December 19. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
231 
may place tliis white plant out-of-doors, in a warm, sunny 
I position, and give water in proportion; by the middle 
I of September, place it against a wall or fence exposed to 
' the south, the pot, not the plant, being defended from 
! the sun; here gradually curtail water, giving none 
| except to keep the leaves from llagging; house in Octo¬ 
ber ; and keep dry all winter, so as not to he parched, nor 
greatly hurt the leaves. As the days lengthen in 
spring, give water, and as the heat increases the flower- 
buds will show. At tho base of the flower-stalk you 
will probably see tln - ee young shoots coming, nip them 
out, and your truss of flowers will be larger and more 
symmetrical. R. Fish. 
SARRACENIA PURPUREA. 
THE PURPLE SIDE-SADDLE FLOWER. 
The meaning of this generic name often puzzled me. 1 
could not help thinking it had something to do with 
Saracen; for the flowers have a turban-like, bloody 
appearance, such as, in infancy, the tales of the bloody 
Saracens led me to • believe these cruel men appeared. 
Perhaps some of my readers may have tho same idea 
also; and to remove that, let me inform them, that the 
name is given to immortalise a very amiable, humane 
physician, Dr. Sarracin, a Frenchman. The English 
name, “ Side-saddle flower,” is given to it, because the 
flat cover on the top of the flower has a fancied 
resemblance to that part of a horse’s furniture. These 
plants are natives of North America, and have been 
grown in this country for more than two hundred years, 
and yet I dare venture to say, that there are many readers 
of The Cottage Garbenf.r that have not seen them. 
They aro, however, exceedingly curious, and, when well 
grown, equally handsome. There are several species, 
though 1 think the one I have selected is the hand¬ 
somest, and, perhaps, more easy to grow than any other. 
They have, when young, common, plain leaves; but as 
they grow older, the fresh leaves are formed into 
pitchers. The S.purpurea has pitchers about six inches 
high, standing upright, and an inch or two in diameter 
at the mouth. These pitchers are not like those on 
the true Pitcher plant, hung on tho end of the leaf, but 
are produced direct from the base of tho plant. One, 
S. Drummondii, has long-necked pitchers, sometimes two 
feet high. 
Tho finest specimen of S.purpurea I ever met with, I 
saw, several years ago, in the large conservatory at Chats- 
worth. Tho roof, and, indeed, what may bo called the 
sides of that magnificent building, aro, as is well known, 
formed in ridges and furrows; consequently, inside, at the 
bottom, they form triangles. In one of these the 
Sarracenias were placed, set in shallow garden pans kept 
full of water. The abundance of light, in such a 
situation, gave tho plants the finest colours, and the 
water kept up a moisture always suitable for these 
plants. It is not, however, necessary to have a Crystal 
Palace to grow this plant to perfection; it may be grown 
equally well in a more humble dwelling. 
Culture. — Sarracenia purpurea is an evergreen, 
herbaceous perennial, found wild, in marshy ground, in 
tho western hemisphere, where the summers are much 
hotter than we have them here. These two facts give us 
the idea what we must do to cultivate it successfully. 
First procure a good plant, which will cost about fivo 
shillings, then obtain some rough fibrous peat, and 
some white bog-moss. Break up the peat into small 
pieces, and chop the moss with a bill hook, or small 
hatchet, then mix them together, and add a little half- 
decayed leaf-mould. Early in spring repot the plant, 
draining the pot well previously. Press the compost 
firmly about the plant. The pot, for such a plant as will 
be got from the nursery, should be six inches diameter, 
and of a shallower shape than is usually made. Place 
the pot nearly close to the glass, shading it for a few 
days till it begins to grow, when it will bear the full 
light of the sun. The best house for it will be a 
moderate stove, though it will thrive very well in a good 
greenhouse, providing it is sheltered from a thorough 
draught of cold air. Nurserymen, in order to grow small 
plants into large ones, place them in an Orchid-house ; 
but the plants in such a high temperature never have 
such fine-coloured leaves and flowers as in a cooler j 
house with plenty of light. Some cultivators place a 
bell-glass or a hand-light over their Sarracenias; but 
this is a coddling, unnecessary practice. 
Summer Management. —As these plants are curious 
and beautiful objects, even when not in flower, they 
should bo always kept in such a situation where they 1 
can be seen every day. Hence, they should be kept in 
the greenhouse all through the summer; the platform 
and walk where they stand should be syringed frequently, 
every day, to keep up a moist atmosphere. Set them in 
pans, in moss kept moist. I have, indeed, put the pot : 
containing tho plant into another larger one filled with 
moss, which kept the pot and soil from the heat of the 
sun, and the plant grew all the better for it. 
Winter Treatment. —When the weather becomes | 
cooler, the plant should be kept a degree drier; but not. 
too much so. I have seen plants, deprived of moisture | 
in winter, lose all their fine pitchers, and even die for 
want of moisture; therefore, keep them all the year 
moderately moist. Some cultivators place them in cold 
frames, or pits, through winter. Here the cold, and 
want of light, causes them to mould and damp ofl'. 
Avoid this extreme of cold, by all means; but at the 
same time, do not excito them into premature growth by 
too much heat. Summer temperature, 65° to 70°; winter, 
55° to 60°. 
‘ Propagation. —Though I have seen quantities of 
plants, evidently seedlings, imported from America, yet 
I never saw seed perfected in this country; hence, 
whoever wishes to increase his plant must do so by 
division. The plant, when of a tolerable size, sends 
forth offsets, and these soon put forth roots of their 
own. With a sharp knife cut off one or more of these 1 
offsets, and leave them in the mother pot for a mouth, | 
or so, till fresh roots are made; then turn the ball | 
carefully out of tho pot, and carefully separate the \ 
offsets, disturbing the ball as little as possible. This | 
is far the easiest mode to get out the young plant from 1 
the old one. Pot it, or them, in-pots proportioned to 
the sizo of tho young plant, and place it in a shady, 
warm nook for a week or two, wlieu it may be treated 
as described above for the established old plants. 
T. Appleby. 
HARDY FERNS. 
ADIANTUM PEDATUM. 
Adiantum contains many beautiful species, but this is I 
the only species that is decidedly hardy. Sir Oswald : 
Mosely, at Ilolleston Hall, near Derby, has a very fine j 
collection of hardy Ferns, planted in a rather open part 
of a plantation, on a raised bank, and there this ■ 
Adiantum has lived for several years, protected by a J 
slight covering of decaying leaves. The last time 1 was 
there, I saw it producing fronds eighteen inches high, 
and with fronds spreading nearly a foot across. Let ; 
any one possessing a plant try a similar situation, and 
they will find it thrive equally well. The Adiantum j 
capillus veneris, though a native of Britain, is not so I 
hardy. 
ALLOSORUS. 
A genus of Ferns containing a solitary species. ’The j 
name means alios, various, and sows, a heap; the sori, 
