324 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, February 10,1857. 
I 
PLATYCODON GRANDIF.LORUS, WITH SEMI¬ 
DOUBLE WHITE FLOWERS. 
Sent in April, 1845, from China, by Mr. Fortune, who 
found it cultivated in nursery gardens near Shanghae. 
(/ 
This is a striking variety of the beautiful Platycodon 
rjrandijlorits, remarkable for having pure white blossoms, 
consisting of one five-lobed corolla placed within another 
so exactly that the two constitute a large white star of ten 
points. There is no tendency to further irregularity of 
structure, unless it be that the two corollas of this variety 
are flatter than the single one of the wild blue form. 
Although it is doubtful whether or not this beautiful 
thing will prove hardy, few will deny it room in their green¬ 
house. It appears to grow freely in any sort of soil, and to 
require an ample supply of water in summer. Like the 
generality of plants with fleshy roots it must be put to rest 
in autumn, so that in winter it may be kept quite dry. In 
spring it may be repotted and started to grow in the usual 
way. It strikes very freely from cuttings.— (Horticultural 
Society's Journal .) 
CONSTRUCTING A FERNERY. 
The great drawback, in my opinion, to that lovely tribe of 
plants, the Ferns, is that in nine cases out of ten you will 
find them grown in pots. The consequence of such culture 
very often is that they are half starved for years in the 
same soil. They become brown, meagre-looking things; 
and I am not going too far if I call them objects of pity. 
To remedy this evil in the most natural way that I atn aware 
of they should be planted out into borders, or rockwork, made 
for this purpose. I would prefer them under a span-roofed 
house, with a side facing the twelve o’clock sun. I do not 
believe in a north aspect for Ferns. I have always found 
a few hours’ sunshine of great advantage in producing that 
rich green colour in the fronds which adds so much to the 
real beauty of Ferns. 
Now, supposing a house to be 100 feet long, say thirty 
feet wide, with a reasonable height, supported in the middle 
by pillars, and a door at each end, with the brick or stone¬ 
work four feet high, then for the rockwork get plenty of 
rustic-looking stones, such as you would use for a rockery. 
It does not matter how large they are if convenient to roll 
or lift into the house. Begin at one side, and place these 
stones from two to five feet from the side wall at intervals 
in a zigzag sort of way. By no means put them in a 
straight line, or else the work will look too formal. Let the 
stones slope up to the glass as far as you deem it prudent, 
so as not to obstruct too much of the light. Concluding ! 
you have both sides done in this manner, commence again ; 
with the centre of the house, using the largest stones for 
the bottom part. You may come as near the front as you 
think proper, bearing in mind to leave sufficient space for a 
path between the two rockworks. Pile the stones up round 
about and between the pillars in the coarsest way you can, 
the rougher the better, leaving projections here and there, 
so as to imitate Nature as much as you can. Avoid every¬ 
thing you can that looks artificial. 
In the centre of the house, between two pillars, you may 
have a fountain or an aquarium, or both if you like, or one 
at each end, whichever you think most suitable. 
When all this constructing is gone through the house will 
be found to look very rough indeed, and such as few would 
appreciate; but hold hard a bit—the best of it is to come 
yet. 
To proceed further, it will be necessary to have plenty of 
Roman cement and clinkers, such as are taken from hothouse 
furnaces and iron works. Mix a little Portland cemeDt with 
water till you get it about the same thickness as a bricklayer 
would use mortar. A little only should be mixed at a time, 
as it dries very quickly; and if water is added after it has got 
hard it will not stick so w r ell. Begin now with your cement | 
and clinkers, and build nests or pits for the plants here and 
there, large and small, as you find the cavities between the 
large stones to suit. I would advise large pits to be left 
between the pillars and any other prominent places for the | 
large tree Ferns and some of the Palms, such as Sabal \ 
Blackburnian a, Latania Borbonica, Zamia horrida, and many 
others. 
If you have a good supply of water you may have a 
cascade or two by introducing a pipe underneath, having an 
outlet at the top of the rockwork. By using cement freely 
the water from the cascade may be prevented from running 
through the rockwork till it falls into the aquarium at the 
bottom. 
Cover the pillars, and any other plain woodwork as well, 
up to the very top with cement and clinkers. The rafters 
may be covered with the bark of old Birch trees or any : 
other rough material. 
An archway may be made over the path by means of a : 
strong iron hoop fixed in the rockwork at every five or six . 
feet, and high enough to allow a person to walk conveniently 
underneath. Cover these arches over with cement and 
clinkers, and make a moderately large pit at the bottom of 
each, to be planted with Cissus discolor or any other climber 
according to taste. Coil these climbers round and round 
the arches till they are entirely covered. 
When the rock-building is done it ought to be painted. ; 
This maybe effected by mixing cement and hot lime together, i 
adding soot to colour according to taste. I prefer a dark 
brown colour. This mixture may be poured on in large 
quantities, so as to cover all the stones and clinkers entirely. J 
After this has dried, if a little oil paint of different colours 
is daubed over here and there it will be found to give a 
pleasing variety of colours. 
If a house, such as I have tried to describe, was made on 
a large scale, and planted with choice Ferns and Lyco- 
pods, they would grow luxuriantly and look quite at home, ' 
instead of being stuck up on a shelf in ever so many glaring 
red clay pots, as is too often the case. Here you would 
have, indeed, much in a small space, for it would combine 
