378 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 15. 
I 
plants wo have now under our notice, namely, Ferns, in 
a separate house, though, from their peculiar habit of 
growing in the shade, many of them can be cultivated 
tolerably well amongst other plants, in such positions 
in the shade where the proper inhabitants would not 
exist; yet, to grow them to perfection, they ought to 
have a dwelling to themselves. 
hollowing this train of ideas, I am now brought to 
tho class of plants, which, in this highly'civilised country, 
are cultivated for the love of not showy, sweet flowers, 
but for their beautiful foliage and delicate green colour. 
I have already written pretty largely on Stove Ferns, 
and now coinmenco a series of papers on Greenhouse 
herns. These are by no means so numerous as the 
former, and, therefore, the patience of our readers, who 
do not care for, or have not the means of growing, them, 
will not bo severely taxed. Indeed, this patience is 
needful to almost every reader, and it is but fair that it 
should be so. One class of readers require information, 
it may be, of Fruits, another of Orchids, another of 
Heaths, some on Stove Plants, and others cn Vegetables; 
whilst a large class read The Cottage Gardener 
because it treats on Poultry and Farm Culture. Let 
every one gather the information he wants, and be glad 
there is other information to suit the various wants 
of his fellow-readers. I write now for the benefit of 
such as have a greenhouse, and wish to cultivate such 
Ferns as may be grown in such a temperate clime. 
In the first place, I would observe, that this class of 
Ferns, during winter, may be grown by the sides of the 
path under the first step of the stage. I have seen | 
them so growing very well. Advantage may be taken 
of the summer months, when the regular inhabitants of 
the house are bivouacking and luxuriating in the open 
air, to place the Ferns on the stages, thus furnishing 
tho house with beautiful green foliage during the j 
summer months, and giving tho Ferns a chance to j 
make finer fronds than they would do if kept during 
the growing season in the comparative darkness on the 
side of the path. These fronds would be matured before' 
the autumn, and would keep green in consequence 
longer through the winter. It would be a good time, 
also, to give them a shift into larger pots and fresh 
soil previous to giving them more light. 
The same materials and method should be used and 
followed as 1 described for Stove Ferns. The grand 
points 1 will just repeat. Ferns love a loose, open soil, 
therefore, the compost should not be sifted unless it be 
to sift out the very, finest soil, to be used for some other 
purpose. Tho compost should consist of one-third 
sandy, very fibrous peat, broken up with the hand, 
leaving all tho fine fibres in it, only rejecting large 
stones or thick, strong roots; one-third fibrous, sandy 
loam, and one-third half-rotted vegetable mould; these 
should be well mixed, and a largo portion of white sand 
added. I have found, also, a free admixture of chopped 
moss very useful in this compost; the roots of the Ferns 
run freely into this moss, showing that it is a welcome 
ingredient. The shift should always be a liberal one. 
No plants like less to be confined at the root than 
Ferns, whether stove, greenhouse, or hardy, unless it bo 
some of the latter class that grow on old wails or 
shady rocks. 
Then, above all things, the pots must be well drained; 
stagnant water is almost certain death to the tender 
roots of Ferns. Lastly, strict attention must be paid to ! 
watering; if once the ball becomes thoroughly dry, the ' 
roots will perish, and, of course, the plant will die. If 
the Ferns are exposed to the full sun, shade iu summer 
will be necessary to shelter both loots and foliage from 
the burning rays. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
EARLY-FLOWERING BORDER PLANTS. 
(Continued from page 338.) 
I Am pleased to find Mr. Fish advocating old-fashioned 
flowers, and think he is right, especially when pro¬ 
prietors of gardens, like Lady Broughton, and Joseph 
j Stubbs, Esq., and many others, reside at home most of 
the spring, summer, and autumn months; and his 
! ideas are perfectly right, also, for our public schools, 
where gardening is practised and kept up for the love of 
| it, as it appears to be at the academy at Riverhead, 
\ which he describes so well. Many a boy and girl 
1 acquire a love of gardening at school, especially where 
the master and mistress love a garden, and give their 
pupils, as a reward, an hour’s walk amongst, or an 
hour’s work in, the delightful recreation of cultivating 
flowers. If I was choosing a school for my children, 1 
should prefer one where there was a well-kept garden, 
making that idea an index of the teacher’s mind. The 
love of order cannot be better seen than in a tidy, well- 
weeded garden. I should expect the man or woman 
who weeded stubborn, fast-growing weeds out of their 
garden, would, with equal diligence, strive to eradicate 
tho weeds of bad passion out of the minds of the pupils 
committed to their care. There is a considerable 
analogy in the culture of the garden and the human 
mind. Weeds springs up naturally in both, and require 
a firm and diligent hand to keep them down, as well as 
: to sow good seed to grow up, blossom, and bear fruit, 
instead of the baleful, good-destroying weeds. I might 
enlarge much on this subject, but I need not. Every 
rightly-disposed mind will be ablo to carry out the 
comparison more fully than I have either the time or 
ability to do. I will, therefore, after this little digres- i 
sion, return to my pleasant subject—the Early-Flowering 
Border Plants. 
ARABIS. 
This, the Wall-Cress genus, is an assemblage of neat¬ 
growing, early-flowering plants, which require pruning- I 
in as soon as they have douo flowering, in order to keep ] 
them in close, compact bushes. They have the advantage 
of being evergreen, and therefore ornament the border 
all through the year. The name is derived from Arabia, 
because they love a dry, arid soil; hence most of them 
may bo grown on rockwork. 
A. Alpina (Alpine); this species is a native of the 
Swiss mountains; flowers in May; height six inches; 
increased by division. 
A. crispata (Curled); from Germany; flowers in May; 
and grows nine inches high ; a curious, pretty species; 
by cuttings planted in a shady border iu June. 
A. lucid a (Shining); native of Hungary; white; 
May; increased by division; a neat, pretty species. 
There is a variety with prettily-variegated leaves. 
A. petned (Rock); native ot Austria; flowers white; 
May. A variety named Hastuldta (halbert-leaved), has 
been found in Britain; the flowers are quirple. Both 
increased by division. 
A. rosea (Rose-coloured); from Calabria; with rose- I 
coloured flowers in May; six inches; increased by ! 
division. There are several more species, but they 
flower rather later in the year. 
ARENAEIA. 
This is also a numerous family of plants, of low, 
creeping habit; but the greatest part of them flower in 
July. The following, however, flower in May, or earlier, 
and have whito, pretty, star-like flowers. 
A. bijlora (Two-flowered); native of Switzerland; 
three inches; requires a very dry soil; increased by 
division. 
A^verna (Spring); native of Britain, but not very 
common; increased by division. 
