April  14,  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARIENER. 
to  use  sulphate  of  potash,  with  perhaps  a  little  kainit,  while  in 
drier  climates  use  the  muriate  mainly,  but  if  you  want  to  specu¬ 
late  oil  weather,  follow  the  law  of  averaging,  and  use  a  mixture 
of  muriate  and  sulphate.  As  regards  nitrogen  for  medium  or 
heavy  soils,  the  most  suitahle  are  natural  guanos  and  sulphate 
of  ammonia,  although  both  of  these  may  lie  used  with  great 
advantage  on  lighter  soils,  along  with  the  slower  acting  bodies 
I  have  mentioned. 
All  these  points  are  hanging  on  germ  activity.  In  light  soils 
refractory  nitrogenous  stuffs  may  be  used,  because  their  nitro¬ 
gen  is  quickly  converted  into  ammonia  compounds  by  micro¬ 
organisms,  then  into  nitrates  by  other  groups,  and  this  is  the 
ultimate  stage  of  progression.  In  heavier  soils,  where  germ 
activity  is  not  so  great,  the  use  of  natural  guanos  and  sulphate 
of  ammonia  saves  the  time  required  to  convert  nitrogenous  bodies 
into  ammonia  salts,  and  thus  they  become  available  quickly  to 
plants,  because  there  is  but  one  change  to  go  through,  viz., 
nitritication. 
(To  he  continued.) 
! 
The  Outdoor  Fernery. 
The  Hand  Fern  (Bleehnum  spicant). 
The  Hard  Fern  deserves  its  popular  name,  from  the  tough¬ 
ness  of  its  fronds  as  compared  with  those  of  mo.st  of  its  rela¬ 
tives  ;  it  is  also  thoroughly  evergreen,  and  these  two  qualities 
entitle  it  to  far  more  attention  as  a  cultivated  plant  than  it 
usually  gets.  It  is,  moreovei’,  interesting,  as  hearing  t^vo  dis¬ 
tinct  kinds  of  fronds.  One  .set,  which  is  barren,  con.sists  of 
once-divided  fronds,  like  two  bluntish,  wide-toothed  combs  set 
back  to  back.  These  radiate  laxly  to  form  a  pretty  rosette, 
while  the  other  fronds,  the  fertile  ones,  rise  perpendicularly,  and 
though  divided  like  the  others,  are  much  slenderer  in  their 
parts,  the  side  divisions  being  reduced  to  mere  midribs  beaiing 
the  spores. 
A  well  grown  plant  therefore  gives  .some  idea  of  inflorescence, 
though  of  cotirse  the  resemblance  is  only  siiperficial.  The 
Bleehnum  is  very  generally  distributed,  e.specially  where  hills 
abound.  It  is  found  in  abundance  on  moorland  and  in  valleys, 
on  the  slopes  of  stream  banks,  also  in  woods,  and  even  on 
roadside  banks  under  moist  climatic  conditions.  It  has  a 
prejudice  against  lime,  eitlier  in  the  soil  or  in  the  water,  and 
hence  must,  under  culture,  be  watered  with  rain  water.  Soil 
should  be  a  mixture  of  yellow  loam  and  leaf  mould  in  equal 
parts,  but  we  have  found  colonies  of  it  in  pure  brick  earth. 
Owing  to  its  tough  nature,  it  does  very  well  in  the  open 
rockwork,  though  it  prefers  the  northeni  side,  and  should  be 
located  low  down,  as  it  cannot  .stand  root  drought  at  all.  Even 
the  common  form  makes  a  pretty  pot  specimen  for  a  north 
window,  but  as  a  good  numiier  of  very  much  jjrettier  varieties 
have  been  fashioned  by  Nature’s  hand  and  found  wild  among 
the  common  type,  it  is  these  of  which  we  counsel  culture,  while 
we  would  impress  upon  our  country  friends  that  a  sharp  eye 
may  be  well  rewarded,  even  by  something  new,  when  its  owner 
finds  hinnself  or  her,self  in  places  where  the  fern  is  plentiful. 
The  wi’iter,  indeed,  caught  the  “fern  fever”  incurably  in 
the  first  instance  by  a  discoveiy  of  this  kind  on  Exmoor  (B.s. 
concinnum,  Druery),  in  a  loosely-built  .stone  dyke  by  the  roadside, 
d'he  dyke  was  full  of  seedlings  of  various  species,  amongst  them 
hundreds  of  small  Blechnums,  and  pi'otruding  from  a  clump  of 
the.se  he  saw  just  the  tip  of  a  frond  like  a  double  row  of  dark 
gi’eeu  scallop  shells  quite  evenly  arranged.  Pouncing  upon 
this,  and  opening  up  the  clump,  six  fronds  all  radiating  from 
one  contie  were  so  characterised,  and  when  the  clum))  was  ex¬ 
tracted  and  the  common  ones  removed,  it  was  found  to  he  a 
thoroughbred  new  variety,  which  is  now  in  every  collection, 
since  it  comes  perfectly  true  from  its  .spores.  A  lady  fiieud  on 
a  walking  tour  in  Devon,  {(uite  casuallv  glancing  about  her 
when  lesting,  found  a  prettily  ta.ssellcd  Bleehnum  at  her  feet, 
also  a  thoroughbied,  i.e.  alike  all  through  and  constant,  and 
the  writer  the  very  day  after  the  Exmoor  find,  strolling  along 
the  road  near  Wooda  Bay,  found  a  beautiful  pendulous  tasselled 
one  in  the  hedge;  that  is  twenty-one  years  ago,  and  the  plant  is 
still  vigorous  and  in  character, 
Mr.  Barnes  and  others  in  the  Tiake  District  have  found  a 
number  of  distinct  and  pretty  varieties,  and  as  one  and  all  main¬ 
tain  their  twofold  form  of  frond,  more  of  them  are  reallv  hand¬ 
some,  the  tasselled,  erect,  fertile  fronds  e.specially  looking  like 
green  flow'ers.  Some  varieties  have  strap-shaped  fronds,  others 
are  contracted  half  way  up  into  round,  saw-toothed  lobes  ;  others 
are  dwarfed  and  coiiden.sed,  while  .some  branch  as  well  as  ta.ssel, 
and  in  short  there  are  at  least  thirty  varieties  of  a  di.stinct  type 
sufficient  to  form  a  remarkably  pretty  group. 
A  vei’y  divided  form,  known  as  .-Vireys  plumosum.  raised 
O  .A  •• 
from, spores  of  Aireys  .serratum,  found  wild,  and  also  good,  must 
not  be  omitted  ;  it  is  decidedly  the  most  beautiful  of  all. 
Hecuriing  to  plants  of  this  species  in  the  open,  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  although  they  are  by  no  means  dainty 
(except  as  regards  lime  and  hard  water),  the  measure  of  theii’ 
development  is  that  of  shade,  moisture,  and  protection  from 
wind. 
On  the  expo.sed  moor  we  .sh.all  find  them  healthy,  but  dwarfbd 
to  but  a  few  iuches  in  size  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  in  sheltered 
woodland  glades  and  glens,  with  their  feet,  so  to  speak,  in  the 
watei',  we  have  waded  through  w  aist-high  plants  with  a  circlet 
of  bari'en  fronds  over  a  yard  in  diameter,  a  fact  which  gives  a 
clue  to  the  best  treatment.— Ch.vs.  Dkueky,  F.L.S.,  V.M.H. 
Societies. 
R.H.S.  ScientiHc  Committee,  April  5tli. 
Present :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters,  F.R.S.  (in  the  chair) ;  Messrs.  Massee, 
Chittenden,  Saunders,  Bateson,  Shea,  Baker,  Hurst,  Odell,  Douglas, 
Holmes,  and  Druery,  Drs.  Cooke  and  Eendle,  Professor  Boulger, 
Revs.  W.  AVilks  and  Gt.  Henslow  (hon.  sec.). 
Richanlia  with  coloured  leaf. — Mr.  Shea  exhibited  a  specimen  of 
R.  Elliottiana,  with  the  leaf  half  yellow  and  half  green.  The  question 
as  to  the  cause  was  raised;  but  at  present  there  is  no  known 
explanation. 
Daffodil  with  fringed  trumpet. — Mr.  Jenkins  sent  flowers  exhi¬ 
biting  this  peculiarity.  It  is  analogous  to  “  cresting,”  but  was  con¬ 
fined  to  the  edge  of  the  corona,  only. 
Scientific  experiments  at  Wisley. — A  discussion  took  place  upon 
this  subject,  many  valuable  suggestions  and  commionications  being 
made  by  several  of  the  members.  Finally  a  sub-committee  was 
formed  to  present  a  report  to  the  council,  consisting  of  Dr.  M.  T. 
Masters,  Professor  M.  Ward,  Professor  G.  S.  Boulger,  Dr.  Rendle, 
Messrs.  Chittenden,  Bateson,  Massee,  Farmer,  and  Hurst,  and 
Rev.  G.  Henslow,  with  power  to  add  to  the  niimber.  The  sub¬ 
committee  will  meet  at  3  p.m.,  April  19th. 
Scottish  Horticultural. 
The  montldy  meeting  of  tliis  a.ssociation  was  held  on  Tuesday 
evening,  the  oth  inst.,  in  Dowell’s  Rooms.  There  was  a  very 
large  attendance  of  members,  Mr.  McHattie,  president,  in  the 
chair.  After  the  nomination  of  a  large  number  of  new  mem¬ 
bers,  Ml-.  Williamson,  Edinburgh,  read  a  paper  entitled  “  Hardy 
Fiiiit  Culture,  and  Its  Bearing  on  the  Repopulation  of  the 
Rural  District.s.”  iMr.  Williamson’s  paper  dealt  very  exhaust- 
ivelj-  with  the  various  aspects  of  fruit  culture  in  rural  di.stricts, 
and  pointed  out  how,  by  careful  cultivation  and  proper  means  of 
marketing,  very  liberal  profits  could  be  made,  which,  however, 
by  various  speakers  were  considered  rather  optimistic.  Mr. 
Williamson  also  dealt  with  dairy-farming  and  poultry-rearing, 
showing  that  they  could  be  succe.ssfully  carried  on  along.side  of 
the  fruit  cultuie.  An  intere.sting  discussion  took  place,  taken 
part  in  by  iMr.  Whytock,  Mr.  Grieve,  Mr.  Gunnison,  Mr.  Todd, 
and  others.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  awarded  to  Mi-.  Wil¬ 
liamson. 
Exhibits. — The.se  were  both  numerous  and  mo.st  attractivm 
Messrs.  Dick.son  and  Co.,  Edinburgh,  brought  an  exhibit  of 
beautiful  Cinerarias,  well-grown,  with  splendid  heads  of  beauti¬ 
ful  flowers,  the  exhibit  including  three  Cactus-flowered  varietie.-:, 
which  were  awarded  a  certificate.  Mr.  Greenlaw,  gardener, 
Benmore,  Kilmiiir,  exhibited  .some  wonderfully  handsome  white 
Cyclamens,  .some  of  which  had  nearly  200  blooms.  Mr.  Greenlaw 
also  showed  beautiful  specimens  of  Primula  obconica.  Messrs. 
Laird  and  Sons  showed  a  beautiful  specimen  of  Cypripedium 
Elliotianum  and  Dendrobium  Dalhousianum.  Mr.  John  Downie 
received  an  award  of  merit  for  Dimorphanthus  mand.shuricus 
variegatiis— a  very  .showy  plant.  Air.  Wood,  Oswald  Hou.se,  had 
beautiful  orchids.  Other  exhibits  were  from  Air.  Woldie, 
liamont  ;  Mr.  Leslie,  Trinity  Cottage;  and  Mr.  John.ston,  Hay 
Lodge.  It  was  intimated  that  next  month  Mr.  Gordon,  editor 
of  the  “  Gardmiers’  iMagaziue,”  would  read  a  paper. 
Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association. 
Open  Sr.4CES.  At  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Metropolitan 
Pulilic  Gardens  Association,  held  on  April  6,  at  83,  Lanca.ster 
Gate,  W.,  Sir  William  Vincent,  Bart,  vice-chairman,  presiding, 
it  was  agreed  to  tender  the  respectful  thanks  of  the  association 
to  th<>  King  as  its  pation,  for  the  intere.st  His  Majesty  hail  dis- 
l)layi‘d  in  the  open  space  movement,  as  indicated  by  his  recently 
announced  intention  to  open  to  the  public  certain  hitherto 
closed  poi  tions  of  Richmond  Park.  An  application  was  received 
for  the  laying-out  of  St.  Nicholas,  Deptford,  churchyard,  and  it 
was  agreed  to  find  out  from  the  Bishoji  of  Southwark  what 
Lniaiantee  could  be  piovided  for  the  maintenance  of  the  ground 
if  the  av-ociation  complied  with  the  reque.st.  .\  letter  wa'<  reail 
