ 
graph) “ distilled water will contain all organic elements or com¬ 
pounds that will volatilise at a lower or higher temperature than it 
takes to volatilise water.” 
Now take the next paragraph on the same page. “I will ask 
your readers to believe that water which is brought to the surface 
by evaporation will contain a great deal of the organic and inorganic 
elements that are soluble ; they will be held in solution until the 
rarefied water reaches the surface, when the water becomes more 
rarefied, and passing off it leaves all its solid, inorganic, and organic 
impurities upon or close to the surface of the soil.” Here Mr. 
Bishop abandons his former statement altogether, utterly ignoring 
the fact that the same heat which, in the one case, volatilises all the 
soluble elements that will volatilise at a higher or lower temperature 
than water, must act in the same way on the soluble elements that 
will volatilise at a higher or lower temperature in the other case. 
In a word, if Mr. Bishop’s theory is correct, all soluble elements 
that will volatilise at a higher or lower temperature than water, 
when brought up to the surface of the ground must pass off into 
the atmosphere. The question is. Do they ? My impression is 
that they do not. Therefore I think Mr. Bishop is at sea. 
It is quite possible that Mr. Bishop may be able to explain 
away these contradictory statements, as he says (page 100), “ We 
are obliged to say what we do not mean,” though I, for one, fail 
to see the necessity. If ever I find myself in such a position that 
I am compelled either to insult every intelligent reader of the 
Journal of Horticulture by saying what I do not mean, or with¬ 
drawing from the discussion, I shall not hesitate to take the latter 
course. 
It is impossible with the space at my disposal to discuss all the 
points put forward by Mr. Bishop. I will therefore take the more 
important and pass by the minor ones. He speaks of “ rarefied ” 
water (page 75). I think the word is not used in connection with 
water. Annandale’s dictionary defines rarefaction as “ the act of 
expanding or extending matter by separating the constituent 
particles; rarefaction means, opposed to condensation.” If Mr. 
Bishop means by rarefied water, water that is broken np by a 
separation of its constituent particles, if he means water that has 
gone through the process which is opposed to condensation, or in 
other words has ceased to be liquid or fluid, then I am told and I 
believe that water in such a state cannot hold in solution any 
soluble elements of plant food whatever. Gases may be 
mechanically mixed with it, but that is not the point. Will Mr. 
Bishop explain what he means by rarefied water ? Again, Mr. 
Bishop (page 100) speaks of capillary attraction carrying up 
rarefied water. The dictionary explains capillary attraction “as 
the cause that determines the ascent or descent of a fluid.” But 
