60 
THE LADIES' MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
A History of British Ferns. By Edward Newman, F.L.S. 
Notwithstanding the beauty and variety of the Ferns, which are so 
abundant in this country, and the remarkable forms of those of the tropics, 
till lately the culture of Ferns was comparatively neglected. Now, 
however, as Mr. Newman observes, “the cultivation of Ferns is becoming 
a fashionable pursuit.” British Ferns are planted with very good effect 
in shrubberies, and exotic ferns have hothouses, with 44 shady dripping 
caves” of stones or brick-work, appropriated exclusively to them. 
In his preface, Mr. Newman tells us, that 44 it was while wandering 
among the Welch mountains, in the autumn of 1837, that I first felt my 
desire to know the names of Ferns. I had often observed the variety 
that half covered some of those bleak and desolate regions where fern is 
cut, dried, and housed, as the only litter that can be obtained for horses; 
but now, for the first time, I gathered hundreds of fronds, and employed 
the evenings in arranging them into supposed species. I found that three 
species were abundant in the most dreary and exposed wilds; but where 
some rill tumbled over a precipitous bank, or a ledge of rocks, keeping the 
surface in a state of perpetual moisture, half a score others were sure 
to be growing: in the chasm at Ponterwyd I think I counted fourteen 
distinct kinds." Pref. viii. 
On examining the botanical works in which ferns are described, 
Mr. Newman found that it was very difficult to identify his specimens 
by the specific characters laid down, as these depended principally on the 
leaves or fronds, the indentations in which vary exceedingly in different 
plants of the same species. To aid the student in overcoming these 
difficulties, Mr. Newman has given sueh clear descriptions of all the 
commonest species of British ferns, illustrated by beautifully executed 
wood engravings, as to enable any person to identify a species at first 
sight. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
KEEPING HALF-HARDY PLANTS DURING WINTER. 
I have no garden, but as I have a large balcony, I have many green¬ 
house plants, which look very well during summer, but which give me a 
great deal of trouble in winter. I have been obliged to line all my 
windows with them, and I have flower-stands full of them in all the living 
rooms; but there are still many which I am quite at a loss how to dis- 
