THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, June 30, 1857. 205 
FERNS FOR A WARDIAN CASE. 
“ Please to tell me how to fill a Fern case. The part to 
plant the Ferns in is 20 inches wide, 39 inches long, and 4 
inches deep, with a glass to put on it 27 inches high in the 
centre, and 22 inches to the eaves. What sorts would do 
the best in it ? I want to place it in a little conservatory 
which is just heated enough to keep out the frost.”— 
Annie. 
[The first tiling you must do is to procure some heath 
mould in as rough a state as possible; also a few large 
pieces of pumice stone, or some Derbyshire tufa. The 
heath soil may be obtained from any of our dry moors j 
where the Heath grows wild; or if you live in London | 
you may obtain from any respectable nurseryman as much i 
as is needful to fill your Wardian case. The soil should be ■ 
pulled in pieces with the hand, and sifted through a very 
fine sieve. That which is left in the sieve must be used to 
fill the space at the bottom of the case for the Ferns to 
grow in. The pumice stone or tufa is for the purpose of 
forming miniature rocks inside the case upon the soil, 
spaces being left between each piece to plant the Ferns in. 
It would be advisable to plant the. Ferns, and place the 
stones as the planting goes on. If this is neatly and 
tastily done the Ferns will look quite at home. 
Your case is wide enough to allow three rows of Ferns 
placed alternately, and will hold about eighteen plants. 
The centre row should be planted with the following six 
species in this order:—Adiantum pedatum, A. Braziliense, 
Onychium lucidum, Adiantum formosum, Davallia Cana- 
riensis, and Doodia aspera. 
The next row may be planted with the following:— 
Adiantum tenerum, Doodia media, Platyloma rotundifolia, 
Adiantum capillus Veneris, Lycopodium stoloniferum, and 
Grammitis ceterach. ; 
The row on the other side may contain the following :— 
Adiantum hirsutum, Pteris Cretica, Asplenium planicaule, 
Lycopodium variabile, Allosorus crispus, and Cystopteris 
fragilis.] 
PANSIES IN POTS. 
“ You will much oblige me by giving some directions as 
to the treatment of Pansies in pots. I have about twenty- 
four in full bloom, and very luxuriant. They are from 
cuttings, putin June 13, 1856 ; potted in small pots, October, 
1856 ; kept under an awning through the "winter, and potted 
in seven-inch pots last April. Will it answer to keep them 
over until next year and bloom them in large pots ? General 
advice as to their treatment will oblige--AN Old Sub¬ 
scriber.” 
[It is not desirable to keep Pansies in potS for more than 
one year. Even in the open ground the best florists do 
away with the plants when a year old; that is, cuttings of 
Pansies struck last May and planted out in August would 
bloom during this year, and would be rooted up, and the 
ground prepared for a crop of cuttings struck this year to 
bloom next. Now, if this is a good practice in the open 
border, it is certainly much more so when the plants are 
grown in pots. We must, therefore, advise you to proceed 
this year exactly as you did last so successfully. 
Your cuttings will now most likely be put in. As soon as 
they are rooted pot them off singly into three-inch pots, and 
keep them in such pots through the winter, either under an 
awning or under glass, in a cold frame, giving full supplies 
of air and water. Then, about the middle of March, choose 
the strongest and healthiest plants, and repot them into 
seven or eight-inch pots in a rich, light compost, consisting 
of one-third turfy loam, one-third decayed leaves, and one- 
third heath mould. If you cannot procure the latter make 
up your compost of turfy loam three parts, and one part 
very decayed dung ; that from the stable to be preferred to 
that from the cow house. Add sand liberally. Stop the 
plants, and spread the shoots well over the soil in the pots. 
If you can manage it layer each shoot, except the central 
one, in the manner you would a Carnation. Each layer will 
then be a distinct plant, and will flower much stronger, 
having not only its own roots, but also its share of support 
from the parent plant. 
The following are twelve kinds that will do well in pots:— 
j Duke of Perth, dark self. 
Sovereign , yellow ditto. 
Father Gavazzi, yellow, margined with purple. 
Marquis of Bath, yellow, margined with black. 
Pandora, yellow and chocolate. 
Post Captain, yellow and bronze. 
Sir J. Franklin, gold and bronze. 
Satisfaction, yellow and crimson purple. 
Blue Perfection, white and light blue. 
Marchioness of Bath, white, and blue margin. 
Miss Walker, pure white, and purple margin. 
Royal Visit, white, and dark margin.] 
MELONS IN PITS AND VINES IN POTS. 
“ I have Melons in a four-light pit about six feet wide; 
the glass is about eight inches by six inches, and common 
sheet glass. It is heated by four-inch hot-water pipes, and 
they are laid on the bottom of the pit, which is about five 
feet deep. The flow-pipe goes round the pit twice; or, in 
other words, there looks like four pipes on the bottom. 
When this pit was heated in this way it was with an in¬ 
tention to keep stove plants in winter by my master’s late 
gardener; but I find it a very sorry place for them, as there 
is no gl&ss but the top lights, and, consequently, not much 
light. Now, for the Melons I have made a platform or I 
skeleton frame about three feet above the pipes, which | 
platform is made of old rails, and on this is some stable 
litter, just enough to hold up the soil. The plants are now 
within about a foot from the glass. This being my first 
attempt to grow Melons I am anxious to succeed. I have 
grown them as recommended in a back number of The 
Cottage Gardener. They are now grown to within about 
six inches of the side of the pit, and I have picked out the 
eyes of all but the last six. The plants look very healthy, 
but on some of the leaves there appears a black fungus, or 
something of that sort. When I first put the plants in 
there was a great deal of fungus came up; I gave them some 
lime water and it disappeared. Would this affect the leaves? 
“In the Dictionary you say that in no situation can the 
Melon endure shade. Do you mean that on hot sunny 
days they are not to be shaded ? I have shaded on hot 
days for fear they might burn. 
“I have also some Vines in pots struck from eyes this 
spring. My master is desirous of growing Grapes in pots, 
so I have propagated twelve Barharossa, Muscat, Ham¬ 
burgh, and West's St. Peters. Will all these sorts do well 
in pots ? They are now in six-inch pots, nice strong plants, 
about eighteen inches high. I think they want repotting; 
how shall I proceed? I have read of growing and fruiting j 
them in sixteen months; but as I have not had much 
practice I should not like to overreach at first. I think of 
growing them this summer, cut back in the autumn, and 
grow them next summer for fruiting the summer following. 
I have means for bottom heat in an early vinery, in which 
there is a pit for fermenting material, or other places which 
would be most suitable. What compost should I use, and 
how should it be placed in the pots ?”—E. P. 
[We have no doubt that your five-light pit, so heated, 
will grow almost anything you choose to try in it. ' We will 
sum up what strikes us under a few heads. 
1. Pits are more economical, but not so good as houses 
for growing plants in, chiefly because, in ordinary pits, the 
light strikes the plants from above only. In span-roofed 
houses the light has access on all sides. In lean-to houses 
with glass in front and the plants set on a stage the plants 
have more light and a better circulation of air beneath as > 
well as above them. A span-roofed pit even, unless it has 
side glass, so that the light may play on the space below j 
the glass as well as above it, is not so good as a house with , 
side lights. A span-roofed pit will also cost more for 
heating, &c., than a lean-to pit. In such a pit as yours, j 
however, fine plants are grown in summer, and kept and I 
grown in winter. The great thing in keeping stove plants 
in it is just to give them as much artificial heat as will keep 
them safe, and nothing more, during the winter; in other 
words, not to encourage the plants to elongate much until 
the sun gains strength. 
2. The platform for the Melons is purely a matter of 
