March 17, 1894. 
451 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
A LONDON FERN 
NURSERY. 
In the thickly populated neighbourhood of Lough¬ 
borough Junction, on the Surrey side of the Thames, 
is the London Fern Nursery of Mr. J. Smith. 
Ferns, under glass at all events, thrive in smoky 
districts and large towns better than any other class 
of plants, and certainly with much less risk of injury 
from fog than the bulk of flowering plants. Mr. 
Smith’s establishment is rightly named a Fern 
nursery, for he scarcely attempts to grow anything 
else than Ferns, which he disposes of as soon as 
they are fit for disposal. He does not even grow 
them to the usual market size, that is, plants 
occupying 48-size pots. On the contrary, he may 
be said to grow them to that size which would 
require a 60 or 48-size for their next shift. He 
grows entirely for the trade, and the quantity of 
stuff which he turns out of a restricted area of 
ground during the course of a year is marvellous. 
Some idea of the enormous number maybe gathered 
from the fact that he requires about 200,000 of 
Pteris cretica cristata to supply his customers 
during the course of a year. He has a few rare 
things, but that not being his object, he confines his 
collection to 100 kinds or thereby of the most 
popular and useful Ferns, whether new or old, and 
which may readily be turned to account for decora¬ 
tive purposes, and not onl} so, but expected to give 
satisfaction when so used. New kinds arise, which 
attain only to temporary notoriety, for the simple 
reason that they are not suitable, for some reason or 
other, for decorative purposes. 
One lean-to house is devoted to propagating 
purposes, chiefly the raising of Ferns from spores, 
and the quantities to be seen in the prothallus stage 
is remarkable, for Mr. Smith takes a thousand or 
more out of a single pot, so that the baby Ferns in 
this house must number millions. Others are show¬ 
ing the first frond or two, but soon after this happens 
they are pricked off thickly into boxes. Finally 
they are potted into 2J in. pots, and when they have 
fully occupied this size they are ready for disposal. 
No attempt is made at forcing, but with the excep¬ 
tion of one large houseful or two, the rest are 
allowed to come on gradually; in fact, during the 
winter they are treated as if they were resting. In 
a series of low frames they are stood upon a bottom 
of ashes, so that when the pots are full of roots the 
latter push their way into the ashes from which they 
extract sufiicient moisture to render watering 
unnecessary during winter. Under these conditions 
they gradually and naturally develop fine crowns, 
which make good plants directly they receive a shift 
into larger pots and the temperature rises in spring. 
These little plants are full of vigour and start away 
strongly whenever the conditions are favourable. 
The hardier kinds are kept in the frames, includ¬ 
ing Cyrtomium falcatum, C. Fortunei, and C. 
caryotideum, all of which are perfectly healthy and 
free from bug, scale, thrips, and other insect pests, 
which are often 3 plague where high temperatures 
are employed. A dark evergreen Fern that comes 
in very handy for decorative purposes is Polystichum 
setosum. The fronds are of that leathery character 
common to.several of that genus. The delicately 
cut fronds of Onychium japonicum form a strong 
contrast to the kinds above-mentioned. The heavily 
crested Nephrodium molle corymbiferum is grown 
in some quantity, and the crowns are in fine con¬ 
dition. A useful and easily grown sort is Nephro¬ 
dium patens superba. About 25,000 pot plants a 
year are required of Pteris cretica major, the robust 
habit and broad deep green pinnules of which give 
it a bold appearance and draw the eye of the 
beholder at once. A large batch of this variety in 
frames has not been watered since Christmas, and 
there are many thousands of it in store boxes. 
The beautifully variegated Pteris Mayi comes true 
from spores, and 10,000 of potted plants are required 
a year. It is grown like the bulk of the others in 
span-roofed houses, some of which have shelves 
erected towards the sides or even across the whole 
of the central bed of the house, so that one 
tier of plants stands above another below it. The 
bed and the shelves are sufficiently far apart to 
allow of plenty of light falling upon the lower bed 
of Ferns. About 20,000 to 30,000 potted plants of 
Pteris tremula are required, a fact that bears 
sufficient evidence of its popularity. In the same 
house are fine batches of Asplenium bulbiferum, A. 
diversifolium, A. viviparum, and A. flaccidum. The 
two latter are beautiful Ferns, but the3 are not in so 
great request for decorative purposes as the previous 
ones, judging from the quantities grown. A. diversi¬ 
folium, otherwise known as A. bifolium, produces 
long, spreading fronds suitable for basket work, and 
grows much more quickly than A. bulbiferum. On 
the shelves, as well as low down, are splendid 
batches of Pteris cretica nobilis, whose erect, 
heavily-tasselled and multifid fronds gives the plant 
a bold and telling appearance for decorative pur¬ 
poses. Even in quite a small state it is readily 
recognised by the uninitiated from all other sorts. 
In a cooler house, the young fronds of Blechnum 
latifolium are just commencing to show themselves, 
and are at this stage of a beautiful rosy-pink or red 
hue. The same may be said of B. glandulosum. 
The species of Pellaea are not usually thought of as 
popular decorative plants, yet P. cordata is grown in 
some quantity here. Asplenium inequale is a hand¬ 
some plant with drooping and finely cut fronds. 
Lygodium japonicum is a climbing or rather a twin¬ 
ing species, suitable for growing upon cords for 
decorative purposes, and finer, if anything, than L. 
scandens. Of variegated Ferns, several are grown, 
but the most popular are Pteris Mayi, already 
mentioned, P. argyrea, and P. tricolor. P. Victoriae 
is grown, but is not considered very suitable for 
general pu'^poses. The typical Pteris serrulata is 
not in demand about London, but Mr. Smith grows 
it to supply the requirements of Scotch customers 
who have a preference for it. The leathery-leaved 
and compact growing Doryopteris palmata is reared 
in some quantity, and a hundred or two of the Lace 
Fern (Cheilanthes elegans) is kept in stock. The 
fronds are very finely cut and elegant. The bold, sea- 
green Polypodium aureum is propagated in some 
quantity, although it is not so popular, perhaps, as 
many of the forms of Pteris. 
A considerable number of species of Adiantum, 
besides the common Maidenhair (A. cuneatum) is 
kept in stock to supply the various calls made upon 
them. The young fronds of A. Veitchii are of a 
beautiful pink colour until they get fully developed 
and firm. The young fronds of A. aspericaulis are 
of a much darker hue, in fact, of a deep brownish 
red tint, and more or less bright. Even more 
popular, perhaps, are A. Mariesii, A. Fergusoni, A. 
decorum, A. scutum, A. Reginae, and several others, 
all of which are grown in a very cool house, and 
have fine crowns ready to start into vigorous growth 
whenever the conditions become favourable, or 
whenever they are wanted to do so, by putting them 
in a higher temperature. Mr. Smith has no object 
in forcing them, so that they are coming on slowly 
but surely. 
--- 
EARLY SPRING 
FLOWERS. 
On the 25th of February I cut off a branch about 
2 ft. in length from a Persian Lilac ; noticing that it 
was showing its flower heads, and thinking that they 
were sufficiently forward to develop the blooms 
when placed in water and put in a stove temperature. 
We had the pleasure of gathering from this branch 
the first blooms on the 4th inst., but some cut a 
week later, and after the four nights of sharp frost, 
appear to have suffered from this spell of cold to 
some extent, as the trusses of bloom on them are 
opening very unequally. I hope, however, the 
bushes are not sufficiently damaged to seriously 
affect the blooming of the shrubs in a natural state. 
Still there is some reason to fear that damage has 
been done. 
This forcing of cut branches into flower, although 
not a new idea, may be a hint of service to some 
who may have a plentiful supply to draw upon, and 
who may occasionally be pressed for a supply of cut 
flowers adequate to the demands made upon them. 
We simply put ours into glass jars filled with water 
and placed under the front stage of the stove, where 
they are very liberally syringed. The species of 
Ribes are equally amenable to the same treatment, 
but the flowers produced are not of the same lasting 
quality as those grown under more natural con¬ 
ditions. Still for vase or epergne decoration for 
evening parties they will pass muster very well. 
The water the branches are placed in should be 
renewed every few days, or a disagreeable smell will 
be produced. The Almond trees are now in full 
bloom, and the Peach trees on a south wall are 
almost in full bloom, two-thirds of the blossoms 
being fully expanded.— W. B. G. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
Cyppipedium Chambeplainianum excellens, 
Nov. var. 
This new variety is now flowering in the collection 
of Mr. P. McArthur, The London Nursery, 4, Maida 
Vale, and is notable for the great size of the bloom, 
and its beautiful colouring. The whole plant is also 
very vigorous, the old leaves being about a foot long. 
The young ones are shorter, very leathery, and 
2j in. wide. The upper sepal is as nearly round as 
possible, measuring i J in. each way, pale green, 
and having a deep brown, bilobed blotch on the 
lower half, with ten radiating rays of the same 
hue. In some varieties these rays are reduced to 
two, four, or six. The lower sepal is oval with 
eight brown lines. The petals spread horizontally 
and measure 4J in. across the two ; they are pale 
green, densely spotted with brownish purple in lines, 
and wavy at both edges. The lip is of great size, 
2 in. long and densely spotted, with rich purple on a 
rosy ground ; the edges, the side lobes and the claw 
are yellow, thinly spotted with purple. The plant 
is flowering for the first time and had one flower with 
two buds when we saw it. 
Cyppipedium Pepseus supepbum, Nov. var. 
This and the typical or first-flowered form of the 
hybrid were derived from C. Lindleyanum crossed 
with the pollen of C. Sedenii porphyreum. The 
variety is richer in colour than the form which 
flowered first; in fact, it seems the richest in colour 
of all the hybrids. The upper sepal and petal 
appear almost black in bud, but are much paler and 
brighter when expanded. The upper sepal is rose, 
with numerous wavy lines of a darker hue. The 
petals are lanceolate, downy all over the surface, and 
of a dark or intense crimson-purple hue, except the 
central area towards the base. The large inflated 
lip is of a dark crimson-red, while the infolded side 
lobes are yellow, much dotted with purple. A plant 
in the nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, 
bears four flowers and buds upon a stem, and may 
produce more as it gains in strength. 
Dendpobium nobile nobilius. 
Many are the forms which have turned up amongst 
the importations of this Dendrobe, but notwith¬ 
standing the beauty of many of them, none of them 
yet have really surpassed the beauty of D. n. 
nobilius. A small but vigorous plant of it has been 
flowering for some time past in the collection of W. 
Y. Baker, Esq., Aspen House, Brixton. It has only 
two flowering stems, which originally bore nineteen 
flowers before some of them were cut. The blooms 
varied a little in size, but the finer ones measured 
4 in. across the petals ; the latter were about an 
inch in diameter. Both sepals and petals were of 
the usual rich amethyst-purple, fading towards the 
base. The maroon-purple blotch of the lip 
occupied a large portion of that organ, and was sur¬ 
rounded in front by a crescent-shaped, milk-white 
band, while the lip was like the darker portions of 
the sepals and petals. What an effect it would pro¬ 
duce if allowed to grow into large specimens lik» 
those that are occasionally seen of the type ! 
Oncidium ampliatum. 
A FINE sight of this well-known species may be seen 
in the nursery of Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton. 
A large batch of recently imported plants has been 
put in small pans and suspended near the glass. 
The plants appear in fine order, and have thrown up 
about 200 of their branching stems with a great 
profusion of their flowers, which are characterised 
by being clear yellow 00 the upper surface, and 
paler, almost sulphur-coloured beneath. The usual 
method of treating this Orchid is to put it on a 
block, but urder that method of cultivation the 
plant is liable to degenerate and decrease in size till 
it gets lost altogether. The new method of growing 
the plants in pans suspended near the roof will 
obviate to some extent the danger of the plant getting 
dry too quickly, while the pseudo bulbs and foliage 
will get all the benefit of light. 
Lycaste Skinneri. 
For all kinds of decorative purposes, Lycaste 
Skinneri is a most valuable subject indeed ; it should 
be extensively cultivated where cut bloom is a 
desideratum during the winter and spring months. 
I saw recently a specimen in grand form, in Mr. 
Gill’s collection at Fairfield, Aberdeen. The plant 
in question was growing in a ten inch pan, and 
carried forty-six splendid flowers.— J. McNab. 
