July 7. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
much more tliau a tithe of them. But the whole of 
these, witli a prostrate, trailing habit, that we have 
received from the Cape of Good Hope and New Hol¬ 
land, would do admirably for this purpose, and, with 
little trouble, yield their blooms from April to the end 
of October. I may instance such kinds as sarmento- 
I sum, acinaciforme, equilaterale, attenuatum, camlens, 
| floribundum, lavigatum, virgatum, torquatum, &c. These 
should be grown in sandy loam, lime rubbish, and 
cow-dung. Small baskets would suit. Little water 
would be required in winter, as they would mostly 
\ absorb sufficient from the atmosphere. When the days 
' lengthen they will be grateful for a little manure-water 
at times, and will then grow freely. 
Jloya carnosa. —This will do if kept in a rather dry 
and warm place in winter. I have seen a fair specimen 
I kept for a number of years in a room, and it bloomed 
fairly every season. 
Cereus Jlagelliforme and C. Mallesonit. —Unless these 
are grafted so that the shoots will hang down, there is 
no other mode of showing the plants to such advantage 
as when suspended in baskets. The same treatment 
must be given them as was mentioned for Cactus lately. 
Nothing requires less trouble, when the treatment is 
understood, than succulents. 
fi. A few fou Summer Blooming where there is the 
assistance of a hotbed to forward young plants from seed 
or cuttings in spring. I will merely mention two genera 
that would do well in such a position from the end of 
J une to the end of September. 
Torrenia asiatica. —No mode of training will show this 
beautiful plaut to be so much at home. 
Thunbergia (data, in its varieties of buff, yellow, 
orange, and white, will likewise do well during that 
! period, but care must be taken to place the baskets where 
! you can exercise the syringe among the shoots, or the 
red spider will fill the house to a certainty. They are 
worthy of the trouble, as when well managed they would 
be really beautiful. 
One word more. Ho not place the plants in the 
baskets until they are a good size ; this will save labour, 
and leave less for longing expectations. 
But our correspondent may say, here I shall be non¬ 
plussed with abundance; what am I to do with these 
nine baskets? Well, for this period, and as easily to be 
got, the following might do:— 
Lobelia speciosa ; llibbcrtia grossulariesfolia; Anagal- 
lis Phillipsii, large, blue, and red; Saxifraga sarmentosa; 
Verbena pulchella ; Verbena sulphurea ; Maurandya Bar- 
clayana; Cereus JlagelUformis. R. Fish. 
STOVE FERNS. 
(Continued frontpage 181.) 
Soil.— To grow Ferns satisfactorily the right soil is 
an important point. Growing, as they generally do, in 
the thickets, or jungles, in hot climates, where the soil 
is principally formed of decayed leaves, small branches 
of trees, their roots small, twiggy, and fibrous, in a 
close, moist atmosphere, we have only to imitate such 
circumstances, and success will attend our efforts. In 
this country we must have houses artificially heated to 
the requisite degree, and the proper soil or compost 
procured. The materials for this compost, that I have 
used with perfect success, can be easily procured in 
most parts of Britain. They consist of vegetable mould, 
formed of decayed leaves, peat soil, or, as it is generally 
termed, heath mould, silver sand, and sphagnum, or bog 
moss. I mix these in the following proportions—vege¬ 
table, or leaf mould, one or two years old, one-third ; 
fibrous peat, one-third; bog moss, finely chopped, one- 
third ; and as much silver sand as will give it a whitish- 
£61 
silvery appearance. For very small plants I put this 
compost through a rather fino sieve; but for large 
plants I do not sift it at all, only pulling the peat in 
pieces, and taking out the very roughest pieces, stones, 
or other extraneous matters, mixing it thoroughly with 
the other materials, and using it in a state of moderate 
dryness and warmth. When mixed it has a consi¬ 
derable resemblance to the compost I use for most of 
the Orchis tribe. 
In this rich, light, open compost, the roots of the 
Ferns run freely, and the plants riot in health and 
luxuriance, due care being given to supply them with 
the proper heat and moisture ; of which, more anon. 
Potting. —Ferns are, in this point, something like 
Heaths; they will not thrive luxuriantly if pot-bound, 
and, therefore, should be frequently repotted. Young 
plants from the seed-pan should be potted three times 
during the summer—the first time in March; the second 
in June; and the third in September. Larger plants 
will do well if potted in March and August. 
In potting, the first thiug to attend to is the drainage; 
for, though these plants love moisture, they will not 
thrive in stagnant water retained in the pots. The best 
material for drainage is broken potsherds, covered with 
a thin layer of moss. Place a large piece over the hole 
at the bottom of the pot, some smaller pieces over that, 
and a layer of some still smaller upon them ; then a 
covering of moss, and upon it a small quantity of the 
rough fibres of the peat. Examine the balls attached 
to the roots; if they are very dry, soak them thoroughly 
in tepid water, and let them have time to drain off the 
superfluous moisture. If potted in a dry state, it is 
almost impossible ever to wet the old ball thoroughly, 
and the plant, consequently, languishes and turns sickly 
for a long time. If the ball is in a proper state of 
moisture it may be potted at once. 
These plants will bear a large shift in such a light, 
open compost. Small plants may be allowed a full 
inch between the old ball and the sides of the new pot; 
and larger plants may have from one-and-a-halt to two 
inches. Fill in the pot as much soil over the drainage 
as will raise the ball nearly level with the rim, then 
place the plaut upon it, and fill the compost round it, 
pressing it down pretty firmly as the soil is put in. 
When quite full, give the pot a smart stroke or two 
upon the bench, to settle the soil equally in every part, 
and be careful to leave sufficient room between the top 
of the pot and the soil to hold water sufficient to wet 
the whole thoroughly every time water is applied. This 
space, as a matter of course, must be small for small 
plants, and so on in proportion to the size. A ery large 
plants will require a full inch to hold water enough to 
wet such large balls. 
The reader may here exclaim, “But how shall I know 
when the soil in the pots is thoroughly wetted ? In all 
the operations of gardening there is none that requires 
more judgment and experience than that of watering. 
Many a fine Fern, and Heath, too, have perished by im¬ 
proper treatment in watering, and that, in a great mea¬ 
sure, has arisen from injudicious potting. If the space 
i between the soil and the rim of the pot is too scanty, 
the water given will only wet two or three inches below 
the surface, the remainder will be as dry as the deserts 
of Arabia, and the roots miserably perish. The only 
sure way to find this out is to turn out the ball an hour 
or two after watering it, and it will soon be seen whether 
the water has penetrated to the bottom. The ball may 
also be so hard that the water runs down the sides of 
the pots without entering it. In such a case, I thrust a 
sharp pointed stick or iron rod into the ball, making 
numerous holes to allow the water to penetrate to the 
centre. In very severe cases, I have sometimes recovered 
a plant dying for want of water in the centre of the ball, 
by placing in water long enough to soak it thoroughly ; 
