12 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Aran 3, 1860. 
lished or more easily managed. I have given away dozens of 
well-rooted, healthy plants, and with very few exceptions have 
found their owners, with the few simple directions given at the 
time, able to succeed with them. 
Having now grown it for about six or seven years, and, perhaps, 
with rather more than ordinary success, I venture to offer, as the 
result of my own experience, a few remarks, which, possibly,, 
may be of some little service to others desirous of attempting its 
cultivation, and who may he so fortunate as to procure it for 
themselves, or receive it from their friends visiting any of its 
localities, and be at a loss to know how to proceed with it for the 
best chance of getting it to grow. The largest specimen in my 
possession, now occupying a wooden tub sixteen inches by twelve 
inches, covered by a glass shade, which its fronds, ranging up to 
eleven inches in height, completely fill. This plant came origi¬ 
nally from Killarney. A friend, a botanist, who was going to 
Ireland, very good-naturedly promised to do his best to procure 
some for me, and after a few weeks’ interval a large package con¬ 
taining a confectioner’s seven-pound tin canister made its appear¬ 
ance. It was not long in the house before it was opened, and 
being conversant with the splendid specimens preserved in our 
collections, I very naturally expected to see a few fine, luxu¬ 
riant fronds; hut my surprise and disappointment may, in some 
measure, be judged of, when I found only an abundance of damp 
moss, which formed the bulk of its contents, and a few almost 
bare pieces of the rhizoma or creeping stem of the plant, 
very like so many pieces of dead stick. After a short consider¬ 
ation, however, I at once set to work to try and make the best of 
a bad bargain, as 7s. 6d. carriage for so unpromising a lot ap¬ 
peared to be. But the sequel proved that my botanical friend, to 
whose kindness and attention I was indebted for it, evidently 
knew more of the matter than I did, and was well aware that 
specimens for the herbarium and plants to grow were very 
different affairs, and that fine showy pieces fit for the former were 
not so well adapted for planting as the more shabby looking 
portions then before me. 
In commencing operations, the first step was to procure a com¬ 
mon garden hand-light, and as many four, five, and six-incli pots 
as could be ranged within it without standing upon one another. 
Then, having picked out every little piece of the plant from the 
moss, it was apportioned out among them. The pots were each 
first about one-third filled with small pieces of broken charcoal. 
Upon this was placed lightly another third of small pieces of 
turfy peat (this may be obtained of almost any respectable 
nurseryman, as much for sixpence as will suffice for a moderate¬ 
sized case), and the pieces of the plant spread out upon its surface 
These were now covered an inch in depth with similar pieces of 
the same turfy peat, and the whole well watered. Alter they 
were sufficiently drained, they were placed upon a board, covered 
with the hand-light, and set in the corner of a small south room 
opposite to the window. Here they remained with the sun 
shining upon them for a short time every day, whenever it did 
shine, for at least six months before any signs of life were ap¬ 
parent. At length here and there a little green knob began to peep 
up through the soil, and gradually unfolding itself became a frond 
of two or three inches in height. But as each succeeding frond was 
an improvement upon its predecessor, the plants soon began to 
assume a respectable appearance. At this stage, one of the best- 
filled pots wa3 selected, and removed to a glass-case by itself. 
Without disturbing its roots, so much of the rim of the pot was 
broken off as projected above the surface of the soil, and it was 
placed in the centre of a zinc-box about ten inches square and five 
inches deep, and the space between it and the Bide of the box filled 
with charcoal, moss, and lumps of peat. It was kept in this case 
for several years until the creeping rhizoma, by spreading over 
the surface, had caused its fronds to be injured by coming in 
contact with the glass, when it was removed to, and planted out 
in the tub, where it now forms the specimen before mentioned. 
The other portions, as they became “ presentable,” were potted 
off, and given away, right and left, among those of my Pern-growing 
friends, to whom it was a desideratum. A plate of damp sand 
for the pot to stand upon, and a bell-glass to cover it, form a 
very good temporary habitation, and, in fact, a small plant may 
be grown for several years upon a common dinner plate covered 
by an eight or a nine-inch propagating-glass, and in this way 
forms a very pretty drawing-room object for a small table. I have 
one thus, which has been planted upwards of four years, and has 
now only nine rather small fronds upon it. The mound to which 
it form a crest, at the present time is covered with a dense carpet 
of seedling Scolopcndriuin varieties, forming a pretty contrast to 
the divided semi-transparent leaves of the Trichomanes. It is 
also growing, uncovered, in a rockwork-cave at the back of a small 
conservatory; but although special provisions have here been made 
for warmth and moisture, it has not yet proved very satisfactory. 
The object, in each instance, has been, not to grow it to the 
utmost possible size, but to obtain bushy and compact plants as 
best suited to a moderate-sized case. With plenty of room and 
more warmth it may be made to attain a much greater size— 
eighteen or twenty inches in height, and broad in proportion. 
The best kind of situation is where the sun can shine upon it 
for a short time daily, either in the morning or afternoon; either 
of which is preferable to the middle of the day. Thero are 
two reasons for this: one is, that a small amount of sunshine 
tends to keep the plant in a healthy and growing state; the 
other, that by its warmth, the internal air is expanded and set in 
motion, the circulation of which helps to prevent stagnation and 
mouldiness. But it is needful to bear in mind that it is not de¬ 
sirable to have as much clear sunshine as would be required to 
ripen a Cactus, or bloom a Mesembryanthemum, nor to have it 
all day long, but only for an hour or two, and then for it to be 
modified by passing through a muslin blind, a stained or painted 
window, or a ground glass shade, and to have the case kept at some 
little distance from the window. A position facing the west, 
or south-west, is much the best aspect where it can be obtained ; 
and were I to build a case specially for this Tern here open to the 
south and west, I would have the south front, and a screen on 
the top of ground glass, and in very bright weather stipple it over 
with paste and soot, so as to give the effect of sunshine through 
foliage in nature. I know of no more beautiful object in this 
way than might be formed by having a shallow aquarium at the 
bottom of a case, and rockwork rising out of it in the centre, 
with a fountain producing spray rather than jets, and this 
Tern with its elegant drooping fronds bending gracefully from the 
stonework. It is a peculiar feature of this Tern, that it can 
scarcely be overdone with watering. It requires a very damp 
atmosphere, and luxuriates most in air perfectly saturated with 
moisture. This is why it is necessary to be kept so closely 
covered down in our dwelling-houses and conservatories, for the 
ah’ in these is generally far too dry for it, and would shrivel it up 
in a very short time. Therefore, under these circumstances it is 
requisite to have the upper part of the case as high as possible, 
and any escape for the air should be quite close to the surface of 
the soil, os all fresh air so entering takes up moisture as it passes 
in. A glass shade or propagating-glass standing on the edge of 
a plate, is, in this respect, the nearest approach to perfection. I 
should observe that tlie leadwork of the hand-light first spoken 
of, was gone over carefully, both inside and out, with a smooth 
piece of hard wood, to rub down the lead close to the glass to 
make it as tight as practicable, and a slight sprinkling was occa¬ 
sionally given to the pots to prevent the soil becoming too dry 
by the escape of the moisture. 
When a plant is growing healthily, the soil may bo kept wet j 
rather than merely damp, and the fronds should be often sprinkled 
from a watering-pot with a fine rose. The frequency with which 
this will require to be done, will be regulated by the temperature, 
tightness of the case, and amount of light, &c. Trom once, in 
two or three weeks in winter, to once or twice a-day in hot and 
dry weather, or more frequently, in proportion to the dryness of 
the surrounding atmosphere. If on a plate, the superfluous 
water may be drained off by tilting the plate, or sucking it up 
with a damp sponge; but in all deep cases or stands it is de¬ 
sirable to provide an opening at the bottom, or at the side close 
to it, to be opened occasionally (unless always kept open, which 
is preferable), to let off the water; for although the charcoal! 
tends to keep it sweet, and the Teru itself has no objection 
to being treated as a bog plant, it is advisable to have this outlet! 
to allow of the plant having a regular drenching now and then, 
as thi^ not only changes the stagnant water already in the soil, 
but by its mechanical action is also of considerable benefit to it. 
In doing this, however, care must be taken not to expose it un¬ 
covered either to the full sun, or to a cutting wind, but to do it 
under shelter. 
With so much dampness inside the glass, it will readily be 
understood that if kept in a cold or dark room it will soon be¬ 
come mildewed and covered with mould or fungi. Or if kept in 
a north room even with a fire constantly in the daytime, it will 
not do so well as in any other aspect. And although a small 
amount of sunshine is an important element in its successful cul¬ 
tivation, there can be no question but that too much light tends 
to deprive the fronds of that beautiful rich green which they 
