THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 29, 1858. 
| municated to me, in a letter, by my esteemed friend Mr. 
| Frazer, gardener to John Shaw Leigh, Esq., of Luton Hoo 
Park, near Luton, Beds; and a brief description of the hardy 
Fernery there which he has formed. 1 think all hardy Fern 
growers will be as much gratified by it as I was. I, therefore, 
venture to quote it, and trust my friend will forgive me doing 
so. He says :— 
(< I have been reading with much interest, this morning, 
i your mode of propagating hardy Ferns. I am now raising 
many seedlings of the exotic species. The Bird's Nest ( Asple - 
uium nidus avis ) I have long tried without success, till lately. 
I find it can only be induced to germinate when sown on 
pieces of mossy baric; or, I daresay, as you recommend, on 
pieces of brickbats, or sandstone. It is impatient of too 
much moisture, when young ; indeed, I have had thousands 
; germinated in the usual way, but I lost them after they got 
the seed-leaf perfected. You have not seen our root garden 
(fernery), or, as some people call it, a brickery. It is com¬ 
posed of spoiled bricks, run into large clinkers,—perhaps ten 
or twelve bricks run together. These, washed over with 
cement, to make them look like stones, and a mixture of large 
pudding-stones (dug up hereabouts), roots of large trees, and 
some stumpy heads of Pollards, form our Fern garden. 
Amongst the Ferns, I grow some Alpine plants. Also, last 
year being the first season, I planted out, by way of making 
a show, some rather tender things in this garden, which 
astonished me by their free growth. For instance, I never 
had finer Balsams under glass. On one or two Pollards I 
planted a lot of the different varieties of Portulaca, which far 
i surpassed any I had ever seen : and this season these Pollards 
are a complete turf of seedling Portulacas, as thick as bristles 
on a hog’s back. Mr. Robson remarked, in The Cottage 
Gaedenee a few weeks ago (and it is quite true), that tropical 
: plants will not stand our winters, but seeds of them have 
been known to do so; that is, the frost will kill the chicken, 
but not the egg.” 
These observations of Mr. Frazer’s are valuable, and lead 
the reflective mind to think over many points of culture 
that may be useful to practice. No doubt, the pieces of mossy 
bark, covered with a bell or handglass, would, if kept moist 
and warm, be a good seed-bed, if 1 may so term it, for many 
species of Ferns that have hitherto failed to grow from seed. 
Perhaps the most difficult of all Ferns to raise by seed are the 
Gleichenias, which may be the cause why they are so ex¬ 
pensive, some costing as much as ten guineas a plant. Let 
the possessors of plants of that rare genus, try the mossy bark 
as a seed-bed for them, and it is more than probable they will 
succeed in obtaining a crop. 
Mr. Frazer’s fernery has been alluded to by Mr. Fish, in 
; The Cottage Gaedenee. I do hope to see it some day 
| myself. It must be very interesting; I know no expense is 
j spared to make the collection as complete as possible. As the 
Ferns grow into larger specimens, the extra plants, such as 
Balsams and Bortulacas , will, no doubt, be dispensed with. 
The remark, that seeds are not injured by frost, is interesting, 
| and in the warmer parts of Britain may be useful. For if a 
plant springs from the seed naturally, in the open air, and 
escapes, in its chicken state, the late frosts, it will make a 
stronger and better flowering plant than if it had been raised 
in heat, and coddled in its youth. It would then have to get 
j through such a hardening process before it made any growth, 
that the summer would be half over before any progress was 
made to bloom. 
'Where natural rock stones are difficult, or expensive, to ob- 
| tain, then these conglomerated bricks come in very well as a 
substitute. Clay, for brick making, abounds much more than 
stone ; hence there is no difficulty in getting them. Indeed, 
they might be so burned and run together purposely, to form 
i rockwork, for a fernery or for Alpine plants; and, in that case, 
might be formed into larger blocks than the usual size, when 
made for building purposes.— T. Appleby. 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF 
EDINBURGH. 
Undee the favourable influence of genial June, the verdure 
and bloom of the fields and gardens are refreshing the senses 
1 and invigorating the frame. Horticulturists, among others, 
have much to occupy their attention, and the display at the ! 
flower shows, whether in cities or secluded hamlets, testifies to 
their zeal and ability. 
One of these displays, in connection with the recently in¬ 
stituted Horticultural Society, took place in the Royal 
Zoological Gardens, Broughton Park, on Saturday last, and 
the commencement it has made augurs well for its prosperity. 
The morning was threatening, but brightened up at mid-day, 
as if to do honour to the event, and lend additional eclat to 
the spacious, well-ventilated, and handsome hall, erected re¬ 
cently in the Gardens by the spirited proprietors. 
From the various nurseries, as well as the gardeners, in the 
suburbs and surrounding country, extensive collections of 
beautiful and well-grown stove, greenhouse, and border 
plants were received, reminding us much of such plants as 
were, till lately, seen only at the London exhibitions. 
The following are the more prominent objects sent for ex¬ 
hibition by the various nursery establishments, which added 
much, by their variety and beauty, to the interest of the gay 
scene. 
Messrs. P. Lawson and Sons, of Golden Acres Nursery, 
contributed fine specimens of Allamanda neriifolia, Poly gala 
oppositifolia , Coleonema tenella , Pimelea diosmeefolia , Cape 
Heaths, &c. Some French Geraniums, Shrubby Calceolarias, 
and Seedling Cape Heaths were also sent from them, and 
much admired. We regret that, from some inadvertence, 
these fine plants were placed in a disadvantageous position in | 
the hall, which prevented their being examined in detail so j 
carefully as they deserved to be. 
A somewhat similar collection of stove and greenhouse 
plants was sent by Messrs. Dickson and Co., Leith Walk, 
comprising superb Gloxinias, Azaleas, Pelargoniums, Ericas, 
Aphelexis, &c. An Bpidendrum cepiforme , and well-trained 
Tropceolum edule , were also conspicuous objects. 
By Messrs. Dickson and Sons, Inverleitli, an equally varied 
and interesting contribution was made, consisting, among 
others, of Poly gala Balmaisiana , Tetratheca verticillata , 
Cissus discolor. Solatium purpureum , Boronia Dnmmondi , 
Cape Heaths, &c. 
Mr. T. Metliven, Stanwell Nursery, Bonnington, exhibited 
a stand of very fine blooms of the newer late-flowering Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, which were much admired. Also, a collection of 
miscellaneous greenhouse plants. 
Mr. C. Alexander’s (Larkfield Nursery) collection occupied 
the table at the entrance with a fine display of miscellaneous 
plants, amid which were conspicuous—six large herbaceous 
Calceolarias, several fine fancy Geraniums, Indian Azaleas, 
blooms of Roses and Pansies, and Bun's Cape Stocks. An 
extra large Tom Thumb Geranium, and Silver Swan Fuchsia 
also attracted much attention. 
From Messrs. Downie and Laird, West Coates Nursery, 
was also sent a collection of pot plants, containing some nice 
specimens. Of Pansies, also,—of which they are well-known 
successful cultivators,—there was a nice stand; and among 
them a good white ground seedling, named Mrs. Laird , to 
which the Judges awarded a certificate of merit. 
Mr. R. M. Stark, Edgehill Nursery, Dean, sent a stand of ! 
spikes of the German hybrid Iris, a family much admired for 
the variety and beauty of its colouring; also, a few green¬ 
house and Alpine plants, and some interesting exotic Ferns 
and Lycopods. In his collection, we also saw the following 
new plants:— Clianthus Bampierii , a fine species from 
Australia; Aralia papyrifera, the rice paper plant of the 
Chinese; Chrysobactron ILookeri , from New Zealand ; a deep 
blue scented Myosotis, named Azuera, probably a hybrid 
allied to M. Azorica ; and Bictamnus Taurica. 
Mr. T. II. Douglas, Rosebank, contributed a fine collection 
of showy plants of various kinds. Among these Ave noticed 
specially a fine double white Petunia, named Antigone , which 
is a great acquisition to the family ; and, in a case of stove 
plants, the new and beautiful Begonia Bex , recently intro¬ 
duced to cultivation by r a Belgian nurseryman. This is a 
truly royal plant, as its robes of richly tinted foliage well de¬ 
serve the specific name. Mr. Douglas had also among his 
Pansies three neAV seedlings, named respectively Lady Bel- 
haven, Alpha , and Mary Lamb , to which the Judges awarded 
certificates of merit. 
From Warriston Nursery (Mrs. Carstairs) was supplied a 
large and varied collection of Geraniums and other bouquet- 
