January 21, 1899. 
the gardening world. 
331 
horse manure. We use loam, leaf soil, charcoal, or 
bid lime mortar. A few J in. bones, if clean, will 
do no barm.— Fred. J. Thorne, Snnningdale Park. 
A FERN GARDEN. 
Shirenewton Hall, near Chepstow, in Monmouth¬ 
shire, is the beautifully situated house and experi¬ 
mental garden of E. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S., F L S , 
etc. Towards this Mecca of British Fern lovers I 
became—during one of the sub-tropical days of last 
September—a willing pilgrim. Armed with ai letter 
of introduction, I set out from the vicinity of New¬ 
port, in the same county, where I was enjoying a 
brief holiday. The distance of ten or twelve miles 
between the two places I purposely decided to cover 
on foot, and so, sliDging my vasculum over my 
shoulders, I started off in the best of humours, and 
in the highest of expectations. 
It was a glorious morn, one of those exceptionally 
fine days for which September, in our erratic clime, 
is often noted. Of course I kept a sharp look out 
for ferny forms by the wayside, that I might the 
better appreciate the cultivated ones which were the 
object of my quest. As Monmouthshire is a famous 
Scolopendrium county, I had the satisfaction of be¬ 
coming acquainted with several distinct forms, in 
addition to Lastrea Fllix-mas of plumose preten¬ 
sions. I also had on my mind the fact that the late 
Col. Jones had found no less than twenty-nine Cris- 
pums in this district. Such a record, however, is 
but for the select few, and, although I searched 
diligently and carefully, I could only exceed my own 
precious achievements by unearthing—in two senses 
— one variety of wavy or scolloped character. 
This one, however, gave me fresh hopes, caused 
further search, and somewhat delayed the ramble, 
and so the sun had attained his meridian before I 
presented myself at the gates of Shirenewton Hall. 
Unfortunately for me, the squire of this much- 
favoured and beautifully-situated village was absent 
on business ; but, after the most substantial hospi¬ 
tality, Mr. Flugh Lowe was kind enough to give me 
his time and attention, and to point out the 
numerous interesting plants which obtain in this 
unique garden. 
The old-fashioned but picturesque hall is charm¬ 
ingly seated on elevated ground about 6oo ft. above 
sea level. It commands extensive prospects in the 
direction of the Bristol Channel and Severn Valley, 
and has for its horizon the Mendip Hills on the one 
hand, and the Cotf>wold Hills on the other. The 
celebrated Wye, in all its glorious windings, is in 
the vicinity, while woods, vales, hills, and umbra¬ 
geous lanes attract the eye and leod a charm beyond 
my poor descriptive powers. The garden, moreover, 
abounds in fine trees, and slopes away in park-like 
surroundings Hence one gets glimpses of Nature of 
no ordinary type, and distant views across the river 
Severn. An ideal home in all verity, and one 
which seems perfectly adapted to further Mr. Lowe’s 
scientific work, and to assist him in his numerous 
experiments. 
Some of the fine trees about the mansion, which 
are well worthy of notice, are Abies webbiana, a 
handsome pyramidal tree, with spreading branches ; 
Thuyopsis dolobrata variegata, Cupressus lawsoni- 
ana, and Pinus Cembra, the Swiss Stone Pine, a 
slow-growing species, with silvery leaves, a close 
habit, and withal remarkably symmetrical. 
Crataegus Crus-galli, the Cockspur Thorn or 
’’ Crown of Thorns ” has here attained a notable 
size, its spines or spurs being unmistakably long and 
sharp; while another very formidable tree, in a 
group of others, is the Hedgehog Holly (Ilex Aqui- 
folium ferox) with convex leaves and spiny surfaces. 
Passing on from here we enter a shrubbery, where 
Mr. Lowe points out a number of hardy Ferns, 
mostly Lastreas, Polystichums, and Atbyriums, 
which have more or less reverted to their ancestral 
condition. They were good varieties when planted 
some years ago, and serve to prove a moral—cul¬ 
tivation—if they do not compare favourably with 
their kith and kin in another part of this interesting 
garden. A little further on we came across a fine 
variegated and lacerated Elder, a form of Sambucus 
nigra, which the coachman, J. Pitman, discovered 
in a wood about three miles from here. Other 
curiosities also obtain in this garden, which are 
unique in some respects, and of a decorative cba r ac- 
ter, for I fancy that Mr. Lowe’s collection of rare 
and interesting plaDts is more numerous and varied 
than perhaps any other collection in the country, the 
size of the garden being taken into account. Just 
by the lake we come across giant specimens of Bam¬ 
boos, Bulrushes, Heracleums, Japanese Osmundas, 
and other things too numerous to detail, more 
especially as I want to come now to the primary 
object of my quest, viz. :— 
The Ferns. 
Mr. Lowe’s speciality is undoubtedly British Ferns. 
For these he has laboured for half a century, and on 
these he is still working with a keen eye and a skilful 
hand. There are some subjects which never seem to 
lose interest, and one of these may, I think, relate to 
British Ferns. Suffice it to say that among the 
several workers in Fern philosophy Mr. Lowe has 
taken a leading part, both in literary and practical 
matters. At any rate, there is such a vast array of 
material here, and in such fine form and quality, as 
to have a distinct effect on the mind of the observer 
if he be in any way cognisant of the differences be¬ 
tween species and varieties. Although Mr. Lowe 
does not confine himself to British Ferns—as will 
appear by-and-bye—he still must give the major 
share of his attention to this fascinating subject, for 
Ferns abound in astonishingly large quantities, and 
may, in fact be counted in their thousands. 
At first sight this unique and large collection—the 
tout ensemble —takes one’s breath away, so to speak, 
for the Fern garden, as a whole, is a perfect paradise 
of wondrous forms. Everything, in fact, is sub¬ 
servient to them, even the fruit trees go unpruned, 
that Filices may court the shade. Otherwise their 
culture is of the simplest character, for they are 
nearly all planted out, and planted on the level 
ground. No rock or stone between the plants; 
no attempted imita.ion of Nature’s ways; no orna¬ 
mentation whatever in kind or degree; they are 
just simply planted like Cabbages, and thrive accord¬ 
ingly, the soil and the climate, no doubt, contributing 
largely to that result. Moreover, a large proportion 
of these plants can hardly be considered " natural,” 
for they are said to be the result of multiple par¬ 
entage. Certain it is that many of them, by virtue 
of their interest and beauty, my well “ hold the 
mirror up to Nature,” for if one could only conceive 
our great complex mother as a separate entity, and 
endowed with vision, then one could further believe 
that the consequent reflection would, indeed, cause 
grave misgivings in her mind as to her unaided 
ability towards such perfection. Ftotn general effects, 
however, let us proceed to notice some particular 
traits in the contours of these remarkable ferney 
forms. 
The Atbyriums, as might be expected after such a 
spell of dry weather, were past their best, although 
it is noticeable how long many of the varieties per¬ 
sist after the species have succumbed for the year. 
The plumose forms are, perhaps, the representatives, 
as, indeed, they are the most beautiful, of this 
section, although for curiosities the numerous varie¬ 
ties of A. F.-f. Victoriae and their crosses must take 
the first place. A. F.-f. axminsterense, an original 
break-away from the species, is still a fine plumose 
form, although it has many rivals, and has passed 
through many stages, and culminated in A. F.-f. 
plumosum Drueryi, probably the most superb of all 
the Lady Ferns. 
A. F.-f. cristatum and its beautiful varieties are a 
best in themselves, while one here named 
"Emperor” demonstrates its vigour and propor¬ 
tions. The cruciate forms, too, are not without 
their qualities, Mr. Lowe having raised a numerous 
horde. ‘ Virginia” is a narrow frond^d form of 
this class, the name, perhaps, being given on account 
of its slender, delicate, feminine beauty. 
In contradistinction to the Lady Ferns come the 
more robust-growing Male Ferns (Lastreas), which 
are here labelled Nephrodiums, after the manner of 
Kew. In the Lastreas—to adopt the more popular 
name-—we have another large family of British 
plants, and where the species are supplemented, as 
here, with varieties their names are legion. 
L. Filix-mas is the most common and the coarsest 
of our Male Ferns, but Mr. Lowe has raised one 
which is so like the Lady Fern that he designates it 
as " Athyrioides.” L. pseudo-mas and L. propinqua 
(Wollaston) are intermediate forms, the first-named 
being sub-evergreen, and the latter quite deciduous. 
The "king of the Male Ferns” is a crested and 
robust variety of L. pseudo-mas, and one of the 
best for an amateur to commence with. In addition 
to crestings proper of various kinds, the Male Ferns 
are noted for their ramose and polydactylous varia¬ 
tions. One very fine form was labelled here " Mrs. 
Boyle,” and another “ polydactyla ” (Will),although I 
cannot remember now their peculiar characteristics. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
NOTICE OF BOOK. 
My Garden Diary for 1899. Publishers, Sutton 
& Sons, Reading. 
Carnations, Roses, the Pheasant's-eye Narcissus 
and Forget-me-not adorn the covers of this annual, 
which runs to something like thirty-one pages,neatly 
printed and containing a great amount of informa¬ 
tion in the shape of reminders as to what might, 
could and should be done during each month of the 
year. Winter is, in itself, a busy season, judging 
from the amount of work which the gardener in all 
big establishments is expected to do in the way of 
forcing vegetables of last year, as well as raising 
others for forthcoming requirements. Hardy and 
half hardy flowers also require to be forwarded, in 
many cases, during the early months of the year in 
order to get the best development and harvest of 
bloom, of which the respective kinds are capable 
during the forthcoming season. Many gardeners 
are coming to recognise these facts, in the case of 
both vegetables and flowers, and profit by putting 
their knowledge to a practical test. 
The various kinds of flowers and vegetables that 
may be sown during this month are more numerous 
than at first thought might be expected ; and in the 
case of several outdoor flowers, the value of an early 
start becomes obvious in view of droughty seasons 
like the past and several previous ones. The data 
and other matters are printed on the left hand page 
of the Diary, while the right hand side is devoted to 
the days of the month and week, the rising and set¬ 
ting of the sun and moon—facts which almanacks 
and diaries cannot afford to ignore. The larger 
amount of space on the right hand page is, however, 
left blank for memoranda to be inserted by those 
who use the annual. To gardeners and particularly 
young ones a record of their daily and weekly work 
is of the utmost importance as reference to the pages 
a twelvemonth hence will show at a glance when 
certain subjects were sown, potted off or harvested, 
as the case may be ; and from such data the practical 
man can fix the proper time to repeat the operation 
with confidence that the different subjects will come 
into use or bloom when required by the family. 
At the end of the Diary six whole pages of closely 
printed matter are devoted to a chapter on " Winter 
Gardening.” The sub titles of this chapter are 
" The best method of cropping a garden to ensure 
the finest vegetables from October 1st to March 
31st ” ; and " How to keep a greenhouse gay from 
October 1st to March 31st.” Prizes were offered 
’ast year in connection with the Reading and Dis¬ 
trict Gardeners' Mutual Association, for papers on 
" Winter Gardening,” and the first prize essay in 
each of the above two divisions, goes to make up this 
useful chapter. 
--- 
A TROUBLESOME WEED. 
Next to Couch Grass, Charlock, Runches, wild 
Mustard, and Yellows, as it is variously called, is 
probably the mest troublesome weed with which 
farmers have to deal. It is met with in cultivated 
fields all over Britain, and on many farms its 
destruction becomes a serious item of expense each 
year. In the case of a following or cleaning crop 
the hoe may be called into requisition, but the 
difficulty of getting rid of it from amongst corn 
is a very real one. The farmer adopts one of three 
courses, either he suffers it to grow unchecked, or he 
resorts to hand weeding in a desperate attempt to get 
free from it, or he tries to choke it out by forcing out 
the growth of the corn by the application of special 
manures. 
If allowed to remain the weed robs the soil of 
much of the plant food that should go to the corn. 
Then also there is the question of crowding. These 
are not the most serious points to be borne in mind, 
however, because the Charlock, by reason of its close 
relation to Turnips and Swedes, is liable to attack by 
the Finger and Toe disease. The weed is more 
