476 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 23, 1901'. 
Hints for ||mateurs. 
COOL FERNS. 
Of ihe various assortment of pot plants grown for 
the retail market, Ferns are undoubtedly far ahead 
as the public favourites. SeeiDg the enormous 
quantities sold daily in the market, it is at first 
difficult to understand where they all go to. But 
when the conditions under which the majority have 
to live are taken into consideration, the question 
is soon answered as to their disappearance. 
They are taken from bright warm glass houses 
where they are supplied with almost the same con¬ 
ditions as when growing wild in their native habitat 
and thrust into all sorts of positions, the majority 
being in semi-darkness with the atmospheric con¬ 
ditions just the reverse of what they have been 
subjected to in the nursery. The result is followed 
by disaster as is invariably the case when any of 
Nature's laws are infringed. Whether successin Fein 
cultivation is obtained or not, depends to a great 
extent on a proper knowledge of their habits and 
requirements and applying It in the treatment of 
them. Ferns when grown under artificial conditions 
are very susceptible to the attacks of insects. They 
will not stand the stringent methods applied to most 
plants to eradicate the pests, so that great care must 
be exercised in keeping them clean. The conditions 
under which plants are found growing wild require 
imitating as near as possible when grown under 
cultivation. When we are going to keep a wild 
animal we study its habits in detail so that it may 
live as comfortable as passible, we ascertain whether 
it lives in hot or cold climates, in the open or in the 
shade, whether it likes watery or rlry surroundings, 
what it requires as food, and the best methods of 
keeping it clean, and we must do the same with 
plants. In a living room there are many things that 
militate against the health of a plant. The atmo¬ 
sphere is often vitiated by the fumes from the gas and 
various h-ating apparatus,; cold draughts often 
sweep through the rooms, or they are shut up and 
the air is parched with fire beat. By caretul ar¬ 
rangement many of these conditions can be miti¬ 
gated, and with the aid of a small greenhouse where 
they may be placed for a few weeks now and again 
to recuperate their health, a very creditable display 
of Ferns may be maintained at a very trifling cost. 
Ferns have the advantage over flowering plants that 
they are always pretty, whereas, flowering plants are 
but as “ ships that pass in the night,” their beauties 
are evanescent. When once their flowering period is 
passed they are sure to look shabby. To have a good 
collection of Ferns it must always be borne in mind 
that when they are decorating a dwellihg-r iom they 
are not pieces of furniture but actually living and 
just as sensitive to their surroundings as we are. 
The Fernery.—Toe dimensions of the structure 
to supply a succession of plants for a large house 
need not be very large. The best form of fernery i s 
a little conservatory attached to the dwelling house by 
a short corridor. It is not advisable to have the 
fernery opening directly into the house, as Ferns 
require a large amount of water in the atmosphere, 
and either the Ferns must suffer from lack of 
moisture or the furniture in the room adjoining the 
fernery must suffer from damp. 
Culture.— The majority of Ferns are not difficult 
to manage. In the wirter a temperature of 45 1050° 
at night rising to 6o° in the day is sufficient for cool 
Ferns. No more fire heat than what is absolutely 
necessary should be used, as it is a Decessary evil 
and quickly dries the air. Plenty of light should be 
given during the winter, but they require some kind 
of thin shading in the summer. Great care should 
be given to the ventilation, cold draughts should be 
avoided and the plants should never be subjected to 
dry currents of air. It is of great importance that 
they should be kept near the glass or the fronds will 
become very drawn and weak. Ferns are a lot of 
trouble to raise from spores and do not pay the 
amateur for the attention they require, but it makes 
a fascinating hobby for anyone who has the time to 
devote to it. Their mode of development is very 
peculiar. First the spore germinates and grows into 
a flat heart shaped disc about the size of a three¬ 
penny piece known as aprothallus. This curious little 
disc constitutes a whole generation, for on its under¬ 
side it bears perfect sexual organs, which produce 
another plant which grows up into the Fern as it is 
generally seen. This curious custom of having two 
generations is a very interesting study for anybody 
who delights in the study of Nature. Numerous 
books can be obtained dealing fully with the subject 
as it has engaged the studies of botanists for years, 
many men having spent their whole lives wrapped 
up in the subject. Where anyone requires a quan¬ 
tity of plants, they can be had at a very low rate from 
some of the large raisers. The price for small plants 
is generally about £4 per 1,000, and for larger plants, 
fit for the window, 6s. per doz. Plants should not 
have their roots disturbed more than what is 
absolutely necessary, and great care must be taken 
when potting on. Large plants will stand for two or 
three years without requiring a shift into larger pots, 
providing they get careful watering and attention, 
and the addition of a little weak manure water in 
the growing season. When they have grown too 
large to be potted on they may be divided ; this 
should be done about March or April, just before 
they start to grow. Plenty of crocks must be put 
into the bottom of the pots to ensure the surplus 
water passing away freely. On no account must 
they be allowed to get dry at the root, or the effect 
on the fronds will be irreparable, and on the other 
hand they must never be allowed to get sour from 
the excessive use of the watering-can. The walls, 
stages and floor should be kept constantly damped, 
but do not allow the water to fall on the foliage or it 
will become disfigured by the deposition of lime, 
&c. 
Soil.—The compost best suited for Ferns is half 
good turfy loam and half well decayed leaves and a 
little peat. A good sprinkling of soil and small, 
crocks should be added to keep it well open. It is 
not advisable to use too much peat, leaf soil being 
much more beneficial. 
Propagation.—If it is proposed to raise plants 
from spores, sttallow well drained pans should be 
prepared by filling them with a mixture of sifted 
peat and sand and pressed firmly. On this the 
spores should be scattered thinly and the pans 
stood in shallow saucers of water. On no account 
must water be poured on the pan after the spores 
have been sown as they are so minute that they 
would be washed down into the soil and destroyed, 
if well soaked before the spores are sown the soil 
will keep moist by virtue of capillary attraction 
from the water in the saucer. For raising spores a 
house or case is required that can be kept very 
moist and close and a temperature of about 6o° 
maintained. When the plants have developed one 
small frond they should be carefully pricked off into 
other pans. Large plants with numerous crowns 
can be easily multiplied by division. Some species 
produce little bulbils, the fronds bearing these should 
be pegged down on pans of light soil and kept moist, 
when they soon take root and can be separated and 
potted into small pots One of the Ferns best 
adapted to this method of propaga ion is Asplenium 
bulbtferum, a very graceful and useful plant that 
will stand more rough usage than perhaps any other 
of the Filices'. 
_ Begonia Rex.—If some variation or change is 
thought necessary nothing will be found to thrive 
better intermixed with Ferns than a few plants of 
Begonia Rex. It is the easiest managed Begonia and! 
no trouble is experienced in keeping up a stock, as it 
propagates freely. The method usually adopted is by 
leaf cuttings. The best season is about June as 
the leaves are then fully matured. Ths firmest 
should be selected and pegged down on pans of light 
soil in the manner recommended for Asplenium 
bulbiferum. The leaf should not be wetted more 
than is necessary or it is liable to rot. The pans 
should be placed in a light position near the glass. 
Yery soon the veins will put out roots and a quantity 
of small leaves will be formed. When these are 
sufficiently strong they may be cut up into small 
plants and pricked off into pans of light soil or potted 
up singly in small pots.— F. J. C. 
-«*•- 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
"Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Northern Queensland.— Colonist : For informa¬ 
tion apply to the Emigrants' Information Office, 
31, Broadway, London, S. W., for their handbook, id. 
NorthernQueensland(Australia)lies within the tropics 
almost to the latitude of Brisbane. Along the east 
coast the lands are generally higher and healthy, and 
being subject to the prevailing trade winds the rain¬ 
fall is heavier. All tropical crops, including Coffee, 
Sugar-cane, Bananas, Pineapples, Sago Palms, &c., 
are grown. Southward in Victoria, the Vine, 
Orange, Olive, Peach, and all other fruits of temper¬ 
ate countries are grown. Personally we should 
prefer to settle about Melbourne or north-east from 
it. 
Gardens and Gardeners’ Addresses, &c .—Young 
Gardener : You will find most of the prominent 
garden addresses in the Horticultural Directory. 
“SilYer Tree of the Cape.”— "Locust";. The 
Silver Tree or Witteboom, so common all over Cape 
Colony, is at times grown as a small shrubby pot 
plant. The shrub growing naturally, attains a 
height of from 10 ft. to 12 ft. Botanically, the 
Silver Tree is named Leucodendron argenteum ; and 
the culture suitable for Heaths answers for them. 
They have to withstand periods of long drought in. 
their wild state. 
Crassulas.— H. Read : These succulent plants now 
generally named Kalosanthes, are easy to grow, and 
you may expect to succeed very well, even with only 
a cool greenhouse. The firm lateral shoots can be 
used as cuttings, striking them in light sandy soil, in 
small 3-in or even thumb pots. They will strike 
readily in a temperature ranging between 6o° and 
65°, though when potted-off afterwards, the ordinary 
greenhouse will suffice for them. A compost that 
will suit Zonal Pelargoniums answers for the Kalos¬ 
anthes. It is generally necessary to pinch the lead¬ 
ing shoot and the stronger laterals well back, so as 
to get nice spreading plants. Their culture presents 
no peculiarities. The wood should be maintained 
firm, well ripened, and short. 
When to sow Winter Broccoli.— J. Moss: Sow 
the seeds thinly early in April, and plant them out 
as soon as they are fit. Choose moist showery 
weather to accomplish the work and the seedlings 
will soon get established. In the case of very dry 
weather about the time they should be put in their 
permanent positions it will be a gain to lift the plants' 
carefully and transplant them into a newly dug bed. 
Water thoroughly after planting. When treated in' 
this manner they lift with good roots, and do not 
feel the check so much as if lifted directly from the 
seed bed. 
Raising Chillies without a hothouse.— L. A. C.: 
Your best plan would be to make a hotbed of stable 
manure mixed with leaves, or alone if you have no 
fresh leaves. Shake up the material in a heap and 
let it ferment for a few days, after which you may 
shake it all up in a fresh heap, turning the long 
litter into the centre. About the end of another 
three days it may be formed into a square bed, upon 
which you can stand a frame or several handlights. 
Cover the manure with some inches of soil, and in 
this plunge the pots or seed pans. If the heat rises 
strongly during the first week or so you should be 
careful to ventilate a little at the back of the frame 
by inserting a peg beneath the sash to allow the 
steam to escape. 
Marguerite Carnations to Flower this Year.— 
W. B. D. : By sowing seeds at once in a warm green¬ 
house you can get the plants to bloom by August, if 
the season is favourable, If they do not come on 
very rapidly when put in the open, they should 
commence flowering at least in September, and if 
the weather becomes bad before they are over you 
could lift the plants carefully and pot them up. Put 
them in a frame for a time and keep them close till 
they have taken to the fresh soil. You can then 
place them in a greenhouse, where they will flower 
for some weeks and keep the house quite gay during 
the dull months of late autumn. 
Cosmos for Cut Flowers.— L. A.C.: The best 
way would be to treat them as half hardy annuals 
like Stocks and Asters, raising them in a gentle heat 
and transplanting them to boxes when fit to handle! 
In fairly rich soil with plenty of leaf mould in it they 
will come along quickly in cold frames. Attend to 
them in the matter of airing and watering so as to 
secure sturdy plants to put in the open by the end of 
May. They should flower towards the end of August, 
