223 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 13, 1858. 
whilst I am writing this, I underrate ever-recurring 
and conflicting cases which beset the gardener. I 
really wish that the very ink I write with, could be 
made more pungent and destructive, than tobacco- 
I water, sulphur, &c., and that my quill were more 
j powerful than the brush. R. Errington. 
HARDY FERNS. 
(Continuedfrom 'gage 191.) 
Soil for the Hardy Fernery. —Thesoilfor small-growing 
species should consist of sandy peat, decayed leaves, and fibry 
loam, in equal parts, well mixed together, but not sifted; 
add, also, about one-eighth of old lime-rubbish. For large 
coarse kinds good common loam will answer well enough, 
where the other materials are scarce or difficult to procure. 
In my last paper, I noticed that hardy Ferns love shade and 
moisture. The latter may be applied with the syringe in very 
dry weather in summer; but discretion must be used in ap¬ 
plying moisture at the root too copiously, and it must cease 
entirely when the fronds begin to decay in autumn, as the rain 
then will be amply sufficient. To keep them tidy, cut away 
the decaying fronds. Rare delicate species should be pro¬ 
tected in very severe frost, by thrusting in around them some 
branches of evergreens—renewing them when the leaves fall 
off or turn yellow. 
I now proceed to give a brief list of the best kinds to plant 
out in the hardy fernery. 
Adiantum capillus Veneris. This requires to be grown 
rather high up on the rocks, and protected through severe 
winters. 
A. pedatum. Requires protection in whiter, and shade 
and moisture when growing. A handsome species. It is 
! from North America. 
Asplenium adiantum nigrum. Hardy and beautiful. Should 
be grown rather elevated. 
A. Germcinicum (alternifolium) . Rare. 
A. fontanum. High and dry; a rather tender species. 
A. acutum Hardy and beautiful; high situation. 
A. marinum. Requires moisture, and occasionally watering 
I with slightly salted water. 
A. marinum. There are two varieties,—one named trapezi- 
'■ forme , very rare; and the other ramosum , the fronds being 
much branched; distinct and beautiful. 
A. lanceolatum. Not uncommon, yet very pretty; re- 
: quires a slight protection in winter. 
A. microdon. A newly-discovered species; as yet very rare 
in collections. 
A. septentrionale. A delicately beautiful Fern; hardy 
i enough, if slightly sheltered in winter. Should be grown in 
| crevices of stones or rock work. 
A. trichomanes. Found on old walls; common. There 
are several distinct varieties of this pretty Fern, described 
under the names of crist alum, incisum , depauper alum, and 
! dicliotomum , all quite hardy, though as yet rather rare. 
A. viride. A beautiful evergreen dwarf Fern. Variety: 
bifidum (twice branched) ; a pleasing variety. 
A. ebeneum (North America). A pretty low Fern. 
A. angustifolium (North America). A narrow - leaved, 
erect Fern, of great beauty. 
! Allosorus crispus. A pretty, low, Parsley-like Fern ; high 
situations. 
Atliyrium filix -fcemina (Lady Fern). One of the most 
elegant Ferns of Britain ; common on shady hedge banks 
near water. Varieties: inexpletum (new), purpureum , 
erosum, multifidum (beautifully tasselled at the end of each 
frond), monslrosum , crispum (Parsley-like), and latifolium. 
JBlechnum spicant. A common, w r ell-known Fern ; loves 
shade and moisture. Varieties : Multifidum , barren fronds, 
sometimes from once to thrice branched ; Tieterophyllum , 
fronds variously branched, a truly distinct variety, and very 
beautiful; ramosum , fronds much branched, a very rare and 
unique variety. 
Botrychium lunaria. A low - growing, elegant Fern, re- 
| quiring a level situation, in sandy loam. 
B. fumaroides. A North American species; curious and 
pretty, with the fronds thrice divided. 
Botrychium Virginicum (Virginia). Similar to the last, but 
less divided. Both these require very sandy peat. 
Ceterach officinanm. Found on old brick walls ; a beau¬ 
tiful species. 
Cystopteris fragilis. An elegant, not rare, British Fern; 
loves shade and a moist atmosphere. Varieties : Angustata , 
narrower fronds ; Dickie ana, very dwarf; multfida, much 
divided at the points ; decomposita , new and fine; alpina , 
very dwarf; rhcetica , and montana. 
C. bulbifera (North America). Distinct, and easily in¬ 
creased by its ball-like bulbs on the fronds ; very hardy. 
C. tenuis. A slender North American species; very hardy. 
Dicksonia pilosiuscula (North America). A spreading, 
tall, free-growing Fern. I have seen one plant cover several 
yards in a short time. It is very handsome, but must have 
plenty of space. Variety: Nova Scotia , fronds narrower 
and stouter, and not so hairy as the species. 
Lomaria alpina. A neat, low-growing, compact species ; 
requires to be grown high up on a bank. Variety: Major , 
barren fronds, erect, longer, and more tapering. 
L. Chilensis. A large species; stood the open air last 
winter. 
Lastrcea TJialypteris. Free and hardy. 
L. cristata. A. distinct species, of free growth, easily cul¬ 
tivated. 
L. oreopteris. A beautiful species; will grow in exposed 
situations. Variety: Multfida , fronds much divided. 
L. rigida. A rather rare, pretty species. 
L. Foenisecii. A remarkable species, with fronds very much 
recurved. Variety: prolifer a, bears little plants on the lower 
part of the fronds. 
L. cristata. A tall, handsome Fern ; easily cultivated. 
L. dilatata. Common on hedge banks, and very distinct. 
Varieties: Nana , very dwarf; collina (hairy), dumetorum \ 
(bushy), Chanterice, a curious variety; lepidota, bears seed- 1 
vessels on every part of the fronds; interupta , fronds 
separated. 
L. marginalis (Margined). 
L. Goldiana. Triangular fronds; rare and beautiful. 
L. Noveboracensis (Northern). 
L. intermedia (Intermediate) ; a distinct species. 
L. decurrens (Decurrent) ; that is, deeply divided. 
L. spinulosa (Spiny). Varieties: uligenosa, (marsh), Scho- ! 
fieldii, a very dwarf, pretty, scarce variety. 
L.filix-mas. A fine Fern, but very common. Varieties: 
abbreviata, shortened. Cristata , a most beautiful variety, 
every frond in all its points being, as it were, frilled, and | 
formed like a fish’s tail. There is a variety of this variety, ; 
which is named paleacea cristata , a truly splendid one, with 
its fronds covered with chaffy scales, and placed in a complete 
circle round the rootstock. Crisp a, curled fronds, one inch 
wide and four inches long ; branched and curled at the ; 
points ; a very remarkable variety. Cristata angusta (narrow 
crested) ; a constant and very remarkable variety ; the fronds, 
spread symmetrically round the rootstock, bending grace¬ 
fully ; the ends densely tasselled, and the points of each of 
their divisional parts formed of a series of little crests, one 
beyond another; a remarkably beautiful variety, entirely as 
yet in the hands of that eminent cultivator, Mr. R. Sims, of 
Foot’s Cray. 
Onoclea sensibilis. This handsome North American species 
has its fronds, when young, of a purplish hue, but when fully 
grown they change to a beautiful light green; the fertile 
fronds have no leaves, are erect, and in spikes. 
Osmunda regalis. Our own royal and noble Fern. To I 
grow it well, it should be planted in a moist situation. 
O. cinnamomea (North America). Quite as handsome ; 
as the foregoing species. 
0. interrupta (North America). Barrren fronds pointed, 
long, oval, twice divided, and spreading; fertile fronds con¬ 
tracted ; a very beautiful species. 
O. spectabilis (North America). A beautiful Fern ; more 
delicate in all its parts than any other in the genus. There 
are two imported varieties, or perhaps species, but they are 
not well understood. All the Osmundas require shade and 
moisture in summer. 
Polypodium vulgare (common Polypody.) Found on hedge- 
banks and old walls. Varieties : auritum (eared) ; mar¬ 
ginatum (margined); bifidum (cleft), not constant; semilacerum , 
