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AMERICAN
NATURAL HISTORY SERIES.
VOLUME I.
Ferns in their Homes and Ours.
By J. Robinson, Professor of Botany, Massachusetts Horticul-
tural Society. With eight chromo-lithographs of rare ferns and
many other plates and illustrations. 31zmo. Cloth. $1.50.
VOLUME II.
The Structure and Habits of Spiders.
By J. H. Emerton. Fully illustrated. remo. Cloth. $1.50.
OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
FRONTISPIECE.
E. N. Prasopy, Puoro.
THE FERN CORNER;
In the writers Conservatory.—See Deseription of Plates.
| THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
i
BY
JOHN ROBINSON, i Se
PROFESSOR OF BOTANY AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, BOSTON; IN CHARGE DEPARTMENT
OF BOTANY, PEABODY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE,
SALEM.
oo sy S
‘
S. E. CASSINO, PUBLISHER, ee
NATURALISTS’ AGENCY. ; tat;
BOSTON: ESTES & LAURIAT. : ee
1878, ‘ ao
a 7%
CopyRIGHT, 1878,
By S. E.. CASSINO, .
Stereotyped
By C. $. Peters & Son,
Boston.
Devication.
I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE BOOK
Co flv Friend,
mewn COURTLAND BOLLES,;
AS A SLIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENT
> FOR THE ASSISTANCE HE HAS SO KINDLY
RENDERED ME IN ITS
PREPARATION.
INTRODUCTION.
: ara ERN-CULTURE in America has still the char
1 pz BS” acteristics of novelty, although ferns have long
= been favorites in other lands; for some of our
New-England species have been under cultivation in Old
England for two hundred and fifty years. John Trades-
cant introduced into Europe, in 1628, the Cyszopteris
bulbifera and the Maiden-hair (Adiantum pedatum) ;
while other species, including the Walking-Leaf Fern,
(Camptosorus) and the Sensitive Fern ( Oxoclea), soon
followed. In the Kew Gardens at London, about the
first of the present century, there were eighty-three spe-
cies of exotic ferns under cultivation, while at the same
time there were thirty species in the Botanic Garden at
Berlin; and in 1866 the collection at Kew numbered
more than a thousand species of exotic ferns. Besides
the large collections of famous public institutions, there
have been and are many private collections of ferns in
vii
viii | INTRODUCTION.
England which rival and even surpass them. The com-
petition is there so keen in obtaining. fine specimens
of rare ferns, that as much as fifty guineas ($250) has
been paid fora single piant. It is not therefore to be
wondered at, that, in countries where ferns have so long
been under cultivation, numerous works upon the subject
of their structure, growth, and culture, have appeared.
In America there are but few large special collections
of ferns, although there are many smaller ones as well
as individual specimens of rare excellence. The beauti-
ful ferns, palms, and other rare plants, exhibited by Mr.
Such of New Jersey, in a side-room of the Horticultural |
Building at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, was
the one redeeming thing among the contents of that great
structure ; at least, at the time of the writer’s visit in
June, 1876. ‘This was unfortunate, as it misrepresented
the condition of American horticulture, besides being a
severe criticism on the patriotism of American horticul-
turists.
There has not yet been published in this country
any work devoted exclusively to the cultivation of ferns.
There is, therefore, less hesitation on the writer’s part in
presenting to the public this little book, in which he has
endeavored to adapt the subject and its illustrations to
the wants of persons in the United States. He has, dur-
ing the last ten years, followed in practice the theories and ©
INTRODUCTION. ix
suggestions of the numerous English treatises on fern-
culture ; and, without pretending to compete with these
numerous and valuable as well as expensive works, he
trusts that this volume may be of service to those in this
country who desire to cultivate ferns, and need a guide
especially adapted to the circumstances of their home.
By introducing the subject with two chapters on the
growth, structure, and classification of ferns, an attempt
has been made to impress the mind of the beginner with
an idea that a knowledge of these subjects will vastly add
to his success.
Numerous authors are quoted in the following pages,
and it is believed that due acknowledgment has been
made in every case where use has been made of the
thoughts of. others.
The writer desires to express his gratitude to those who
have aided and encouraged him during the preparation
of the book. Among such friends are T. F. Hunt, Esq.,
who has kindly furnished the materials for some of the
best designs given in the plates; and Dr. A. S. Packard,
jun., who has not only furnished the valuable plate illus-
trating the insects which destroy ferns, but has also kind-
ly revised the chapter upon this subject, and added sev-
eral points of value. Mr. Emerton has given great care
to the drawing of the illustrations, and has certainly suc-
ceeded in making them all that could be desired.
x INTRODUCTION.
The reader as well as the writer is much indebted to
Rey. E. C. Bolles of Salem for his work in revising the |
writer’s manuscript. And last, but not least, the writer
desires to express his appreciation of the liberality of the
publisher, Mr. Cassino, who has without objection several
times ainended the original plan of the book, although ‘
the changes have added considerably to the expense of
publication. La
2 CHESTNUT STREET, SALEM,
June 1, 1878.
INTRODUCTION . a | A : ;
LisT OF ABBREVIATIONS USED. . :
LIsT AND DESCRIPTION OF PLATES . ‘
J. Tue LIFE OF A FERN . 3 :
II. CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS . é
JIJ. DISTRIBUTION AND NOMENCLATURE OF FERNS
IV. SOMETHING OF THE LITERATURE OF FERNS
V. How To COLLECT FERNS FOR CULTIVATION
VI. FERNERIES OUT OF Doors . :
VII. HINTs aBouT SOILS AND PoTs FOR FERNS
VIII. TropicAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES
IX. FERN-CASES . ; : :
X. FERNS IN THE LIVING-ROOM
XI. SPECIAL WAYS OF GROWING FERNS
XII. TREE-FERNS . = : r ‘
XIII. Goop FERNS FOR CULTIVATION .
XIV. How To PROPAGATE FERNS . ‘
XV. OTHER CRYPTOGAMS IN CULTIVATION
XVI. SELAGINELLAS. ; < F ;
XVII. FLOWERING-PLANTS TO GROW WITH FERNS
XVIII. FERN-PESTS : ; ; ‘
XIX. CONCLUSION . ‘ :
CONTENTS.
°
xi
107
III
125
130
139
149
IS i
168
TAA 35 enemas
Bernh. .
io
Bex
ees
Gol.
Desv. .
Forst. .
H. & G.
ABBREVIATIONS.
AUTHORITIES.
Hk. or Hook. .
tie DIS. «
THort.<.
Hoffm.
J. Sm. .
Klf. or Kaulf.
Klotz. .
L. or Linn.
L. & F.
Tan:
Labill. .
Linn. f.
L’Hérit.
aeOLett.
° e e e
A. Braun.
Bernhardi.
Boisduval.
Robert Brown.
A. J. Cavanilles.
W. Colenso.
N. A. Desvaux.
John Reinhold Forster.
Hooker & Greville.
Sir William Jackson Hooker.
Humboldt, Bompland, and Kunth.
Of garden origin.
G. F. Hoffmann.
John Smith.
G. F. Kaulfuss.
Dr. Klotzsch.
Linnzus.
Langsdorf & Fischer.
J. Bapt. Monet de Lamark.
J. J. Labillardiére.
Linnzeus’ son.
C. L. L’Héritier.
Dr. G. Mettenius.
xiii
xiv’ 2 ABBREVIATIONS.
Mich xe iran ce ee ea parC ieee
Nutt: "iets rte oer a se reese
Reo r. gee eral ade Peres Robert Brown.
PCT Pa es. S eet atte sigs dane eee
Sm. 6 4. ee et SO ames dares
opt. OF Spreng... “Gini een
‘Swat ou yh Olam Swart i
Wall... 2. 0 «ca « oo ey Dr SNathonieina vera
W.or Willd... . . 2 26s LWilldéagen
WORKS REFERRED TO. me as
Beddome, F.S.I. . . Beddome’s Ferns of Southern India. —
- Beddome, F. B. I. . . Beddome’s Ferns of British India. ~*~
Eaton, Ferns N. A. . . Eaton’s Ferns of North America.
Gard. Chron. . . . «. Gardener’s Chronicle; London.
Hk. Ex. Flo. ~. .. > Hooker’s Exotic Higra:
Hk.G.F. . . . . . .Hooker’s Garden Ferns.
Hk. Fil.Ex. i » «>. “Hooker's Pilices Mxomcas
Hk. 1st Cent. F. .... Hooker’s First Century-of Ferns:
Hk. 2d Cent. F. . . . Hooker’s Second! C@entury crores:
Hk. Sp. Fil. < ..:. « Hookers Species Pitan
H. & G.Ic. Fil. . . . Hooker & Greville’s Icones Filicum.
Lowe . s ..+ + Lowe’s Ferns, British and Exotic.
Lowe, N.& R. F.. . . Lowe’s vol. ix., or New and Rare Ferns.
TERMS.
fig., figure; ft., foot or feet; fr., frond; in., inch or inches; pl., plate.
mot AND DESCRIPTION: OF
| PEATES.
FRONTISPIECE. — Corner of the writer’s greenhouse, with Blech-
num Brasiliense in centre; Lomaria gibba and Platycerium alcicorne
below. The bell-glass covers a pan of TZyrichomanes radicans.
Hanging-baskets to the left. cus repens on the wall, and Selagz-
nellas, Adiantums, and Panicum variegatum in foreground. Young
plant of 2. Brasiliense at lower right-hand corner, and directly
above it Nephrodium setigerum.
PLATE I.— Out-of-door fernery.
PLATE II. — Wotholena dealbata, Kunze.
PLATE III.—Growth of a fern (Pterzs_serrulata, Lin. f.) from
the spore (figs. 5-18), as compared with that of a squash from the
seed (figs. I-4). 1, squash-seed; 2, the same with one cotyledon
removed, showing the embryo; 3, the same in longitudinal section
to show plumule and radicle; 4, the same after one week’s growth;
Pteris serrulata (after Moore), 5, spore; 6-9, growth of prothallus ;
9 a, antheridia; 9 4, archegonia; 10, two antheridia enlarged, the
one at the right empty; 11, one cell of antheridium containing
a single antherozoid; 12, antherozoid enlarged; 13, archegonium,
longitudinal section to show germinal vesicle; 14, the same seen
from above; 15, plant-bud starting underneath the prothallus
(after Sachs) ; 16-18, various stages of young plant’s growth.
PLATE IV. — Pellea densa, Hk.
PLATE V.— Fern-structure (after Smith, Sachs, Hooker). 1,
enlarged spore-case of Polypodium ; 2, ditto of Gleicheniz; a,
ditto of Schizea; 4, sorus of Polypodium ; 5, spore-case of Os-
xV
xvi LIST AND DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.
munda, enlarged; 6, sorus of MZarattia, enlarged; 7, sorus of
Aspidium, enlarged; 8, portion of a frond of Gymnogramme, en
larged to show the fruiting; 9, fruit of Preris ; 10, stem of Pteris,
a, frond of the present season; 4, frond for next season; ¢, con
tinuation of stem; d@, the leaf-bud for the third season; 11, root of
~afern; a, root-cap; 4, point of growth; c, older portion of root.
PLATE VI. — Cheilanthes Coopere, Eaton.
PLATE VII. — Dicksonia antarctica, Labill, From a plant six
feet high.
PLATE VIII.—1, saucer and bell-glass, and, 2, pan and glass,
for raising sporelings; 3, tall flower-pot; 4, pan showing holes
for drainage; 5, open-work pan; 6, flower-pot, with flattened back;
7, ordinary flower-pot.
~ PLATE IX.— Window jardiniére.
PLATE X. — Cheilanthes lanuginosa, Nutt.
PLATE XI.— Iron-framed fernery.
PLATE XII. — Cheilanthes Californica, Mett.
PLATE XIII. — Eastlake fernery.
PLATE XIV. — Camfptosorus rhizophyllus, Link.
PLATE XV.— Home-made fernery: 1, side-view complete; 2,
corner ; 3, 4, sections to show method of construction.
PLATE XVI. — Asplenium ruta-muraria, L.
PLATE XVII. — Fernery with base of black stone-ware.
PLATE XVIII.—1. Cocoanut-shell basket; 2, Japanese fern-
stand; 3, Russian fern-stand.
PLATE XIX. — Botrychium Lunaria, Sw. ; Botrychium loneta |
Milde ; showing enlarged fruit of the latter.
PLATE XX.—1I, cocoanut-husk with stag-horn fern; 2, wire
basket with Davallia ; 3, wire cylinder with ferns, showing method
of construction.
PLATE XXI.— Chinese fern-stand.
PLATE XXII.— Fern-pests (cuts loaned by Dr. Packard): 1,
Aleurodes vaporarium, Westwood, and, 4, pupa of the same; 2,
Lfcliothrips hemorrhoidalis, Haliday ; 3, Abia caprifolit, Norton ;
5, Lecanium platycerii, Packard ; 6, Coccus adonidum, L. ; 7, Leca-
nium filicum, Boisd., seen from beneath; 8, the same seen from
above; 9, Aphis. All the figures are more or less magnified.
GHAPTER: I
THE LIFE OF A FERN.
Fo my make a proper study of the life-history
38 24a of a fern would require more space than
zest the few pages which can be allotted to the
subject here. And, besides, no thorough investi-
gation of the matter could be made without a care-
ful microscopic examination of the fern itself in
all its forms and at the various stages of its
growth. A glance at the subject will, however,
be better than nothing: so let us begin at once by
examining the spore from which the fern originates.
The ‘spores of cryptogamous plants are the
same in purpose and use as the seeds of flowering
plants; but in structure a seed and a spore are
very different. A seed contains a definite embryo
or rudimentary plant of the kind which is to be
produced by its growth. Take, for example, the
seed of a squash (Pl. 3, Figs. 1-3). Open it, and,
besides the two large cotyledons or seed-leaves, we
find between them the bud (p/wmule) which is to
1
-~
2 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
form the vine; and, below this, the little point © a :
(vadicle) which is the beginning of the future root.
But in a’spore (Pl. 3, Fig. 5), no matter how highly
it may be magnified, there is nothing to be distin- —
guished, except the bit of protoplasm contained —
within a membrane or cell-wall, which forms the —
outer coat or covering of the spore. Hence it
may at once be seen that the method of the fern’s
growth must, at the outset and very materially, dif-
fer from that of an ordinary flowering plant. To
establish, however, all the relations between the
lower and the higher forms of plant-life, to specify
their analogies and define their differences, can
only be done by careful observation of the lower
orders of Phanerogams (flowering plants), as well
as the higher orders of Vascular Cryptogams; and,
when this was made, we should find the fact very
evident, that in passing from the lowest to the
highest forms the ascent was so gradual as to
make it extremely difficult to draw the line of sepa-
ration between Phanerogams and Cryptogams, no
matter how widely-isolated specimens from each
might appear to differ.
The spores of ferns are to be looked for in most
species on the back or under side of the fronds, or,
in others, on more or less contracted and altered
fronds. When ripe, the spores will fall upon a
paper on which a fertile frond is left to dry. If
we select such a frond, and examine it with a
EHE-LIPFE OF A’ FERN, 3
pocket lens (one that will magnify eight or ten
diameters will answer), we shall generally find that
the spores fall from little cases (ssorangia), which
are collected in groups (sorus, pl. sorz). These
(see Pl. 5, Fig. 7) are usually on or at the termina--
tion of a little vein. Sometimes they are in circu-
lar patches on the vein, and unprotected by any
covering, as in Polypodium (P|. 5, Fig. 4); some-
times they are covered or protected by a little
membrane, which may be attached at the centre
as in Asfzdium (Pl. 5, Fig. 7), or on one side as in
Asplentum. Sometimes the cases are in lines
along the whole length of the vein, as in the Cali-
fornia Gold-Fern (Gymnogramme triangularis) (P1.
5, Pig. 8); or along the entire edge of the leaflet
(pinnule), as in Pzerzs (Pl. 5, Fig. 9); or, again, along
_the edge in detached groups, as in the Maiden-hair
(Adiantum). The sporangia of ferns are found to
have five quite distinct forms, upon which the
Orders are founded. With the largest order, the
Polypodiacee, the spore-cases are stalked, and have
around them a vertical ring of cells more elastic
than those of which the rest of the case is com-
posed (Pl. 5, Fig. 1). When the spores are ripe,
this ring contracts, rupturing the case, and allowing
the spores to be discharged into the air, where they
fly off like dust. The common Polypodium, Aspi-
dium, and Asplentum are illustrations. With the
Lygodiums and Anemzas the spore-cases are sessile
4 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
in rows, and are minute nut-like bodies, with the
elastic ring around the upper portion (PI. 5, Fig. 3).
With the Osmundas, again, the spore-cases are
stalked ; but the ring is represented by a rudiment
on one side only (Pl. 5, Fig. 5). With the Glezche-
nias, an order not represented by any native North-
American species, the ring is perfect, but passes
horizontally around the spore-case (Pl. 5, Fig. 2).
This order comprises many beautiful tropical ferns
of a climbing habit. With the MWZarattacee the
spores are in pod-like cases quite unlike those of
other ferns (Pl. 5, Fig. 6): in fact, the difference is
so great, that Sachs, in his “ Text-Book of Botany,”
contemplates their removal to a separate class by
themselves, although most of their characters
agree with the regular type. The Botrychiums
(Pl. 19) (Ophioglossacee) differ so much from ferns
in general, and it is so clear, as shown by Sachs,
that they belong to another class of plants, that we
will for the present pass them by, and consider
them at a later moment among the Fern Allies.
Among ferns of the various orders, the mode of
development from the spore is not always exactly
the same. There is not sufficient difference be-—
tween them, however, to prevent us from consider-
ing Pteris serrulata, the one we have chosen as an
example, to serve as an illustration of all. The
spores of ferns should usually be sown soon after
they are ripe. Some, however, are said to retain
THE LIFE OF A FERN. 5
their vitality for several years, as it has been found
possible to develop plants from the spores of her-
barium specimens. After the spores have been
placed in some suitable receptacle for a few days,
or perhaps weeks, a greenish scum will be noticed
covering the damp surface on which they have
been sown. This is the first stage of fern growth.
It occurs thus: The outer cell-wall (evospore) is rup-
tured by the moisture, and the cell-contents (exdo-
spore) protrude, and begin to divide, the division
forming new cells, which join themselves to the
first. A continuance of this process gives rise,
successively, to the various forms shown in PI.
3, Figs. 5-9, until bodies are produced which
are shown highly magnified in Figs. 10-14.
These little shield-shaped structures grow very
thickly together, and are attached to the earth,
or whatever substance they have taken to ger-
minate upon, by root hairs, —not true roots.
They rest -at such an angle here, that they be-
come imbricated, and, except that they are some-
what more erect, resemble in this arrangement
the scales on a butterfly’s wing, or the slates upon
a roof, The prothallus, as each of these bodies
is called, is composed of cells containing grains of
chlorophyll, which gives the whole its green color.
On the frothallus, projecting from the under side,
are the organs which are analogous to the stamens
and pistils of flowering plants. They are, I. The
6 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
antheridia, which are situated rather more than
half way between the little notch or sinus at the
upper edge of the prothallus and the lower edge.
They consist of cells more rounded than the rest,
and which contain still other and smaller cells.
Each of these last contains, in its turn, one spirally-
coiled anxtherozoid (see Pl. 3, Figs. 10-12). When
the axztherozoids are perfected, the enveloping cells
burst, and they are set free. They are the male
element, analogous to the pollen of flowers. II.
The archegonia, or those organs which are analo-
gous to the pistils of flowers with their ovaries,
are usually less numerous than the axtheridia, and
are situated nearer the sinus of the prothallus (PI.
3, Figs. 13-14). They consist of cells so arranged
as to form a tube around a central cell, which is
called the odsphere, and is the point to be fertilized
and produce the plant-bud. The outer end of the
tube remains open till fertilization has taken place,
after which it closes. In the particular species
we have chosen for observation, the aztheridia
and archegonia are usually on the same prothallus :
but in some species the male and female organs
are on different prothall:; or, at least, not per-
fected at the same time on the same one. This
renders cross-fertilization occasionally necessary
in this class of plants, and shows the possibility
of finding hybrid ferns, of which, as stated in the
next chapter, our Asplenium ebenoides is by many
THE LIFE OF A FERN. 7
authors supposed to be an example. However
the case may be, the aztherozoids find their way
at last to the entrance of the tubes of the arche-
gonia, and force themselves in and down to the
odspheres, which thus are fertilized. The true
growth of the fern, as we see it, now begins
from the fertilized odsphere. The roots are
formed, and pass downward ; the leaf-bud assumes
shape, and, being partially inverted, curves upward,
taking its natural position, as shown in PI, 3,
Figs. 15-18. Thecentral portion of the prothallus,
where the plant-bud starts, grows thicker than the
portion nearer the edge, where there is hardly
more than one tier of cells. This thickened part
is by some authors called the cushion. In some
ferns the antheridial cells are found on the outer
portion of the prothallus, forming projections
there. With the Filmy Ferns (ymenophyllacee)
the structure and mode of growth is in many ways
different from these sketched, affording resem-
blances to certain genera among the mosses. Al-
though there may be several archegonia on each
prothallus, it rarely happens that more than one
of them is fertilized: therefore but one plant is
usually produced from a single spore. Professor
W. G. Farlow has discovered that there is also a
reproduction by a sort of budding process, which
sometimes takes place on the frvothalli of ferns,
and is analogous to the office of buds on the
8 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
leaves of Begonia and Lryophyllum, as alluded to
hereafter. This discovery was described to the
Linnzean Society of London, in 1874, in a paper —
there read by Professor Farlow. In “Ferns, Brit-.
ish and Foreign,” by John Smith, London, 1866,
is the following interesting paragraph: ‘ Another
point of some practical importance is, that, in
general, only a single plant-bud is formed on each
prothalliium. This may be supposed to be owing
to the vital function of the prothallium not being
able to support more, —in that respect analogous
to only one ovulum being fertilized in the ovaries
of many flowering plants. Admitting that, then
how are we to explain, that, in removing the plant-
bud, a new bud is formed, and that even as many
as eight or ten have been obtained from prothallia
of Hymenophyllum crinitum, each of which by
proper care becomes a plant? ‘Then, again, experi
ments have shown that by dividing the prothallium
from the base upwards, with a sharp instrument,
into two or even four parts, each produces a plant-
bud. Seeing this, it is reasonable to infer that
prothallia have the power of producing plant-buds
analogous to the leaves of Begonias and other
plants ; but whether such is the case, or each bud
is the result of the action of spermatozoids upon
latent archegonia, is not known.”
To those who are in haste to cultivate ferns,
either in the greenhouse, fernery, or out of doors,
NS) \
\ Ws
= a
a
s)
Na
RAS
GES
FERNERY OUT OF DOORS.
PLATE I.
THE LIFE OF A FERN. 9
it may seem like dry work to linger in a careful
study of their structure, growth, or habits. But
to do good work in any thing, it is, as a rule,
better to be well grounded at the outset in the
fundamental principles of the subject. The culti-
vation of ferns is no exception to this statement.
In order to know the proper size and shape of pan
into which a fern should be placed, it is quite
- important to understand the habit of the plant, —
whether the roots are inclined to strike deeply into
the ground from an erect stem, as in Lomaria
gibba, or to spread laterally from a much-forked
rhizome below the surface, as in Prerts agutlina, or
to only penetrate slightly into the soil from a rhi-
zome creeping over the surface. So let us consider
the various parts of the fern as it grows.
If ahealthy specimen of one of the Maiden-hair
ferns, growing in a pot, be inverted and carefully
slipped out, it will be noticed, that, at the end of
each of the little black, wire-like roots, there will
be a portion, some two millimetres in length,
which is light in color; indeed, almost white. The
extreme tip of this appears brownish if examined
with a pocket lens. An enlarged view of a section
through the centre of a root-tip will be found Pl. 5,
Fig. 11; and it will be seen that the browner
portion, a, at the extremity, is composed of closer
and tougher cells than the rest. It is, in fact, a
cap; which, like the bark of a tree, grows and
10 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
increases from within, and is continually worn
away on the outside as it is pushed ahead by the
lengthening of the root. The lightest portion of
the figure marked 0c represents the true root; and
the longitudinal growth takes place between the
points 6 and ¢, this portion being the only part of
the root capable of absorbing much nourishment.
This absorption occurs through the outer cells and
root-hairs. The darker parts of the roots do not
continue to lengthen,—a fact obvious after a
moment’s thought; as, if they did, the whole mass
of roots would become tangled and knotted, and
healthy circulation made impossible for the matter
which is absorbed at the tips. Now, it will be
seen how injurious it must be to roughly tear up,
or pull to pieces, the mass of roots, when we are
removing or transplanting ferns. These remarks
may be applied as well to other plants; for it can
be understood that if the only living portion of
the root, so to speak, be torn off, the plant is
again reduced to the condition of an ordinary
fresh cutting, which has again to go through the
process of forming roots. The two extreme forms
of the stem, or 7izzome, in ferns, may be illustrat-
ed by Plerts aquilina (Pl. 5, Fig. 10) and any tree-
fern (Pl. 7). The former apparently throws up
its fronds here and there separately from some
invisible point: the latter regularly unfolds its
crown from immediately within the circle of fronds
last unfolded.
THE LIFE OF A FERN. II
If we carefully (every thing in the study of
ferns must.be done with care) dig up, in August,
a plant of Pteris aguilina, we shall find, that,
beyond the base of the fronds perfected the pres-
iaeeceason (sce 2, in Pl. 5, Fig. 10), there is
a short, woolly-covered, rudimentary frond (0),
which, if nicely dissected, will be found to have
the beginning of the portion which is to expand
next ‘season closely folded over on its summit.
Still farther on, along the underground stem, we
shall discover at its extreme end (marked c) the
rudiment of the frond for the third season, which
is not to see the light for two years. At d is the
continuation of the rhizome: in nature the stem
will be more extended than in the figure, as the
distances between the fronds will be proportionally
greater. If we examine the crown of a tree-fern,
or Aspidium spinulosum, or A. marginale, we shall
find circle within circle of little heads, the rudi-
mentary fronds for succeeding years. As the
outermost of these develop year by year; fresh
ones are formed at the centre to keep up the
supply. If we now imagine the tree-fern laid
upon its side just beneath the surface of the
ground, .and its crown turned up at the end so as
to allow the fronds to assume an erect position,
we shall have something very much like the As-
pidtum, or perhaps more like a Struthiopteris. To
follow out the comparison still more, it is only
12 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS,
necessary to imagine that the crown, instead of
being turned to an erect position, still remains
upon its side, and that the fronds only become
erect as they develop. We shall then have a-
plant of the character of Asplentum filixfemina,
or Woodwardia Virginica; and, to connect these
ferns with the extreme form of the Péervis, it will
be only necessary to suppose the loose crown of
the Woodwardia so elongated that only one frond
will be found to every inch of stem, and the
terminal point of growth to keep at a given dis- —
tance below the surface of the ground. The
importance of observation and the possession of
knowledge upon these subjects is very great; as
will be found when ferns are to be collected in
the woods or fields for transplanting, or specimens
are to be chosen from the greenhouse for the
fernery, or especially when the species for basket
culture are to be selected.
The leaves or fronds of ferns vary greatly in
texturé and cutting. Familiarity with their tex-
ture will greatly aid the cultivator in determining
the situation in which a new-comer must be placed
when its proper natural surroundings are not al-
ready known. If a bit of the under cuticle of a
frond be examined by the microscope with a
power of fifty to one hundred diameters, the stoma-
ta or breathing-pores will be seen. They are the
same as upon the leaves of flowering plants, and
THE LIFE OF A FERN. 3
according to their greater or less number will the
fern require a moister or dryer atmosphere. Should
the air of the fern-house or case become too dry,
and the plant be insufficiently watered, the evapo-
ration of water from the stomata will exceed the
supply from the earth, and the fronds will soon
become wilted. If a fern of less active habit be
placed in too moist an atmosphere, and too pro-
fusely watered, it will not endure the wrong condi-
tion, but mould and die. Some ferns, however,
possess the power of enduring great extremes of
moisture and drought. Such is the case with
many of our South-western species, where, in the
dry season, the fronds curl up, and remain in that
condition till again revived in the wet months by
the rain. Their roots doubtless penetrate deeply
into the crevices of the rocks where the plants
grow; and great vitality is retained in the crown
from which the fronds spring, and which, like the
fronds themselves, is often protected by a dense
coat of soft scales. The two species Chezlanthes
lanuginosa (P|. 10) and Wotholena dealbata (Pl. 2)
are examples of this habit.
The writer received from a friend a plant of
Cryptogramme crispa, which had been collected in
California two months before. No pains had been
taken to preserve the roots; there was no earth
with it; nor had the plant received a drop of
water during the entire time which it had spent
14 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
in travelling about the country ina trunk. From~
curiosity, the little crown of this fern was planted ;
and it was matter of great surprise that in a
few weeks it developed several fronds. In cul-
tivation, all ferns of this habit require special
treatment.
The frond of a fern represents something more
than the ordinary leaf of a plant. Often the
merest rudiments only of the leaflets (fzuu@) are
to be found in the young frond just unfolding;
while, as the frond unrolls, they develop and grow
to their perfect shape. Under favorable circum-
stances, the frond of some species seems capable
of indefinite development, as in Wephrolepis exal-
tata, and, again, there is in some genera (G/lezche-
nia, for example) a tendency. to a dichotomous
(forking) growth, which is often repeated from
the same frond during a second season. Another
remarkable feature of the fronds of some ferns is
the development of viviparous buds, either from
the under side, as in Cystopterts bulbifera, or
above, as in Asplenium bulbiferum. In Cystopteris
these bulblets fall off and grow during the second
season; but in most species which have vivipa-
rous bulbs they remain attached to the frond, and
develop several leaves while still drawing their
nourishment from the parent frond. This habit
has a parallel in nearly all plants, from the lowest
Alge to the highest Phanerogams. It might be
ee ee) -_ ‘al
a) ’ .
— \ =
c
THE LIFE OF A FERN. 15
illustrated by the Zodspores or swarm-spores of
the lower Alg@, as-in Conferva, the common
_green scum seen in stagnant water; or the ¢etra-
spores of the /loridee, seaweeds of a higher grade.
The gemme of the Hepatice and Mosses represent
the same thing: in these the little seed-like buds
are scattered, and reproduce the species which
bore them, without any fertilization whatever.
The Lycopodiums supply instances of this same
phenomenon, and it is of quite common occur-
rence among flowering plants. [Illustrations are
found in Begonia and Bryophyllum, and particu-
larly in the familiar bulblets of the Tiger-Lily,
which are found at the base of each leaf, and are
to be considered as detached axillary buds con-
densed in form as they are separated from the
plant. |
A farinaceous substance, white or yellow,. is
sometimes developed on the under side of some
ferns, and, in one or two varieties, on the other
side also. It is often thick enough to cover and
hide the fruit. This gives the popular names
“Gold” and “Silver” ferns to such species. It
occurs most frequently with Gymnogramme and
Notholena (see Pl. 2). Occasionally upon the
same plant of G. calomelanos will be found some
fronds with white, and others with yellow farina.
All plants of this habit should be carefully kept
out of the way of dripping water, and should not
16 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
be syringed, as this will destroy their beautiful
appearance. :
We now come to consider the fruit, which
brings us around to the point from which we
started. The spore-cases, as we have seen, vary
in size and shape; but in all instances they arise
from the outer layer of cells of the frond upon
which they are borne. They hence represent
what Sachs calls trichomes (hairs), being developed
in the same manner from the external layer of cells
as are the hairs on the root, stem, leaves, &c.,
of plants. If a careful examination be made, with
the aid of a pocket lens, of a collection of spore-
cases on the back of a frond, there will frequently
be found among them some which have not devel-
oped, and are still only hairs, sometimes jointed
and club-shaped at the end. The condition of the
frond on which the fruit is borne being changed
from that of the sterile one, it would naturally
result that the development of leaf-tissue would be
sacrificed to produce the vast quantity of sora
which most ferns have; and accordingly we find
that the fertile fronds are usually distinguishable
from the sterile ones, as being more contracted.
To such an extent is this contraction carried, that
we finally see the entire leafy portion disappear,
and the fertile frond consist of a mass of spore-
cases, connected and held together by the veins
of the frond only, as in Osmunda,; or by the small-
*
PLATE II.
NOTHOLANA DEALBATA, KUNZE.
18 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
Table to show the position occupied by FERNS in the
classification of Plants.
Dicotyledons (Roses, Oaks, Composites, &c.).
Phanerogams + Monocotyledons (Lilies, Palms, Grasses, &c.).
\ Gymnosperms (Pines, Spruces, Cycads, &c.).
: Selaginella.
Lycopodiacez . Lycopodium. -
Isoétes.
Heterosporous
Rhizocarpee . Npraiers
Salvinia.
Botrychium.
Ophioglossum.
Isosporous . 4 Equisetacee . { Equisetum.
Polypodium.
Aspidium, &c.
Vascular Cryp-
tozgams
Ophioglossaceze
FILICES
Musci
&c., &c.
Marchantia.
Jungermannia,
&e., &c.
Muscinesze oe e °
Hepaticze
Characeze sos eats . { Characeze
[Myxomycetes.]
Truffles.
Mushrooms.
Toadstools.
Wheat-smut.
Potato-rot.
Mildew.
Seaweeds.
Algz . , 4 Confervas.
Desmids.
| Diatoms.
Fungi
Thallophytes . ° °
|
|
CHAPTER II.
CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS.
ia,N order that we may better understand the
j| position occupied by the ferns in the clas-
sification of the vegetable kingdom, let
us examine the table which precedes this chapter,
and in which the groups, classes, and orders will
be found carried out in the several columns. The
arrangement is taken chiefly from Sachs’ invalu-
able work, “A Text-Book of Botany.” The low-
est vegetable forms are at the bottom of the page;
and, as we ascend, we reach the higher ones. The
column at the left contains the great groups, P/a-
nerogams, Vascular Cryptogams, &c.; that is, the
plants contained in these groups have sufficient -
differences to make it proper to arrange them in
this manner. [or instance, we can say that all
Thallophytes possess characters which relate them
to each other ; while none of them have woody bun-
dles, a character which distinguishes Vascular Cryp-
togams from the groups below them, and is com.
19
20 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
mon to all the divisions of Vascular Cryptogams.
Again: it will be seen that there are differences
between the Cryptogams themselves (the four lower
groups), as great as the differences between C7yp-
togams and Phanerogams : i.e., a toadstool (one of |
Bitteav hallophytes) is as much below a Polypodium
as the Polypodium is below a sunflower (one of the
Phanerogams).
In the second column we find the various cee
into which the groups are divided. About mid-
way in this column we find the ferns (Fé/ices) as a
division of the Vascular Cryptogams. It will be
noticed that with the ferns, under the heading
Tsosporous, are the Eguisetacee and Ophioglossacee.
This signifies that these three clusters of plants
produce but one sort of spores; which fact dis-
tinguishes them from the Lycopodiacee and Rhtz0-
carpee, which produce two sorts, male and female, —
and are denominated /Yeterosporous. The Lycopods
and Rhzzocarps are thus more like the Phanerogams
or flowering plants, which have pollen, the male,
and an ovule, the female, element. Again: the
ferns have upon their leaves stomata (breathing-
pores), as do the flowering plants: hence they
must be placed in advance of the mosses and
Fungt, as these latter never have such organs.
Between the Characee and Fungi will be found in
brackets the W/yxomycetes. These are plants hav-
ing somewhat the character of Fungi, which flour-
——————«,
CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 2a
ish upon old rotten logs, tan, &c. They have a
peculiar jelly-like form, and are capable of slow
motion, absorbing their nourishment, as they pro-
ceed, from the substance on which they live. They
are not yet well enough understood to be definitely
placed in the system of classification. Passing to
the Fungi and Algae, we observe that these.are two
classes of plants possessing certain parallel char-
acters of development: thus the lower A/ge have
certain characters in common with the lower Fung ;
while the higher Fungi and Alg@, though vastly
more developed than the lower ones, have similar
features, each to each. This relates particularly
to their methods of producing fruit. It has there-
fore been proposed that they should be considered
to be two groups, parallel and equally advanced,
called the colored (AZg@) and the colorless (Fuzgz).
This brings us to the Lzchens, which unite the last
two groups in their organization.
The Lzchens are now considered by the most emi-
nent botanists to belong rather to the /wxg7 than
to any other class. Their nature is thus stated by
Sachs: ‘There can no longer be any doubt that
the lichens are true fungi, but distinguished by a
singular parasitism. Their hosts are algz, which
grow normally in damp places, but not actually in
water. The fungi (the lichen-forming fungi) them-
selves are not found in any other form than as
parasites on alge; while the algz which are at-
22 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
tacked by them are known in the free condition
without the fungus.” Nothing more than this |
clear statement is needed to explain the position
of these plants. ,
As most books now in use pass hastily over the
Ophioglossace@, and place them at the end of
the list of ferns, it may be well to ask what are the
differences between this order and the true ferns.
They are placed in a division by themselves, as
equal in value to the ferns, and in some directions
are more highly developed than the Lauzsetacea,
which follow them in the list. First, the Aguzz-
setaceé and Ophioglossaceé all have their mode of
vernation identical with that of Phanerogams ; 1.e.,
they all come up straight from the ground; while all
ferns are ctrcivate, or unroll from the base upward.
Again: the fruit of the Ophioglossaceeé arises from
the transformation of leaf-tissue; while in the
ferns it is an outgrowth from the leaf. Other
characters of root, bud, and mode of reproduction,
which need only this allusion here, combine with
those described to show that the Ophzoglossacee
are in advance of the Eguzsetacee and the ferns.
Glancing at the third column in the table, it
may be noted, that of the Vascular Cryptogams,
Muscinee and Charace@, the principal genera are
given ; while among the Phanerogams and Thallo-
phytes only enough examples are given to enable
the reader to understand the divisions. We have
7
CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 23
sufficiently discussed the arrangement to see that
ferns belong to the zsospforous division of the group
of Vascular Cryptogams. They have, therefore, but
one spore, and possess woody bundles in their
tissue. And, as we have examined the growth of
a fern in Chapter I., we have also discovered that
ferns have a visible alternation of generations, as
it is called. This means that they are not directly
produced from the seed as are flowering plants,
but their fertilization takes place by means of free
moving bodies (antherozoids) upon minute shield-
like structures (prothalli), which were themselves
developed directly from the spore, without any
fertilization having taken place.
We now come to look more closely at the ferns
themselves. The class Fzlzces is divided into
orders, genera, and species. This suggests a pro-
found question, which has puzzled wiser heads
than will ever trouble themselves to read this
book, and one which has been discussed by Dar-
win, Huxley, and almost every eminent scientist
in the world: What is a sfeczes? As it is the
unit by which we count in studying any classifica-
tion, we need to understand it as clearly as possi-
ble. Smith, in his “ Historia Filicum,” London,
1875, says, “The difficulty of defining a species
becomes evident on taking a view of the numerous
forms which connect one species with another.
It will be found beyond human power to ascertain
24 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
whether the several gradations of allied forms are .
descendants of primitive specific creations, or are,
according to the Darwinian theory of the ‘origin
of species,’ only derivations from primordial crea-
tions endowed with a protean principle which
becomes manifest during the lapse of ages, and
controlled by the different climatic and local influ-
ences under which the progeny of the original
have become established, and which now form the
flora of the earth.”
The definition given of a species, “a collection
of individuals identical one with another, and
capable of reproducing their like from age to age,”
is quite in contrast with what has just been quoted.
Therefore, when we find that “doctors disagree,”
it does not require much courage to say of a
species that it is to be treated as genera, orders,
and classes have long been, and is what we choose
to make it; and also that the best way to decide
upon the merits of any one case is to accept the
judgment of the most eminent authors who may
have given special study to its forms as to what
the limits of the species shall be. Let us there-
fore, for convenience’ sake, consider that a species
is a collection of individuals varying but slightly
one from another, and capable of producing their
like; and that the limits of the species shall be
according to the best judgment of those having
the advantage of the most specimens for compari-
FERN GROWTH.
LC Trs>.8
oo See,
TLD
OK
JSR te
4ea-Be
on
vs
ee
Sy
PRA AH
- aff.
rH cry
s
Yarn
PLATE III.
= «
& ate r 1%
Baer
Be | CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 25,
son; and, lastly, that it is as yet but a group of
-__ individuals placed together for convenience in ar-
ranging a systematic classification of the whole..
_-_ Taking an average among authors, we may say
that there are 2,500 species of ferns. Hooker’s
ae Synopsis Filicum,” in its first edition, gives 2,228
____ Species: in the second, by Baker in 1874, there
_-_ are mentioned 2,646. Linnzus knew but 190
“species. }
_ These species are united, according to various
authors, into genera, which number from eleven
___ to two hundred and thirty, as follows :—
b. Ee TY
: Pies .. : : : ; ; ; 2 AO
. Fée(iss52) . P - : : : SER IOE
Moore (1857) . ; : ‘ ‘ é en oe
z Seoker and Baker (1874) -.. «> . +. 76
J. Smith (1875) : : : : ; beg ae 8)
There is much to be said against multiplying
species ; but it is certainly fair to admit with Smith
that it is easier to remember six or eight genera,
each containing fifty species, than to carry in the
mind the four hundred and forty-eight species of
Polypodium as given by Hooker and Baker in
1874. The various genera are constructed upon
the different modes of fruiting, and the position of
the fruit upon the frond: as, for instance, whether
or not there be a covering (zzdustum) to protect
the spore-cases; whether the fruit be at the middle
26 - FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
or termination of a vein, &c. These genera are
again united into orders, based upon the form of
the spore-case and the position of the ring of cells
which is found upon most sporangia. Hooker
(“Synopsis Filicum’’), the authority most frequent-
ly quoted, has five orders, or sub-orders, as, accord-
ing to his mode of dividing, they become. Aside
from the Ophzoglossums, they run thus : —
(Ring horizontal) I. Gleicheniaceze (2 gen., 24 sp.)
(Ring vertical) II. Polypodiacez (13 tribes) (59 gen., 2,098 sp.)
(Ring at one side) III. Osmundaceze (2 gen., Io sp.)
(Ring apical) IV. Schizzaceze (5 gen., 60 sp.)
(No ring) V. Marattiaceze (4 gen., 20 sp.)
This very unequal division gives the Polypodiacee
five-sixths of all the genera and twenty-six twenty-
sevenths of all the species. ‘Hooker and Baker
also divide the genera into tribes, and in the large
genera distribute the species among sections or
sub-genera.
Smith, in the “ Historia Filicum,” divides the
ferns thus: I. Hremobria, those ferns whose fronds
are articulated along a creeping stem, and break
off, leaving a scar, like the leaves of deciduous trees
in autumn (example, Polypodium) ; II. Desmobria,
' ferns whose fronds remain attached, and are pro-
duced from a crown (Aspidium) ; and, III. Scapho-
brya, fronds terminal, rising from between two
appendages, and articulated with the caudex (Ma-
vatttza). Those sections he then subdivides into
CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 27
twenty-nine tribes, arranged according to natural
characteristics, and broken up into two hundred
and twenty genera. Although this arrangement
is very little in use, the division of species in it is
much more equal and less artificial than the other
system, and is to be strongly commended. Mr.
Smith’s long service at Kew Gardens, where he
had under his care and constant observation some-
times a thousand species of ferns, and where he
had the use of the largest herbarium of ferns in
the world, gives his opinion great weight.
Sachs, complaining of the artificial manner in
which the /z/ices are divided by various authors,
proposes a classification in which the ymenophyl-
lacee (Filmy Ferns and Bristle Ferns) shall be
placed at the bottom, instead of the middle of the
list as with most authors, because these are ferns
peculiar for their small size and thin fronds, and
are more nearly related to the mosses than are other
ferns. _ His orders are, — }
I. Hymenophyllacee. 4. Osmundacee.
_ 2. Gleicheniacee. 5. Cyatheacee.
3. Schizeacee. 6. Polypodiacez.
Maratttacee, included in Hooker’s classification,
he says should, on account of the formation of its
fruit, be placed beside the Lguzsetacee and the
Ophioglossacee.
We have now learned what place ferns occupy
in a general classification of plants, and how they
2 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
are themselves divided into species. Now, the
species are again divided into varieties. Where
there does not seem to be sufficient reason to
make a separate species for it, the new fern to be
described is placed as a variety of some already
existing species. Here authors differ as much as
anywhere else. Forinstance, Hooker, in ‘Synopsis
Filicum,” unites under Ophioglossum nudicaule six
species of other authors, he considering them vari-
eties only. Besides the ordinary varieties found
in nature, the desire for new ferns has given
rise to an enormous number of cultivated or gar-
den varieties. These are “sports” from plants,
carefully preserved and perpetuated by nursery-
men and gardeners. A few among these are
perhaps beautiful or curious; but the great majori-
ty are horrible deformities of the original species
from which they started, and serve no useful
purpose whatever, except perhaps to prove how
much a species may be made to vary in a short
time, and to compare this with what might be ©
done in one of the earth’s great periods. The
writer has before him the catalogue of a dealer
who advertises fifty-one varieties of Asplentum
Filix-femina! Cooke, in his little book, “A
Fern Book for Everybody,” remarks that some
painstaking people have hunted up and. described
eighty-five varieties of Scolopendrium vulgare, —
“Jove’s labor lost,” or at least fearfully wasted.
CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 29
Some of these cultivated varieties are so different
from their progenitors, that even the gexus to
which they are supposed to belong is with difficulty
suspected. It is as if we were to encourage and
produce a quantity of malformed dogs and cats,
or children it may be, and revel in their hideous
shapes and disguised forms. The writer may be
influenced by prejudice against this sort of cul-
ture; but it seems to him like trifling with the
good and beautiful gifts which Nature has _be-
stowed.
There may be hybrids among ferns. Asplentum
ebenotdes is Supposed by some authors to be one.
If it is, it is the result of the prothallus of one
species being fertilized by the antherozoids of
another species, or even genus. ‘This is not
impossible; as it is shown that sometimes a pro-
thallus cannot be fertilized within itself, and there-
fore it must be that the antherozoids reach it from
another. Should they come from the prothallus
of another species, a hybrid would be the conse-
quence; if from that of the same species, it would
be an example of cross-fertilization only, and in-
teresting to Mr. Darwin.
If this chapter has not produced utter confusion
in the reader’s mind, it may have sufficiently indi-
cated the confusion and discord in botanical classi-
fication; so that it may be understood that the
name of a fern, as indicating its rank and place, is
30 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
not the work of a superior intelligence, but only
the imperfect work of man to aid him in his
endeavors to classify the productions of nature in
the most natural way. Here we are led to speak
of what is called syzonymy. It is evident, that as
authors differ in their arrangement and names of —
species, genera, orders, &c., so they differ in the
names applied to the same ferns. If several
botanists obtain and describe the same fern, inde-
pendently of each other, each will give it a differ-
ent name, and these names will be called synxonymes.
This has been done for so long and so often, that
we sometimes have a dozen names for the same
fern. A good illustration of this point may be
found in Eaton’s “Ferns of North America,”
Part II., where Polypodium lanosum, Acrostichum
hispidum, Adiantum vestitum, Aspidium lanosum,
&c., are mentioned as having been given from time
to time, by different authors, to our common Cher-
lanthes vestita. Taking into consideration the
various ways in which the names and position of
a species may be changed, and the various places
in which it may be found in the books which he
consults, it is no wonder that the young botanist
is frequently confused and discouraged.
GHAPTER IIT.
DISTRIBUTION AND NOMENCLATURE OF FERNS.
tal page 128 of Dana’s “Manual of Geolo-
“| gy” is a very simple diagram, which well
illustrates the antiquity, development, and
comparative abundance of ferns in the geologic
periods of the earth. As that will teach us, ferns
are first found in the Devonian, or Age of Fishes.
Their number increases rapidly from that time,
until, in the Carboniferous Period, they reach
their highest point in structure, quantity, and size.
In the epochs which follow they are slowly re-
duced in number, until the Age of Man, when we
find them as they are now, with no apparent
change since prehistoric days. From what this
record shows us, we are led to look at the condi-
tions under which ferns attained their greatest
perfection. According to Dana, these were “a
moist, warm climate,” with ‘less sunshine,” since
there “was a very much larger evaporation than
now;” ‘a climate insular throughout,” with
31
32 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OORS,
“fewer storms than at present,” and “a less rapid
movement of general circulation,” with “an excess
of carbonic acid in the atmosphere.” Now, this is
just the climate which we seek to create in our
hot-houses, except that we do not increase the
usual percentage of carbonic acid. If we look
over the earth for the nearest approach to the cli-
mate of the Carboniferous Period which Nature at
present exhibits, we discover it on some of the
tropical islands ; and here, as might be expected,
are the finest ferns, and in the greatest variety.
Smith gives the following numbers of species
for different localities : —
ISLANDS.
Ceylon 0 a oes Ny oe
Mauritius . ; ‘ ° Bae ae
Avan : : : ; ; Rapier ee Re So
Philippines . : ° : : ne AS ee
ee : : ° a, OS ee
British West fidies : : : :SS4p Sa
MAIN LAND WITH SIMILAR CLIMATE,
Brazil ; : : ; : ; . 387 species.
Parts of India . ‘ : : a aE Ot
Isthmus of Panama . : : < SE Poe
Tropical America >.) >. 7) * =) eee ee
Contrast with these —
North America, north of Mexico . I50 species.
All Europe. ; ‘ : AT? 09 LIKE A
Asia Minor and Sere 3 2 eee 2 Bei
Arctic Zone : , d : Fen Rie
PLATE LV.
(
PELLAA DENSA, Hook.
_ DISTRIBUTION OF FERNS. a.
The Tree-Ferns are all found in tropical or sub-
tropical countries.
It is difficult to ascertain exactly how the ferns
of the various countries of the globe compare in
quantity with the other plants of the same dis-
tricts; but it is safe to say that the proportion of
ferns in quantity is larger as the proportion in
number of species increases. The following gives
some idea of the ratio of the number of species of
ferns to that of flowering plants : —
Jamaica. : . I fern to 8 flowering plants.
New Guinea. ; ad. 4 = oe
Tropical America . af 35 . ee
Portugal : : as ie %
Greece . 2 <5 227 fg bas
U. S., east of the Mis-
apo. CC $s +46 be ES
The great majority of ferns are perennial. Only
a few are annual; Gymnogramme leptophylla, C.
cherophylla, and Ceratopteris thalictrotdes being
examples. The latter is also aguatic, —almost
the only fern that is so, —for it grows in shallow
water, with the sterile fronds floating on the sur-
face of the stream.
Many ferns, instead of growing in the earth
in the usual way, force their roots deeply into
the crevices of rocks; as, Votholena (Pl. 2), Pel-
lea (Pl. 4), &c. Still others, as Vettarta and
Nephrolepis, are epiphytic, growing upon trees,
34 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
although they receive no nourishment from this
source. In England, and some parts of this coun-
try, the common Polypodium has the same habit;
but in the Eastern United States the moisture
of the atmosphere is insufficient to enable it to
do so.
Ferns vary in size, from the smallest species
of TZrichomanes to the huge Tree-Ferns.
\
~ "
FERNERIES OUT OF DOORS. 55
An old division-fence, where, on the other side, |
the land was two feet higher than our own, had
long given much trouble by settling out of line.
-_ To remedy this, a rough wall of stone, an abun-
dant material on the spot, was made about two
feet in front of the fence, and the space between
filled with good loam and leaf-mould well mixed.
As the rocks were loosely piled together, the earth
found its way among them, filling the wide crev-
ices like so many diminutive pockets. After the
fence was re-set, a row of tall ferns, as Struthzop-
teris, Osmunda, Asplenium filixfamina, &c., were
planted on the terrace just made, and smaller
species were established on its edge at the feet
of the larger ones. The pockets were filled with
strong plants of Asplentum Trichomanes, A. ebe-
neum, Polypodium Phegopteris, Polypodium Dryop-
teris, and P. vulgare. At the base of the wall
more of the larger-growing species were planted,
including Aspidium acrostichoides, Dicksonia, and
Adiantum. At either end of the wall, which was
thirty feet in length, the rocks were piled up, and
brought farther out into the garden and higher
than the others; care being taken to have plenty
of earth in the crevices, and also to slope the struc-
ture so as to preclude the possibility of the whole
falling down after the first season. At one end,
on the mound of rocks, grows a small tree of the
Pseudacacia viscosa, which shades the only sunny
56 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
-spot ; and at the other is an old peach-tree. Asso-
ciated with the ferns are C/inztonza, several species
of violets, Hepatica triloba, and a splendid clump
of Cypripedium spectabile. Opposite the terrace, _
across a gravelled walk, are more ferns, and a
number of native plants. Very little care is re- ©
quired to insure a thrifty growth. In fact, the
only necessary thing is to sprinkle the whole once
a day, in dry weather, from the hose attached to a
private hydrant near by. Were not the water-
supply so conveniently placed, any of the hand-
sprinklers would answer, —even a watering-pot ;
the only disadvantage of the latter being the labor
required to lift and use it.
There is, of course, no limit to the expensive
and beautiful effects which the wealthy cultivator
may command. But this little book is not pub-
lished to furnish a cuide to such extensive works
in horticulture as are indulged in across the water :
it would rather suggest the simpler and less costly
methods of cultivating ferns. Another thing
must be constantly borne in mind: our climate
in North America, especially in New England,
the Middle States, and westward, prevents our
applying to the out-door culture of ferns the
suggestions of many valuable English treatises,
which are of service only in the mild insular
climate of that favored country. Even the hardi-
est ferns require here more shade in summer, and
PLATE VII. DICKSONIA ANTARCTICA, LABILL.
(From plant six feet high.)
FERNERIES OUT OF DOORS. 57
more protection in winter. Shirley Hibberd, in
that delightful book “The Fern Garden,” describes
_ his own out-door fernery. It is a beautiful “ruin,”
built’ of durrs from the brick-yard: its walls are
all double, so that the earth may reach down to
the ground-line from all the summits and pockets
of the structure. Specimens of Preris agutlina,
which with us rarely exceed four feet in height,
grow about this fernery to ten feet above the soil ;
and in his “‘cold”’ house, “ with the occasional help
-of an oil-stove, every thing is kept safely through
the cold snaps till the weather changes.” In this
house, without heating-apparatus, he succeeds
finely with such ferns as Woodwardia radicans,
Aspidium falcatum, Pteris Cretica (variety albo-
lineata); Davallia Canariensis, Adiantum formo-
sum, Platyceritum alcicorne, and many others which
with us could only be considered inhabitants of
the temperate house, which must be heated artifi-
cially at least for six months in the year, or the
in-doors fernery.
There have been so few attempts with us’ to
cultivate foreign or distant American ferns, that
it is difficult to extend the list of ferns for the out-
door collection beyond the common species which
are enumerated at the close of this chapter. With
as many charming native and foreign plants as we
shall find available, it would be absurd to confine
this collection to ferns. One of the most graceful
58 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
plants obtainable in moist woodlands is the Lguz-
setum sylvaticum ; but, although this has been long
cultivated in Europe, it is seldom met with here in _
a collection of native plants. Sangutnaria Cana-
dense (bloodroot), Hepatica, nearly all the violets,
Sedum acre, Arisema triphyllum (wild turnip),
Podophyllum peltatum (mandrake), several of the
Trilliums, the Pogonatums and Smilacinas, the
Anemones, Clintonia borealis, and many other
charming native plants, grow well among the
ferns, some of them blooming before the fern-
fronds are large enough to overshadow them. We
may even have the pleasure of blossoming the
exquisite little C/laytonza (spring beauty) in the
out-door fernery. On the upper rocks the saxi-
frage will flourish ; and, among the foreign plants
which may be introduced among the ferns, Lysz-
machia nummularia (money-wort) and Vzuca (peri-
winkle) are valuable. In bringing the plants from
the woods to the garden, it will be well to remove
plenty of earth with them: and this will be the
source of many pleasant little surprises ; for during
the second season many small plants, which were
unnoticed or mere seedlings at the time of trans-
planting, will make their appearance in this soil.
In this way the writer has found introduced into
his fernery Potentilla, blackberry-vines, Anemone
nemorosa, Smilacina bifolia, and other excellent
additions to the collection. Of ccurse, by the
FERNERIES OUT OF DOORS. 59
Same process are continually being brought in
new forms of Lrechthites (fire-weed) and the
ubiquitous /Vabalus, and the asters and golden-
rods will overtop the minor plants; but these can
be weeded out or pruned, so that to bring a large
_mass of earth with every fern-root will be, on the
whole, beneficial. Many of the mosses, particularly
the Hypuums, will grow in the crevices and among
the rocks, although it will be difficult to preserve
them during a dry summer. Among the prettiest
(and the commonest too) are Hypnum splendens,
FT. molluscum, HT. tamariscinum, H. cupresstforme,
Bartramtia pomiformis, Polytrichum commune, sev-
eral species of Bryum and Dicranum, and the
annual /unaria hygrometrica. Among the Hepat-
wc@, the Marchantia polymorpha, with its little
umbrella-like fruiting, is very attractive, and can
be easily grown in a damp place.
Among the shrubs which will .endure a)
shade, and serve themselves to produce still more
for the ferns, some may be chosen to add to the
collection. The Magnolia glauca and Kalmia
latifolia, although difficult to establish, when once
well rooted, will repay many former failures. The
flowering dogwood (Cornus Florzda) and the spice-
bark (Laurus Benzoin) are very charming plants,
and sometimes grow into trees of moderate size.
The woodbine (Ampelopsis quinquefolia) and the
wild clematis (Clematis Virgintana) are invaluable
60 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
for draping and concealing the fences and out-
buildings of the town garden, and in the country
are no less an addition to the fernery, where
they will climb gracefully over some old stump
introduced for the purpose, or along the rude
stones of the rock-work which supports the ferns.
The natural soil of the place where a fernery is
to be established may be unsuitable for these
plants, and it may be necessary to prepare a better
one. In this case we should employ a teamster to
obtain a few loads of light meadow-peat, or leaf-
mould from the woods. This, if well mixed with
the upper soil of the garden, by turning them over
together a few times with the spade, will serve for
almost any one of the plants already named, as
they scarcely ever require more than a foot of
reasonably good soil in which to grow. For the
trees, of course, a greater depth of suitable earth
is necessary.
As a general thing, the falling leaves and pros- |
trate fronds of the ferns will give all the protection
required for the out-door fernery during the winter.
If its situation be much exposed, or if among the
plants are some exceptionally tender ones, it will
be well to give additional covering, which should
be lightly placed over the plants. If too much be
laid upon them, or if the covering become matted
together and soaked with rain and snow water, there
is danger of decay and death among the ferns.
<
FERNERIES OUT OF DOORS. 61
The writer has endeavored to ascertain, by cor-
respondence with persons interested in this branch
of the subject, to what extent ferns are cultivated
in various parts of the country. The results of
this are hardly as satisfactory as could be wished.
It appears to be the fact, that there are as yet com-
paratively few who have cultivated ferns for a suf-
ficient length of time to enable them to give any
definite information., The principal out-door col-
lections are at the North, chiefly in New England,
where the limit of the number of species which
may be cultivated can be pretty definitely deter-
mined.
The following lists are arranged to aid beginners
who may desire to cultivate our native species of
ferns :—
List of North-American Ferns which are perfectly
hardy in the United States and Canada.
Polypodium vulgare, LINN. Aspidium spinulosum,
Pteris aquilina, LINN. SWARTZ.
/ Adiantum pedatum, LINN. Aspidium spinulosum, var. in-
Woodwardia Virginica, SMITH. termedium, WILLD.
Woodwardia angustifolia, Aspidium spinulosum, var. di-
SMITH. latatum, GRAY.
Asplenium Trichomanes, Aspidium spinulosum, var.
LINN. Boottii, GRAY.
’ Asplenium ebeneum, AITON. Aspidium cristatum, SWARTZ.
Asplenium angustifolium, Aspidium cristatum, var. Clin-
MICHx. tonianum, D.C. EATON.
62 FERNS LN THETR TIOWVES AND-OCKS.
Asplenium thelypteroides, Aspidium Filix-mas, SWARTZ.
MICcHx. Aspidium Goldianum, Hook.
Asplenium Filix-foemina, Aspidium marginale, SWARTZ.
_ BERNH. Struthiopteris Germanica,
v Phegopteris polypodioides, | WILLD.
FEE. V Onoclea sensibilis, Linn.
Phegopteris hexagonoptera, Cystopteris fragilis, BERNH.
FEE, Cystopteris bulbifera, BERNH.
Phegopteris Dryopteris, FEE.“ Woodsia Ilvensis, R. Br.
Aspidium acrostichoides, . » Woodsia obtusa, TORREY.
SWARTZ. Dicksonia punctilobula,
Aspidium aculeatum, var. KUNZE.
Braunii, Dott, KocH. V Osmunda regalis, LINN.
Aspidium Thelypteris, Osmunda Claytoniana, LINN.
SWARTZ. Osmunda cinnamomea, LINN.
¥ Aspidium Noveboracense, fhe
SWARTZ.
List of North-American Ferns requiring more care
and protection, yet hardy at the North.
Lomaria Spicant, DESv. Aspidium Lonchitis, SWARTZ.
Scolopendrium vulgare, Vv Lygodium palmatum,
SMITH. SWARTZ.
-Camptosorus rhizophyllus, | Asplenium Ruta-muraria,
LINK. LINN.
Asplenium pinnatifidum,
IN ULL
North-American Alpine and Sub-Alpine ferns —
as Aspidium fragrans, SWARTZ, Asplenium viride,
Hupson, Woodsia hyperborea, R. Br., Woodsta
glabella, R. Br., &c. — are very difficult of cultiva-
tion, and can only be made to survive in pits, or
any other place, for a brief period.
FERNERIES OUT OF DOORS. 63
List of North-American Ferns which are particularly
suitable for the greenhouse, but which may be cul-
tivated out doors at the South; some possibly in
California.
Acrostichum (Chrysodium) Aneimia adiantifolia, SWARTZ.
aureum, LINN. Adiantum Capillus-Veneris,
Polypodium Plumula,H.B.K. LInn.
Polypodium incanum, Vittaria lineata, SWARTZ.
SWARTZ. Blechnum serrulatum, MICHX.
Polypodium Californicum, |= Woodwardia radicans, var.
KAULF. Americanum, Hook.
Polypodium Phyllitidis, Linn. Nephrolepis exaltata, SCHOTT.
Polypodium aureum, LINN. Aspidium cristatum, var.
Gymnogramme triangularis, Floridanum, D. C. EATON.
KAULF. , Aspidium argutum, KAULF.
Pteris longifolia, LINN. Aspidium unitum, var. gla-
Pteris Cretica, LINN. brum, METT.
Aneimia Mexicana, Aspidium patens, SWARTZ.
KLOTZSCH.
Besides the above, there are many ferns, species
of Notholena, Pellea, Gymnogramme, and Chetlan-
thes, which require special cultivation, and are
referred to under that head; but, as they are all
natives of this country, there must be places in it
where their successful out-door culture is possible.
There are still so few experimenters, that we must
wait until some one in an apparently suitable loca-
tion has courage and patience to make the trial.
There are still other American ferns which are
or might be cultivated; as Zrichomanes Peterstzt,
64 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
GRAY, 7richomanes radicans, SWARTZ, Asplentum
myriophyllum, PRESL, Asplentum dentatum, LINN.,
&c. The first two of this list can be managed with
comparative ease under a bell-glass in any hot-
house or fernery.
PLATE VIII. Pots AND PANS.
CAPAE TER -VIi.
HINTS ABOUT SOILS, AND POTS FOR FERNS.
= >}
po es = 2.)
5 =;
Avra?
4
|
HE composition of the soil in which ferns
are to be grown must be left, in matters
of detail, to the cultivators themselves.
No absolute rule can be laid down, as the modes
of fern-growth are so various; and, besides, the
materials most readily obtained by one person
may not be available to another. The essential
thing is to produce a soil which shall be light, and
at the same time capable of being made quite firm.
Ferns cannot endure a sour soil, or one that will
allow the water given the plant to become stag-
nant. In all cases, a perfect drainage must be
secured. Very strong-growing ferns, which root
deeply, may be planted, when in pots, with a. few
pieces of broken crocks at the bottom of the pot,
so long as the soil above remains porous; but
species of less vigor will require more drainage-
material. It is just as important not to overdo
drainage as not to neglect.it; for, if too much of
65
66 FERNS IN THETR HOMES AND OURS.
the broken material is placed in the pot orfernery,
many of the roots of the larger plants will find
their way into it, and suffer from want of the nour-
ishment which the earth only can supply. More-
over, if under these circumstances the plant be-
come at all dry, these projecting roots will be the
first to perish, much to the detriment of the ferns.
Hardly any two gardeners agree exactly on the
best proportions of materials to be used in making
up a soil for ferns. Taking an average of their
general recommendations, we may safely employ
the following for most ferns in pots, ferneries, bas-
kets, &c.: one part peat well broken up, one part
leaf-mould from the woods, one part mason’s sand,
one part virgin loam. The bits of peat will serve
for the roots to cling to, while the sand and loam
enable us to press the whole quite firmly into
place. Instead of the leaf-mould, cocoanut-refuse
may be used. This is sold by many of the large
horticultural dealers. Messrs. B. K. Bliss and
Sons, 34 Barclay Street, New-York City, write
that they can supply this material at fifty cents a
peck, or one dollar and fifty cents a bushel. For
use by amateurs it is particularly valuable, as it
is clean; and it may be employed with common
loam, or even quite poor soil, in equal parts, for
almost any plants. Meadow-muck, when dried
and broken up, can be substituted with advantage
for the peat; but, in this case, it will do to take
SOILS AND POTS FOR FERNS. 67
two parts of the cocoanut or leaf-mould to one of
each of the other ingredients. It is always desira-
ble to have on hand a supply of old Sphagnum
(bog-moss) for use at the time of making up fern-
eries or potting ferns. A thin layer of this should
be placed over the drainage-material, to prevent
the soil from being washed down at the first water-
ing, so as to choke the drainage. The coarser
parts of the cocoanut-fibre are also good for this
purpose.
A certain class of ferns, coming almost under
the head of £pzphytes, require a rather different
soil. Instances are, Platycertum alcicorne, P.
grande, several Davallias, Oleandra nodosa, and
many Polypodiums. For these more peat is neces-
sary; and, for some species, it is only required
to fill a wire basket with broken peat, fasten-
ing the ferns to the outside. For ordinary pot-
culture of this class of ferns, two parts of peat,
one of sand, and one of loam, will be a good
mixture. Silver sand, mentioned in almost every
work on fern-culture, does very well for delicate
plants and for spore-raising ; but for ferneries and
pot-cultivation, and particularly for out-door work,
the coarser mason’s sand is much to be preferred.
The soil for ferneries of all kinds ought to be
well baked, or to have boiling water poured through
it, before the ferns are planted. Shirley Hibberd,
in “The Fern Garden,” gives the following good
68 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
advice: ‘“‘Take a can of boiling water, and water
the soil till you have supplied enough to rise to the
top of the drainage. The water should be poured
into the centre first, to warm the soil gradually.
The use of the boiling water is to destroy every
insect that may have escaped your eye when break-
ing up the peat. It will not only do that, but kill
their eggs also, and equally make an end of the
seeds of weeds and the mycelium of fungi; all of
which are enemies better got rid of at first, than to
be hurited for when their ravages become a source
of alarm. The over-cautious may, of course, scald
or bake the materials before filling the pan: in
that case they should not be put in the pan until
nearly dry again.
““When the pan is nearly cold, the ferns may be
planted; and the process of planting will consoli-
date the compost, so that it will, when all is fin-
ished, be an inch below the edge of the pan, as
it ought to be: it may, indeed, go below that, and
need filling up with some of the finest of the mix-
ture, which should be sprinkled over as a finishing
touch.” :
When ferns are cultivated naturally in a large
house, the trouble of potting is entirely dispensed
with, and consequently the plants require but a
moderate degree of care; but in a small house,
and where they are grown to produce exhibition
specimens, much attention must be given to the
SOILS AND POTS FOR FERNS. 69
suitable character of the pots and pans in which
they are raised. The ordinary earthen pots vary
much in quality. Those made from poor clay, and
insufficiently baked, are apt to become rotten, and
break just at the time when it is most necessary
that they should hold together.. Pots which are
over-baked are less porous; and, hke common
glazed ware, are not so good for most species.
Very recently a new kind of pot has been placed
in the market, made by Mr. Such of the New-Jer-
sey kaolin from the pits at South Amboy. They
are stronger, and can therefore be made thinner,
than the common ones. Their color is creamy
white ; and, although this is not so suitable as red
for contrast with the ferns, they are much the most
handsome pots for exhibition plants. The figures
of pans and pots, given in Plate 8, serve to illus-
trate these points. Fig. 7 is the ordinary flower-
pot; Fig. 6 the same, with one side flattened,
that the pot may be placed on a bracket, or against
awall. Fig. 3 is a taller pot for deep-rooting spe-
cies. Fig. 2, which is shown beneath in Fig. 4, is
a small pan (a!] pans should have more than oxe
hole pierced through the bottom, for drainage).
Fig. § is an open-work pot much used at the
Botanic Garden in Cambridge for plants with
creeping stems, and also to invert under other
pans to raise the plants to a proper height on
the shelves. Scoop-shaped pots are often used
70 - FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
for such ferns as Platycerzum. All these forms
may be made to order by any good potter; and
every large cultivator will find it desirable to adopt
such patterns as are best suited to his particular
needs, and have his pots or pans manufactured as
they are required.
Orne DER VITI.
TROPICAL AND |TEMPERATE HOUSES.
q| I has been previously stated that it is no
MM part of this book to give advice respect-
ing extensive works in any line of fern-
culture. The writer is not an architect; nor does
he possess a large greenhouse or estate upon which
to lay out an extensive fern-garden. Again: a great
deal has been written upon such luxurious estab-
: lishments, in English books and journals: for in
Great Britain the fern-mania has long had posses-
sion of cultivated and wealthy people; and there,
too, the climate aids, instead of frustrating, the ef-
forts of fern-growers. In such periodicals as “The
fare, “ The Gardener's Chronicle,’ “Journal
of Horticulture,” and “The Gardener’s Magazine,”
published in London, descriptions of fern-palaces
are frequently to be found; sometimes accom-
panied by the architect’s elevations and plans, and
notices of the more valuable plants which they
contain. In “Select Ferns,’ Mr. B. S. Williams
71
72 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
speaks of many of the most beautifully-kept estab-
lishments of private owners; and descriptions of the
Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and other public
‘conservatories, with lists of their ferns, are from
time to time published. Among the wealthy culti-
vators of exotic plants in this country, a large num-
ber own beautiful ferns, sometimes remarkable
examples of the more robust species; but these
are generally grown with the shade-loving plants
in pots; and few, if any, attempts have been made
to give up any large house to the natural culture
of ferns. Mr. Williams (“Select Ferns,” p. 23)
thus describes the fern-houses of S. Mendel, Esq.,
of Manly Hall, Manchester: “ There are two fern- —
cries in that place,.a tropical and a temperate, —
the former being 70 feet in length, 26 in breadth,
and 17 feet high; and the latter 96 feet in length,
24 in breadth, and 16 high. They are situated at
some distance from the mansion; and, to arrive at
them, a beautiful portion of the pleasure-grounds
has to be traversed.
“Upon entering the tropical house, such a
display of enchanting fairy-like scenery suddenly
meets the sight, that a few moments’ pause is abso-
lutely necessary to understand the transformation.
Commencing to look at the place in detail, one
becomes more enraptured at the taste and skill dis-
played in the arrangement of the rock-work. Here
a great bowlder is jutting out, there another, cov-
— Les " Tee % % le Wea ES ROK “i
Nex OG \ 2 OOK
PU iy
\y sat XX) a 1 \y) h
CQ aieGe ge we : 2 KY
PLT OO oS a ee Wes Oi Ai
AO Ta ee OOO’ ss
ogni mi
Ul mi AUN
tx aeEeye
MOO
a
a
A ed 6 6 ee
= Wii 2 | 7 . = —
Mit 2a Me
4, an ae Z %, NS
,
Ngee
=)
ll
SE
LASS SN
enim Rae
BS ee aaa
PLATE IX. WINDOW JARDINIERE,
TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. 73
ered with Selaginella ; and these cause the walk to
wind round about them, and down into a valley
with a small lake, in which are many choice aquatics,
the fine pendulous tufts of grass-like foliage of the
Egyptian paper-reed (Papyrus anttquorum) making
a beautiful contrast with such plants as Dracena
terminalis, grandis, and Coopert, various Marantas,
many ferns, both arborescent and dwarf-growing
species, Cyanophyllum magnificum, Alocastas, a
stately Zheophrasta impertalis, and many other
plants with fine foliage and flower which surround
it. The crevices of the rocks are planted with
vast quantities of dwarf ferns, and Selaginellas
Juxuriate in every possible place; whilst peeping
out from amongst them here and there are such
plants as Goodyera pubescens and discolor, Cephato-
tus follicularis, some handsome-leaved Lvranthe-
mums, and many other little gems, which are
thriving splendidly.
“ Passing out into a fern-clad recess, and cross-
ing some water by a rustic bridge, you are in
the temperate house. Here also ferns are grow-
ing in the greatest luxuriance, the walk winding
round masses of stone arranged in a perfectly nat-
ural manner, over and amongst which the water
splashes and tumbles like a mountain rill. You
descend into a valley, and under some splendid
specimens of such ferns as Décksonia antarctica,
Cyathea medullaris, Dicksonta squarrosa, Alsophila
74 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
excelsa and australis; and then you are led up so
as to get a sight of the tops, which is quite en-
chanting. The crevices of the rocks have mosses
growing in them most luxuriantly ; a large number
of species, many of them rare, having been col-
lected from their various habitats specially for this
purpose. Zodeas also are the near neighbors of
these, and many species of Zrichomanes and fy-
menophyllum are beginning to make themselves
conspicuous. There are also to be found hanging
from the roof in company with ferns, and in vari-
ous other parts of the house, many orchids from
the temperate regions of Peru, Guatemala, Mexico,
&c., and thriving well: indeed, the whole collection
is in excellent health and keeping.”
Shirley Hibberd speaks of several interesting
collections; but the establishment which pos-
sesses the most merit for originality is that of
Alfred Smee, Esq., of Carshaltone3@i hema
are formed of solid banks of peat, which extend
on either side of the plate on which the rafters
rest, so as to form borders within and without.
The house may be about eighty feet in length.
The banks on either side are varied in outline; and
there is in one spot a basin tenanted with gold-
fish, and surrounded with ferns of peculiarly novel
aspect, which are constantly bedewed by the spray
from a fountain. The roof is a span running east
and west: the south side of it is covered with felt,
OO —e——— EEE
|
eee ~~
TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. we
and the north side with glass,—a plan which
admits abundance of light, and renders shading
wholly unnecessary. The whole structure is
placed on a slope, the lower part being consid-
erably below the outside ground-level... At this
lowest part is placed the furnace, and there is an
extra service of pipes there to maintain a stove
temperature. At the upper end, the pipes suffice
only to keep frost out; Thus in one house the
ferns of tropical, temperate, and frigid zones are
all accommodated ; and though the whole structure
is rough, and has been constructed on the most
economical principles, the interior presents at all
seasons a grand spectacle, and affords a most de-
lightful promenade.” — Fern Garden, pp. 98, 99.
Of course, to grow to perfection any of the taller
species of arborescent ferns, a very high roof, or a
dome on some portion of the structure, will be re-
quired. A/sophila excelsa at the Botanic Garden,
Cambridge, Mass., has now reached the glass at
the highest part of the house, some twenty-five
feet above the floor. This plant is many years old.
Our greenhouses are usually built in summer;
and, for this reason, there is danger of our uncon-
sciously making them too weak to endure the
strain of ice and heavy snows which the winter of
our rigorous Northern climate will bring. Between
May and October, it is very hard to realize that
those charming designs contained in the English
76 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
periodicals will never do for us. Even the archi-
tects and builders among us, who ought to know
the conditions of climate which are to try their
work, frequently seem to ignore them. The unex-
pected expenses of repairs and alterations soon
serve as practical instructors. The trouble with
a poorly-constructed plant-house generally begins
with copings and joints ; and the best rule in build-
ing is, to make every thing outside as strong and
simple as possible.
If the house is very high, there should be a
gallery or something of the kind within; for some
of the best views of the plants can be only
obtained from above. In houses where valuable
plants have grown so tall that the glass of the
roof endangers their beauty, pits may be dug,
rather larger than is sufficient to contain the tubs
in which the plants grow. These should be lined
with brick. There are several of these pits in the
plant-houses of Mr. Such at South Amboy.
The temperature of the tropical house should
average, in summer, about seventy-eight degrees
Fahrenheit ; but, during intensely hot weather, it
will be impossible to prevent its running much
higher. In winter the mercury should be kept at
seventy degrees, and never, by any accident, suf-
fered to fall to a lower point than sixty degrees.
In the temperate house, the thermometer should
mark, as nearly as may be, forty-five degrees in
TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE. HOUSES. 77
winter ; never, if it can be prevented, over seventy-
five degrees in summer.
But, not to speak any longer of such expensive
fern-houses as wealth only can construct, there are
many persons who can afford a house of modest
cost ; and, even if they are obliged to place in it
all their winter stock of garden-plants, there is no
reason for their being discouraged, and giving up
their ideas of raising fine specimens of ferns. A
house with a span-roof is to be preferred: but on
some accounts, for the mixing of flowering plants
_and ferns, one with a single slope will do almost
as well; for a wide shelf at the upper part of the
back will hold all the plants requiring bright sun,
while at the same time it shades the lower portion
of the house. If primarily the house is intended
for ferns, it should face the north if the roof is a
single slope, or run east and west if it is a span.
A good size to easily manage for one’s self, or with
the assistance of one man who is supposed to do
the general outside work of the garden as well,
will be 30 by 20 feet, with a pitched roof, whose
height may vary from 10 to 20 feet, according to
the owner’s fancy and the height of the plants
to be cultivated. In the colder sections of the
country, if the drainage of the land upon which
the house stands is good, the walls should run
much below the surface, and the house become as
nearly as possible a roofed pit. The work spent
78 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND. OURS.
upon a house should be chiefly to secure comfort
to the plants, and security against sudden changes
of the weather; and all ornament is purely a
matter of pleasure to its owner. In town, where
the house is in a conspicuous situation, it may be
worth while to consider the addition of any deco-
rations that will not detract from its usefulness ;
although it must be said that most of the fret-
work and jig-saw “trimmings” seen on so many
such buildings are an offence to the eye, as they
are expensive to the purse. Unless it is certain
that the money set aside for adornment will be
most judiciously employed, we had best be on the
safe side, and do our own decorating with good
climbing-plants, trained on the ends of the house
exposed to view. Nothing can excel the beautiful
work of such natural decorators as Ammpelopsis
Vetchit (or our own A. guinquefolta), Westarza, and
many other climbers which are hardy in the North-
ern States. In the more genial warmth of the
South, there is almost an endless list of plants
available for this purpose.
For the shelves of the house, wood must gener-
ally suffice. To save trouble, and give the chance
for greater evaporation, an inch of sand on the
shelves, as a bed on which to set the pots, is
serviceable. For more elaborate shelving, slate is
the best material. Common roofing-slates set on
the beams make a good foundation for a bench for
TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. 79
bottom heat. The-sides can be of wood, and the.
trough thus made filled with sand. The centre of
the house may be made into a raised bed in which
to plant out the large specimens, or they may be
placed upon it in their pots. If we do not care to
grow the plants separately, so that they may be
moved for exhibition or other purposes, the house,
or as much of it as can be spared, may be con-
verted into a natural fernery, and rocks, water,
wire screens, &c., may be introduced. The writer’s
fern-house may illustrate these suggestions for
buildings of limited cost and pretensions.
It was not originally built for the particular culti-
vation of ferns, and is a single-slope house, 21 by 17 |
feet, and-13 feet high at the back. It faces the
south ; yet, with care, as fresh and healthy ferns can
be grown in it as in a place better suited in plan to
their special needs. And, what is more, very fair
success has attended the cultivation of a collection
of Cacti, Aloes, and Agaves, upon a shelf four feet
below the top, at the back wall.
This house has had only an amateur’s care, and
has been left, much of the time, to a young man,
who, previous to this work, had no knowledge of
plants. Although the general out-door duties of
the place have also come to him to do, he has given
the house such thoughtful attendance, that any
thing worthy the name of a loss has rarely occurred.
So it seems possible that the fear of the expense
80 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
and trouble of a greenhouse need not be so great
with any one who has in his employ a faithful man
who can spare half an hour a day to its care, and
also turn his hand to potting, watering, and the
other requirements of the plants, under the eye
of the owner; who, by the way, should know
something about these things himself.
In this little fern-house, as in larger ones, care
has to be taken to screen the plants sufficiently
from the sun, as they are more easily burnt than
an inexperienced person would suppose. Part of
the house is kept shaded all the year; but the rest
is not so protected until March, and the screens
are removed as early as the Ist of October. The
coarse cloth called unbleached sheeting makes ex-
cellent screens, and may be used inside or outside
of the glass. The use of any sort of wash on the
glass, to abate the intensity of the light, gives the
place an untidy appearance, and, unless oil-paint
is employed, will soon be disfigured by streaks,
and come off at last entirely, as the moisture pro-
duced by sprinkling collects and runs down the
glass. A dark-green glass has, according to Smith,
been used in England. He says (“ Ferns, British
and Foreign,” p. 336), “In former years, the fruit
and plant houses at Kew were glazed with a very
dark-green glass called Stourbridge - green, and
which was patronized by the late Mr. Aiton. Fine
crops of fruit were produced under it; also the
b]
sai
CHEILANTHES LANUGINOSA, Nutr.
TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE HOUSES. SI
tropical plants in the Botanic Garden flourished
without the aid of canvas or shade of any kind.
Not many years ago, solitary squares of this glass
might be seen in the roofs of the old hot-houses,
which strongly contrasted with the modern clear
glass. My experience with this glass led me to
recommend green glass for the palm-house, which
was adopted ; but the modern-made green tint does
not appear to be so fixed a color as the old Stour-
bridge-green.”’ Various kinds of mats and screens
will suggest themselves to every greenhouse-owner,
and the most convenient things can readily be
turned to account.
As for heating-apparatus, there will be no trou-
ble in finding forms enough to select from. It is
important to choose one not unnecessarily large
for the work it has to do, and yet not so small as
to require forcing in very cold weather, or to de-
mand attention during the night. Large furnaces,
like most bodies of size, are steadier in their work-
ing, and can be as well managed to give a small
amount of heat. as those of less capacity. The
writer has used for several years, in his fern-house,
a small Whitely hot-water furnace. It has a
“shaking’’ grate; and has never, even in the cold-
est weather, required attention between seven P.M.
and seven A.M. Several others of the same pattern
have been observed to be successful in their work-
ing; and this form of heater may especially be
82 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
recommended for a small house. In the larger
establishments near Boston, the Hitchings and
Smith & Lynch boilers are most frequently em-
ployed. The old-fashioned “saddle-back” boilers
are fast disappearing from use. If the chimney is
first made to pass through the house in the form
of a brick flue, much heat from the smoke is
saved; but the danger of the leakage of the prod-
ucts of combustion, which might, in half an hour,
allow gases enough to escape to destroy the whole
collection, may be an argument against this econ-
omy. It creates the necessity of a constant watch
to guard against such a result; and the few dollars
saved are more than balanced by the difficulty, in
dull days, of kindling a fire with the draught of so
long and crooked a chimney.
SH
Ze y~
CHAPTER IX.
FERN-CASES.
mes Ti E conservatory and the enclosed window
6 ae) are beyond the reach of many people who
love ferns, and would be glad to make
their homes beautiful by the cultivation of these
delicate plants. The desires of such can be an-
swered by ferneries or Wardian-cases, which sup-
ply, to a sufficiently large extent and with the least
possible requirement of daily care, the domestic
means of growing ferns. In dwellings heated by
steam, and into which gas and furnaces have not
been introduced, a few species of ferns will con-
sent to grow at the northern windows. There is
so small a number of these, that they may receive
only this allusion. The purpose of this chapter
is to explain how, in spite of “modern conven-
iences” and their continual war against nature,
we may contrive to introduce and keep a bit of
perpetual summer in our homes.
The fernery, or Wardian-case as it was first
83
54 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
called, is only an adaptation of the cover-glass al-
ways used by gardeners to protect delicate plants ;
and is only doing, on an enlarged and more elegant
scale, what our grandmothers used to do to strike
cuttings under a tumbler. The lovers of house-
plants, however, owe a debt of gratitude to Dr.
B. N. Ward of London, who was the first to sug-
gest the present in-door method of treating ferns.
The amateur of unlimited’ means may order
from his cabinet-maker, without consideration of
form or price, what will be called in the bill “one
fernery ;” but it is only a single mechanic in the
hundred who will properly construct it. The usual
and fatal mistake in building fern-cases is to em-
ploy far too much woodwork, and too little glass.
Eastlake’s favorite word for all furniture is “ sin-
cere;” and to the fernery this word should be
applied with its full force. The fernery should be
made for the purpose which its name implies, and
not to be an elegant parlor-cabinet. The simpler
its form, the better, solong as its proportions are
well chosen. All unnecessary mosque-like domes/
all jogs, breaks in the curves, and mouldings,
should be carefully avoided. It has been observed,
at the exhibitions of the Boston Horticultural
Society, that during the last five years the styles
of fern-cases have steadily improved. One case
can, however, be called to mind, that resembled a
child’s coffin more than any thing which could
ee it ee
FERN-CASES. 85
suggest the idea of a fernery, which was not very
long ago placed on view by a proud contribu-
tor, and which, it is to be regretted, obtained a
prize. Six months later the owner was forced to
remove the cover, that the plants might rise to
any thing like their natural height. This planting
of ferns which soon become too large for the case
is, by the way, one of the most common mistakes
made by the inexperienced fern-grower.
To form the frame of the case, iron is preferable
to wood, both for strength and lightness. Many
styles of cases with iron frames have been recently
put upon the market. Plate II is a representa-
tion of a case which Messrs. M. D. Jones & Co.
of Boston manufacture for $30. The base is six
inches deep (inside measure) ; and the legs, which
are 30 inches high, are strongly braced. The case
itself is 35 inches by 20 inches, and is 22 inches
high from the base to the summit of the curved
glass top. The panels in the base are the only
woodwork about it, and are ebonized, or may be
painted dark Pompeian red, and the ironwork
painted red and black, at the owner’s fancy. The
case may be lifted from the base; and at each end
is a door, which, instead of moving on hinges, is
arranged to lift out. The top may also be con-
structed so that it can be elevated for ventilation.
Mr. Emerton in his drawing has filled the case
with Wephrolepis exaltata, Blechnum Lrastliense,
86 FERNS I[N THEIR HOMES AND_OUKS.
two species of Adzantum, and a few small species
which were growing at the time in another fernery.
The zinc pan, which is usually the receptacle in ~
ferneries for the plants, may be painted inside with
a coat of tar (do not use gas-tar), or several coats
of shellac. It must be so fitted to the table, that
the moisture running down the glass inside shall
fallinto the pan. If the fern-case is so constructed
that this water can find its way outside, the metal
will rust, and the woodwork decay; and, in a few
seasons, a case which might have lasted a lifetime
will be ruined.
In Pl. 13 is represented what we shall venture
to call the Eastlake Fernery. The frame is of
ash, stained dark: the ornamentation is simple
tooling and chamfering.. The sloping top furnish-
es a good opportunity for ventilation. There is a
door in one side only; and the top lifts from the
base, as in the iron-framed case. Mr. J. W. Ayers
of Salem, who has given special attention to the
manufacture of Eastlake furniture, will make a
case of this pattern 24 inches by 16 inches, with a
height, including the table, of 49 inches, as seen
in the plate, for $25. The ferns in this case are
Aspidium molle, Pteris cretica albo-lineata, Adian-
tum Capillus-Veneris, Polypodium Californicum,
Nephrolepis exaltata, with Selaginellas.
Any one who is fortunate enough to possess a
fair degree of mechanical skill can easily make for
FERN-CASES. 87
himself a case which shall meet all the require-
‘ments of fern-growing, and in which the cost shall
be reduced to the very lowest possible figure. For
a case 24 by 16 by 18 inches in length, breadth,
and height respectively, the expense for wood,
glass, putty, filling, oil, pan, &c., would cost no.
more than $7, while the cabinet-maker’s charges
would be at least $15. Cases with a pitched roof
should have one side of the top hinged, so that
this can be raised by a chip or a bit of paper for
ventilation ; and every fernery should be so con-
structed that it may be easily raised from its base.
The writer, who is zo¢ a good mechanic, wishing
to multiply his ferneries without in the same pro-
portion increasing the expense, devised the fern-
case represented in Pl. 15. Many other people
may have themselves invented the same; but, as
the design is not patented, we shall not infringe |
upon each other’s rights. The following directions
may be useful to some readers : —
First procure an inch-thick pine board, 24 by 18
inches in size. As our large pines are so rapidly
disappearing, it is‘most likely that this can only be
obtained by gluing several narrow boards together.
Around this bottom board, and at right angles
with it, nail a strip of hard wood (say ash or
walnut) four to six inches wide. The top of this
strip, or the edge which will come on top, may be
bevelled (Pl. 15, Fig. 4), and have, perhaps, a
Sy
88 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
little groove cut for ornament three-fourths of an
inch below the bevel. Before nailing on, glue
around the edge of the bottom board a piece of
listing to make the joints tight when the hard-
wood strip is in place. This would make a
carpenter laugh; but we are building a fernery
where we do not care to keep up a continual and
perhaps ineffectual use of the square. When all
is dry, give the inside a good coat of tar, or, if it
seem necessary, two or three. Of course you can
avoid all this trouble by being at the expense of a
zinc pan; but the less costly plan is practically as
good. Now procure some German glass (as flat
as possible),——two pieces skort 24 by 18 inches,
two short 18 by 18, and one 25 by 19. Set up the
first four pieces in the tarred tray, holding them in
place by books piled against them; and paste over
‘the united edges at each corner outside (Pl. 15,
Fig. 2) a tape one inch wide, turning it over only
a very little at the top, for the condensed moisture
will soon loosen any thing pasted inside. After
allowing the tape to dry, cover it with a strip of
dark paper; and also bind the edges of the fifth
and largest glass, which is to lie flat and unfastened
on top as the cover, with the same. Remove the
books, and the fernery is completed as we see it in
Pl. 15, Fig. 1. .Of course these proportions may
be varied; and a portion of the glass which seems
wasted by going into the tray may be saved by
CASE.
——
IRON-FRAMED FERN
PLATE XI.
FERN-CASES. 8y
fastening blocks of wood inside the tray, —one at
each corner, and one in the centre of each side
andend. The glass will rest on these, only being
allowed to come sufficiently below the upper edge
of the tray to keep the case firmly in position.
As nearly as can be estimated, the cost of such a
fernery will be, — |
Three feet pine, sawed into shape : aR POvee
Three feet walnut, bevelled and grooved. 5
Tar : ge : : ; - : 10
Glass. : : ; ; : : Pe Sera
Two yards tape . . ‘ : - . .08
One sheet paper . : ; : : : 10
Nails. ° ‘ : . teas Mie eekly
Total . , $4.58
The listing and glue should always be at hand
in every house. This fernery has all the essentials
of the $30 case shown in Pl. 11; and the plants
will thrive in it as well, perhaps even better.
Instead of flour-paste for fastening the binding-
tape, the rubber cement made by dissolving pure
rubber in benzole or chloroform may be used, or
even shellac varnish; which latter may be improved
by the addition of a little of the rubber solution.
Or, again, the glass may be set in an inexpensive
zinc frame soldered at the corners. If a zine pan
is desired for a case of this description, the joints
in the base need not be made tight; but, the list
a
go FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
and glue being omitted, the moulding or strip of
hard wood may be nailed directly to the bottom
board as shown in the section, Pl. 15, Fig. 3.
The examples so far given are only to show the
extremes in expense of fern-case manufacture.
The space to be occupied by the fernery, the
height of the window at which it is to stand, &c.,
‘must, in each instance, be considered. As the
window is high or low, the supports of the fernery
must be long or short, so as in either case to bring
the pan to a level with the window-sill; for, al-
though ferns do not endure the direct rays of
the sun, they do not flourish in a dark room. Be-
sides, a situation in a living-room, which may
seem to us very well illuminated, may not possess
the quality of light in which plants thrive the
best. A good illustration of this point, regarding
the actinic power of light, is at hand. The photo-
graph which forms the frontispiece to this book
was taken in a greenhouse whose top of glass is
exposed to the south, and required an exposure of
two and one-fourth minutes in the camera. Imme-
diately afterwards, on the same day, a view was
taken in a well-lighted room of the dwelling-house
adjoining. The exposure here required with the
same lens was twenty-six minutes. It is probable
that the same quality of light required to produce
a good negative is also necessary to produce good
plants.
FERN-CASES. gl
As a general thing, very large cases are more
difficult to manage than smaller ones. There isa
possibility of getting them too large. To counter-
act some of the troubles which attend over-sized
ferneries, they are sometimes artificially heated.
This may be done by applying heat to pans of
water in which the fern-pan is placed, or by coils
of piping passing under and around the pan. The
water in either case may be warmed by a lamp or
stove outside, or connected with the water-heating
apparatus of the dwelling. The writer has had no
experience with cases so warmed; but, in his
judgment, coil-heating is to be preferred, as it will
render’it less troublesome to move the case, and
as the drainage of the fernery can be better
effected between the heating-pipes at the bottom
than through a reservoir of warmed water which
covers the entire under surface of the case. Shir-
ley Hibberd, in “The Fern Garden,” proposes a
plan for draining a fernery warmed in the latter
way; but the coil system seems the best. All
this piping should be done by an experienced
plumber, as it requires considerable skill so to
adjust every thing that the water shall flow with
regularity. Mr. W. H. Halliday of West Street,
Boston, has given much attention to the construc-
tion of fern-cases, having dealt in them for
several years. Ina paper read before the Massa-
chusetts Horticultural Society in January, 1876,
Q2 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
he gives the following account of some of his
experiments : —
*‘T had two large windows facing the south; but a build-
_ ing obscured the rays of the sun part of the time. In the
windows I placed two cases, each forty inches long by
eighteen inches wide. The box was six inches deep, with
an inner box fitting loosely to receive the soil. An inch
moulding fitted around, projecting half an inch above the
box, to receive the sash. The sash was on two sides four-
teen inches high, the ends solid, and the inside faced with
mirrors. You will readily see that I introduced the mirrors
to double the effect, and render the whole more beautiful.
Upon this sash was a top ten inches high, sloping on the
two sides, which fitted to and was kept in place by an inch
moulding. This top could be removed to reach the plants,
or tilted up a little if ventilation was desired. One of these
cases I devoted to native plants, the other to exotics. I
made many trips to the woods, and my case of natives was
soon in a prosperous condition. I filled it with all sorts of
plants that happened in my way, among which I remember
the blood-root, hepatica, trailing arbutus, pitcher-plant, lyco-
podium, MWitchella repens, Polypodium vulgare, and Adian-
tum pedatum. All these did remarkably well; but I found,
when winter came, that many of them dropped off to sleep,
and the curtain fell for the season.
“‘ Having had such good success with these cases, I thought
I would try one on a larger scale. The plan was soon in the
hands of the cabinet-maker, and in due time made and set
up in its allotted place. This was made very large, for an
experimental case. Many of you will remember it, as it was
exhibited in this hall, four or five years ago, at the Annual
Exhibition. It was nearly four feet square, and stood six
feet high from the floor to the top of the roof. The box
FERN-CASES. 93
stood two feet high, set on heavy casters, and moving on a
pivot, so that it could be readily turned to the light as the
plants required. The inner box was half an inch smaller
than the outside all round, eleven inches deep, thoroughly
covered with white-lead paint, and perforated through the
bottom with inch holes for drainage. The glass case, thirty
inches high, fitted into a moulding projecting above and
around the top of the box. The sash was made very strong,
with iron braces set into each corner. Each of the four
sides consisted of two panes of glass, two panes on two
sides serving as doors. The roof was formed of four slop-
ing sides, surmounted by a flat cap of wood twelve inahes
square, tapering upward, with a turned point twelve inches
high. This cap fitted on like a cover, and could be easily
- removed if necessary. The case was thoroughly painted
with three coats of white lead, and cost, when completed,
seventy dollars.” :
This introduction of mirrors would only be
proper when the fernery was so placed that the
ends were hidden from view. The remarks con-
cerning native plants in the fernery cover the
ground ; for, if we desire to have growing plants
in winter, we must take species from the tropics,
which need little or no rest. Native plants are
best out of doors ; or they should be suffered to
remain over winter in a cool place, and only
brought in early in the spring to unfold. They
are therefore particularly suited, if kept in this
way, for the open in-doors fern-stand.
Farther on in his essay Mr. Halliday says, —
“ But, after a while, the case did not work as well as I
94 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
expected. The ferns did not do well at all, but damped off,
till I grew quite discouraged. I continued to replace the
decayed plants by others, with no better results. I thought
the trouble might be caused by want of heat, as the room
at night and on Sundays, when I was not on hand to look
after the fires, might become quite cool. With this thought
came the idea of heating the case. I had made at the tin-
man’s a small boiler holding a gallon of water. Behind the
case, near the floor, I placed a gas-jet, and over this the
boiler, rentoving a panel from the box of the case, then
fitting it so that it could be opened or closed at pleasure.
The inner box, containing the soil, being eleven inches
deep, left a space of twelve inches underneath: in this
space I placed tubing enough to extend completely round
the case, and to connect with the boiler outside. All seemed
to work like a charm. I then went to work to ventilate the
case, giving a little air ata time; till at last I removed the
square of wood from the roof, and replaced it with a piece
of plate-glass, which I could remove wholly or in part; and
this, with the aid of the panel which was opened for heat,
furnished the means for ventilation. I soon saw that it was
the one thing needed. Every thing worked well from this
time.”
The subject alluded to here, that of ventilation,
must receive especial attention. Some have the
erroneous idea, that, to fully carry out the theory
of a fernery, we must almost hermetically seal the
case. But, while a few species of Hymenophyllum
and Zrichomanes may live under such conditions,
the majority need air in limited quantities. A lit-
tle slide in either the woodwork or the glass
below, with one also at the top to permit a
—.
FERN-CASES. 95
gentle circulation outward, will supply all that
is necessary. Too much air is as bad as too
little: so, like every thing else connected with
fern or plant culture, judgment must be used. It
is absurd to try to grow plants by an inexorable
rule, without varying their treatment according to
the circumstances and requirements of each; just
as the same inflexible system would fail to succeed
with children of different constitutions and capaci-
ties. If a person, moreover, has no love for plants,
no intuitive sense of how to manage them, he will
undertake a hopeless task in the endeavor to culti-
vate them because it is fashionable, or because of
their artistic effect in the house.
A kind of combined greenhouse and fernery is
sometimes made by devoting an entire window
to this purpose, either by constructing a “bay,”
or building up on the inside an enclosure suffi-
ciently deep to hold as many plants as are desired.
Ventilation or heat can be supplied by openings
near the top and bottom. A zinc pan will be
needed on the floor, and some little distance up
the sides, to catch superfluous water, which now
and then can be drawn off through a pipe and
faucet from the lowest corner, and opening into
the room. Ivies, climbing-plants, and plants in
hanging-baskets, flourish well in such a place, as
do also all ferns which would be suitable for a
large fernery. The inner glass should be set in
96 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. —
large doors, so that the whole may be thrown
open towards the room, and all the plants be
reached at any time.
For circular ferneries, any bell-glass or glass
cover on any kind of dish has all the practical value
of any of the most elaborate and expensive parlor
stands. Broken retorts from the laboratory have
been converted into charming fern-cases. But best
of all is the glass dome which has for years coy-
ered the fast-dropping bouquet of wax flowers in
the best parlor. This, in connection with a deep
old Delft plate from the cupboard, may become of
some real service, and, filled with pretty ferns, make
the living-room smile with its suggestions of tropi-
cal warmth.
The black glass or “slag”’ ware makes the clean-
est base for the circular fernery. It is sold in all
sizes at a very reasonable price. Great care must
be taken that the glass cover fits loosely into the
base, as it is likely to snap if it is held too tight-
ly. Pl. 17 shows a fernery whose base is cf this
ware. It seems as good as ever, after a service
of many years. The terra-cotta or earthen-ware
bases, some which are well decorated, are very
pretty ; but in time the absorbed moisture causes
the paint to peel off, and they become hopelessly
shabby. In the paper previously referred to, Mr.
Halliday describes a hanging-fernery, which. the
writer remembers to have been especially attrac-
tive :—
PLATE XIL
CHEILANTHES CALIFORNICA, METT.
FERN-CASES. 97
“ The hanging-fernery I desiened to take the place of the
hanging-basket, which so seldom appears in good condition
in the home. The base was turned from walnut, several
pieces being glued and nailed together to get the proper
depth, and also to keep the wood from warping. It tapered
to a point at the bottom, to give lightness to its appearance.
A zinc pan, with a rim to receive the shade, fitted the base
loosely enough to be readily removed when watering was
necessary. This, as first constructed, was covered with a
shade eight inches in diameter and ten inches high, and was
suspended by silvered copper wire. The case first exhibited
had a shade twelve inches in diameter, and fourteen inches
high; was elaborately turned from maple and walnut, orna-
mented with ebony trimmings, and filled with the following-
_ named plants: Onychium Faponicum, Adiantum assimile,
A.cuneatum, Selaginella Wildenovit, Panicum variegatum,
Fittonia Pearcet, F. argyroneura, Lycopodium denticulatum
var., and Mztchella repens, some lichens and wood-mosses.
“This case, when taken from the hall, was suspended in
my window, where it received the morning sun for about an
hour each day, and was not disturbed again till January, ex-
cepting when it was occasionally turned to the light. It was
amass of green. I noticed considerable soil on the glass,
carried up by slugs in their nocturnal rambles; also some
decayed fronds of the Adzantum. Altogether it was as much
of a success as a close case could be, and would probably
satisfy most people who grow plants for home decoration.”
He also says, —
“ The great difficulty I have always found in ferneries is
to reach the plants after they have filled, or partly filled,
the case. It is easy enough to remove the shade; but to
replace it, so that the plants may retain their former position,
is not so easy. Frequently I have been forced to allowa
-98 KERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
large slug to have his own way, rather than disturb the shade
when the case was looking finely; and, in many instances,
have allowed decayed fronds to remain, rather than run the
risk of destroying the arrangement by removing the shade.
It was almost as much on this account as for ventilation
that I constructed the dome-top or ventilated fern-case, which
is as easily managed as an ordinary Wardian-case. Lifting
the dome does not disarrange the plants, as they are all con-
fined within the cylinder, which need never be disturbed for
this purpose. This case is constructed as follows :—
“ The case or stand is of wood, six inches deep, and rest-
ing upon three small feet. There is a large opening under-
neath, covered with a movable slide to admit or exclude the
air. It has a zinc pan one-half an inch less all round than
the wooden case. This half-inch space is covered all around
at the top of the pan, which leaves a flat surface of zinc one
inch wide, with an outside rim to receive the glass cylinder.
This flat surface of zinc is pierced with half-inch holes in its
entire circumference about three inches apart. When the
glass cylinder is in place, the half-inch holes are inside
the case. The cylinder, of annealed glass, fits neatly into the
zinc rim, and is fifteen inches in diameter by fourteen inches
in height. Encircling the upper edge of the cylinder is a
copper rim, one inch wide, with edge turned downward on
the outside, a quarter of an inch wide, to fit on to the cylinder.
The flat surface of the rim is perforated with quarter-inch
holes ; and the inner edge turns up a quarter of an inch to
receive the dome, or cover, which is eight inches high, and
twelve and a half inches indiameter. The holes in this cop-
per rim are on the outside; so that, when the valve in the bot-
tom of the case is open, the air passes up through the holes
round the zinc pan, and out at the copper rim. The whole
case, when complete, stands twenty-nine inches high.”
The ventilation of the circular fernery is more
FERN-CASES. 99
difficult than that of the larger cases of wood or
iron. It will often be enough to tilt the shade up.
on one side by inserting a chip under it, so that a
little air may be admitted. An excellent plan, as
| the writer can certify from trial, is suggested by
= Shirley Hibberd :—
“In the case of fern-shades which fit into glass dishes,
and which, as long as there is water lodged in the rim into
which the lower edge of the shade rests, are air-tight, air
must be given three times a week by removing the shade
altogether for an hour orso. ‘This allows the excess of
water to dry off the foliage, and prevents mould; and, the
glass getting dry in the mean while, it is prepared to take up
: afresh supply of moisture from the soil when replaced, which
is equivalent to a circulation of water as well as a change
of air. This air-giving, however, must be regulated by dis-
_ cretion; for, if the air of the room is hot and dry, sudden
exposure of the plants to it may do them harm. Moreover,
it is a very easy matter to remove the glass, and /orget it,
the result being perhaps complete destruction of all the more
tender fronds, and the disfigurement of the affair for a fort--
night. Now, a very simple and expeditious and effectual
mode of ventilating consists in taking off the glass, wiping it
dry and bright, and replacing it at once. There is then no
fear of forgetting it.”
Fernery-bases may be made of any required size
and depth at almost any pottery; and if, like a
flower-pot, they have holes pierced in the bottom,
and are fitted with saucers, their contents may be
treated exactly like potted ferns in the greenhouse.
They are more clumsy in appearance, but have
100 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
many good qualities. It is to be hoped, that, out
of the prevailing mania for decorative art, some
designs for pretty and useful fernery-bases may be -
evolved.
The illustration (Pl. 18, Fig. 2) is a pretty Jap-
anese design from an English work. The shelf
below holds a jar; and the base of the fernery is
a shallow Chinese bowl, such as one often sees
in the old houses in Salem and Boston. PI.
18, Fig. 3, is an original design. The base is —
a Russian bowl, of the same sort as is recom-
mended by Clarence Cook for a hands-basin in
the hall, and is secured to the legs, which are
made from a bamboo fishing-pole, by bolts with
nuts inside the bowl. A wire runs through the
legs, where they cross, to make a firm joint.
Within the bowl there should be a zine pan in
which to plant the ferns. The cost of the whole,
without the glass shade, was two dollars and fifty
cents.
As regards drainage, the case may or may not
have an outlet. Under proper care, it does not
need one. But, to insure complete drainage
under any circumstances, it is well to have an
opening wherever it can be conveniently ar-
ranged. A common kerosene-lamp bulb, such an
one as is placed in the usual iron bracket-ring
support, is as good as any thing for the receptacle
for superfluous water. A burner may be found to
FERN-CASES. IOI
fit the screw collar of the bulb: then all of the
burner must be cut away except its ring or tube
carrying the thread of the screw which fits the
bulb-collar. Now solder this remaining portion
of the burner to an opening made in the bottom
of the fern-pan, so that the tube with its thread
projects below. To this the bulb can then be
screwed, and will serve as a reservoir for the
drainage of the pan. Exactly such an arrange-
ment may be found on a German student-lamp to
catch the drip of oil from its wick-holder. The
bottom of the pan should be sloped, or indented
with grooves, to direct the flow of water towards
the opening to which the bulb is fastened. If
such drainage cannot be arranged, and it is sus-
pected that the fern-case is suffering from too
much water, and that the drainage-material in the
bottom of the pan is filled up, a hole can be
pierced in the bottom, near one corner, and some
vessel placed or hung permanently underneath to
receive surplus water; and, if now the case be so
tilted that the water will run toward the opening,
all excess will soon be drained away. In filling
the case or pan, it will be found that fragments,
the size of a half-dollar and smaller, of broken
flower-pots or similar material, will be best for
drainage-purposes. There should be enough of
them to cover the bottom at least two inches
deep; and to prevent the earth with which the
‘102 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OUKS.
pan is to be filled from washing into this drain-
age, and choking it up, a very thin layer of Sphag-
mum moss or hay should be placed over it.
Should broken flower-pots not be at hand, any
earthenware might be made to answer, or even
small broken stones, or even pebbles, as a last
resort. As circular ferneries are generally con-
structed for sale, we seldom find any provision for
the escape of surplus water: greater care is there-
fore to be taken with such, to guard against over-
watering. Good drainage is of equal importance
for ferns in pots or window-boxes. A short expe-
rience will teach us that it is the most important
thing to be considered, and quite as essential to
the health of the plants as a good system of sewer-
age is to that of the human family.
Ferns, in general, should be often sprinkled on
their tops; but their roots should only be watered
when the earth in the case seems to be growing
dry. If we have Gold-Ferns or Maidenhairs, we
must keep water away from their fronds.
se pear LU =
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SSSSSSSSSSSS SSS SSS SS Se at
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PLATE XIII. EASTLAKE FERNERY.
FERN-CASES. 105
cases are sometimes seen in which there is so
little glass, that it seems like a panel of some
choice material set for display in a splendid mould-
ing, as costly tiles might be mounted in the jar-
dintére. Now, the less conspicuous the material |
which forms the frame to hold the glass, whether
it be wood, iron, or paper, the better it is. And,
even when made as light as possible, it should be
painted or stained a color which may still farther
reduce its prominence as seen among the plants.
For this purpose, chocolate, or brick-red with
black, will do as well as any thing. The chocolate-
color recommends itself also for the interior of a
greenhouse, as it is complementary to green, and
plants and fronds look well against it. For the
same reason also, black-walnut, dark mahogany,
or other deep-reddish woods, are most suitable in
color for the construction of the frame of the fern-
case.
Other plants than ferns can be successfully
grown in cases; but they are comparatively few.
A list of the best will be given at another page of
this book. For circular ferneries, the most beauti-
ful of all such plants are the Se/aginellas. ‘They
grow best when left to themselves, and, as they do
not mind close quarters, will not require that the
shade be lifted for a long time, — sometimes for
months. |
Finally, keep the fern-case near the light, but
106 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
not in the sun. Eastern, northern, or western
windows are better than a southern exposure.
Above all, do not attempt to manage by rule; but
be moderate in all things, and continually use
common sense.
fee PROX,
FERNS IN THE LIVING-ROOM.
> Bay design given in PI. 9 is a combination
ss * of ideas, having had for its first suggestion
see) the plan of a window in Mr. E. C. Gard-
ners very attractive and sensible book, “Home
Interiors.” Mr. Emerton has added the jardznz-
ére and appropriate wall-decorations.
The jardinzére has two compartments, the one
next the window being ten inches higher than the
one below. In the former it is intended to place
the sun-loving plants, — Pelargoniums, Petuntas,
Fuchstas, Dracenas, &c.; and in the lower portion,
where they will be in partial shade, the ferns are
to be grown. The interest of the design does not
end with the plants themselves. The frieze around
the room has a Camptosorus for the figure, and
India palm-leaf fans are fastened along it at in-
tervals. The wall-paper is of a morning-glory
pattern, with a border of butterflies at the top,
and, at the bottom, one of spiders; for which
107
~
108 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
last decoration Mr. Emerton is responsible. The
tiles in the jardinzére are supposed to have been
adorned by the lady-owner with a conventional
Sagittaria ; and the whole represents, in part, what
a true lover of flowers, who is also something of
an artist, has made of the living-room.
Ferns are not often found under cultivation in
the dwelling-house. Their successful growth with-
out the protection of glass presents so many diffi-
culties, that efforts in this direction are not much
encouraged. They dislike dry air, dust, and gas;
and therefore they do not flourish under the ordi-
nary circumstances of our houses. In rooms mod-
erately heated, where no gas escapes from stoves
or furnace, and especially where the pressure from
the gas-meter is not so great as to drive half-
consumed burning-gas into the air at evening,
many species may be made to do well in pots.
But little need be said regarding the management
of ferns grown in this way, besides repeating the
injunctions already given more than once con-
cerning good drainage, — water at the roots when
dry, sprinkling, and northern window, or partial
shade.
Pl. 21 is taken from an elegant Chinese stand
and jardiniére. It was originally designed for the
cultivation of bulbs, of which the Chinese are par-
ticularly fond, and with which they have marvel-
lous success. But, as a fernery, it is very beautiful ;
FERNS IN THE LIVING-ROOM. 109
and, as the receptacle for the plants is of soapstone,
it may be sprinkled without injury.
Among the ferns suitable for open in-door cul-
paraare—
Nephrolepis exaltata.
Nephrolepis tuberosa.
Onychium Faponicum.
Adiantum formosum.
Adiantum. hispidulum.
Gymnogramme chrysophylla.
Gymnogramme calomelanos.
Davallia Canariensis.
Pteris tremula. |
Pteris serrulata.
Pteris quadriaurita, var. argyrea.
Platycerium alcicorne.
Very pretty arrangements of our native ferns and
mosses are made by many persons of taste during
summer journeys among the mountains or other
places where these plants abound. For this work
tall-srowing plants should not be chosen, but the
collection made of the smaller species ; nor should
the charming little “Solomon’s Seal,” “Trienta-
lis,” “ Gold-thread,” &c., be excluded because they
are not ferns. The extemporized frames in which
these are arranged will probably be box-covers, or
whatever is accessible at the time, and probably,
too, be covered with birch-bark. A friend who had,
one autumn, two such stands of ferns and mountain-
plants, found that, as winter came on, the ferns lost
IIo FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
their beauty, and the whole became disagreeably
brown. The boxes were taken out, and placed under
some shrubbery, where they remained in snow and
ice till a mild day in February; when they were
taken into the house, and thawed out. In March | .
the boxes were a mass of beautiful young fern-
fronds, Artsemas, Coptis, Smtlactnas, &c. The ex-
posure had somewhat broken the boxes; but a little
birch-bark on the outside easily restored their good
appearance. Whenever our native ferns are grown
in this way, it must be remembered that they need
their natural winter’s rest.
9 a ae Be we a, Dey
SPECIAL WAYS OF GROWING FERNS.
oa tiE ordinary treatment in the greenhouse
1 Ma or fernery, under which most plants will
eB flourish, will not answer for certain ferns.
Their special wants must receive particular con-
sideration. Foremost among these exceptional
plants are the “Gold” and “Silver” Ferns. They
are chiefly species of Gymnogramme, Notholena
(Pl. 2), Chezlanthes (Pl. 6 and 10), and Pellea
(Pl. 4). Nearly all are ferns which appear to
have the power of living a part of the time where
the airis dry. The genera to which the Gold and
Silver Ferns belong contain also other species
which have no white or yellow powder upon their
fronds. Almost all the ferns of the above genera
can be cultivated in the temperate house, al-
though some species may seem to flourish better
in the tropical house; but, as they prefer less
moisture overhead than most ferns, the temperate
house will, on the whole, be the best place for
III
Ti2 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OUKS.
them. They require only the same soil that is
suitable for other ferns, and must, during their
season of active growth, receive plenty of water
at the roots; but a drop must never touch their
fronds, as, if sprinkled like others, they will imme-
diately cease to be gold and silver ferns, and only
look like poor examples of other species which have
caught the drippings of the white or yellow wash
of some fresco-painter. Ferns of this class re-
quire less shade than most other species, but will
even thrive under a little direct sunshine, provided
it be not at noon nor in hot weather. When well
grown they are very elegant, and are particularly
adapted to exhibition-purposes. They are not, as
a rule, good for the fern-case. 3
The following list contains many of the best Gold
and Silver Ferns for cultivation, and also of the
forms which have no white or yellow powder, but
belong to the same genera, and require the same
treatment as the first :!—
Il. With Vellow or White Powder.
Gymnogramme chrysophylla, Kaulf. (Lowe, vol. i., Pl. 1,
under G. Martensiz). From the West Indies: powder
yellow; fr. 10 to 20 inches long.
G. chrysophylla, var. Laucheana, Ffor¢., is a cultivated variety
of the last, with powder of a deeper yellow.
G. Peruviana, Desv. From. Tropical America: powder
1 For all abbreviations used in the lists in this book, see explanation
following Table of Contents.
PLATE XIV.
CAMPTOSORUS RHIZOPHYLLUS, LINK.
(WALKING LEAF FERN.)
SPECIAL WAYS OF GROWING. FERNS. FES
white, and covering both the upper and under surface of
the fronds; fr. 1o—20 inches long, appearing mouse-colored.
G. pulchella, Linden (Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 74). From Venezue-
la: powder white; fr. dark green above, 10-30 inches
__ long, 12 inches broad, often forking. A beautiful plant.
G. sulphurea, Desv. (Lowe, vol.i., Pl. 5). From the West
; Indies: powder bright yellow; fr. 6~10 inches long.
G. triangularis, Kaulf. (Eaton’s Ferns of N. A., fo be fig-
ured: Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 10). From California: powder
yellow, rarely white; fr. raised on stalks 3-10 inches long,
triangular, I-3 inches wide. This species requires great
care in cultivation. — .
G. calomelanos, Kaulf. (Hk., Gard., F., Pl. 30). From the
West Indies: powder white; fr. 1o—30 inches long, 3-8
inches broad. One of the commonest in cultivation.
NWotholena nivea, Desv. (Lowe, vol. i Pl. 19). From
Mexico, &c.: resembles /V. dealbata, Pl. 2 of this book;
‘ powder white; fr. 4-10 inches long. Easily managed.
LV. filavens, Moore (Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 47). From Central
America: powder yellow; fr. 6-10 inches long. The
same as JV. chrysophylla, Hort.
Cheilanthes farinosa, Kaulf. (Hk. and G., Ic. Fil., Pl. 134).
From the tropics: powder white; fr. 6-15 inches long.
Adiantum sulphureum, Kaulf. (Lowe, vol. ix., N.and R. F.,
Pl. 61). Hooker considers this to be a variety of A.
Ae thiopicum, L. From Chili: powder yellow; fr. 6-12
inches long. Difficult to manage.
II. fronds without any Powder.
Gymnogramme tomentosa, Desv. Fr. 10-20 inches long;
dark, hairy.
Notholena Newberryi, Eaton (Eaton’s F. of N. A., to be
figured). From United States: fr. white, woolly, 6-12
inches long, about 2 inches broad. A charming plant.
114. FERNS: IN THEIR HOMES\ANDSOUKS:
LV. sinuata, Kaulf. (Eaton’s F. of N. A., to be figured).
From New Mexico: fr. 12-30 inches long, scarcely I
inch broad. Very graceful.
Cheilanthes myriophylla, Desv., var. elegans (Hk., Sp. Fil.,
vol. ii., Pl. 105).. From Mexico: fr. 6512 inchesMong:
rusty with scales beneath, finely cut. Very graceful.
C. hirta, Swartz (Hk., Sp. Fil. vol. ii, Pl. 101). From
Cape Colony, &c.: fr. 1o-2z0 inches long, dark green,
glandular. Another form of this fern with broader fronds
is frequently in cultivation.
. Coopere, Eaton (P\. 6, this book). From California.
Somewhat resembles C. vestita of the Middle States.
. Canuginosa, Nutt. (Pl. 10, this book). From Wisconsin,
&c. :
Sa 1, OPEL A” 5 SZ WSR: :
Soe PAN ge DEEL te CD a oy BR ae ene ESE TCs a wns erg HS oe
SHAPTER XI.
TREE-FERNS,
mes REE-FERNS differ so much in appear-
6a ance from their humbler relatives, and
their cultivation involves so many special
cares, that we will give them a chapter to them-
selves.
In Chapter I. the writer endeavored to show the
relation between the stem of the Tree-Fern and
that of ferns of lowlier habit. It remains to.speak
of the difference caused in the growth of the fern
by this remarkable form of stem, and to explain
why Tree-Ferns demand a peculiar method of cul-
tivation. It is only in a large house that they can
be grown at all; for although they always begin
with the minute spore, and. pass through the f7o-
thallus stage of development, yet, in their native
haunts, they sometimes reach the height of sixty
feet from the ground, and have a circle of spread-
ing fronds one hundred feet in circumference.
The trunk of a Tree-Fern is formed by the axis
123
124 FERNS [N THELR HOMES AND OURS.
of growth being continually elevated; thus produ-
cing, as it were, internodes between the fronds.
It is therefore taller than other fern-stems, for the
same reason that a hollyhock is taller than a dan-
delion, although each develops about the same —
number of leaves. This trunk, in growing, forms
woody tissue very much as do the palms. Woody
bundles run down from the fronds into the trunk;
but the centre is generally filled with pith. As -
the old fronds decay they fall off, leaving each a
scar on the trunk; and these scars form odd and
sometimes graceful markings on the exterior. The
roots of the Tree-Fern originate, not at the base
of the trunk as with ordinary trees, but at the base
of the crown from which the fronds spring, and
among the petioles of former fronds. So we see
at once the importance of keeping the trunk con-
tinually moist, that the new roots may not become
dry on their way down to the earth. This also
suggests a resemblance between the trunk of the
Tree-Fern and the stem of the creeping species;
and hence, also, the life of the Tree-Fern is chiefly
concentrated about the crown. If these crowns
are kept in good order, Tree-Ferns can be trans-
ported from their native countries without either
fronds or ground attachment,-and packed loosely
in boxes; enough vitality remaining for them,
under careful treatment, to regain their former
magnificence in a year or two in their new home.
TREE-FERNS. 125
Another quite important service, though a mechan-
ical one, is performed by the overlapping of roots
down the trunks of Tree-Ferns. Unlike our for-
est-trees, the fern does not increase the size of
its trunk, after it has once formed one, below its
growing-point ; and hence, as the trunk must thus
grow larger above, the lower portion of the trunk
would be the weaker, and would be liable to snap
in a high wind. The overlapping roots furnish
the strength required, and enable the plant to
develop in safety.
So few Tree-Ferns, in comparison with those
brought to Europe, are imported into this country,
that it is seldom known among us how easily they
may be obtained and transported. In “The Fern
Garden,” p. 129, Shirley Hibberd tells us how to
procure them, and how to treat them afterward : —
“Let us now suppose that some obliging friend in Aus-
tralia makes you a present of a lot of Tree-Ferns. He has
found some specimens with stems from four to five or even
six feet long. He has cut away all the fronds, and dug them
up, without taking the trouble of saving any of the roots.
In fact, they are stems, and nothing more,—stems sams
fronds, sams roots, sams every thing. He leaves them out
in the air for a few days to dry, and then packs them with
shavings ina box. Let him be especially careful that this
box be not air-tight: that is their greatest danger. In this
way they generally come with pretty good success, a large
majority of them quite safely. And now, as we unpack them,
let them be placed upright in some close, cool, dark corner:
under the stage of a greenhouse is as good a place as they
126 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
can have. Give them a syringing once a day for the first
week, and after that two or three times a day: never allow
them to get quite dry. By the end of a fortnight, or even
sooner, you will observe the points of new roots starting out
upon the stem, and the closely-coiled-up fronds in the centre
to be pushing upwards.
“They may now be safely potted. I have no faith in
exact proportions for mixing soils; and my candid opinion
is, that the mechanical condition of the soil has more influ-
ence than any thing else. Let rt, then, above all things, be
open and porous. Use pots as small as you can, in the first
place, and shift them from time to time as the plants may
require it, using rough peaty soil as before. If allowed to
become pot-bound, the fronds soon dwindle in size. Keep
them always moist at the root, and during nine months of
the year the stem should be kept constantly moist. This
can easily be done without wetiing the fronds much, which
is not always beneficial Do not expose your plants to
draughts of dry air, and be sure to shade them from bright
sunshine. Following these simple rules, your Tree-Ferns
will be an ever-increasing source of pleasure.”
Smith, in “Ferns, British and Foreign,” gives
the following suggestions regarding the re-potting
of Tree-Ferns :—
“When large ferns are to be re-potted, an inverted pot
should be placed in the new pot, placing a layer of drainage
around it, the height of the pot to be such that the crocks of
the old ball (which must not be taken out) rest on top of the
(inverted) pot. By this means the outer circle of new roots
are not crushed by the weight of the plant.”
If, in cultivation, a Tree-Fern becomes too tall
for the house in which it grows, it is possible to re-
TREE-FERNS. 127
duce its height. Select a time when the fronds
have attained their full growth, and are dormant:
then cut the trunk off, so that, when the upper
part is again planted, it will be of the required
altitude. By careful tending, the fern will, in a
year or two, be in good order again, and ready to
continue its growth undisturbed for perhaps twenty
years.
Small plants, and occasionally large ones, of
many of the choice varieties of arborescent ferns,
may be obtained of the larger plant-dealers in
this country. :
The Tree-Ferns belong to several genera, and
have many very near relatives among the low-
growing species. Thus the Dicksonia antarctica
(Pl. 7), one of the largest among the Tree-Ferns,
has associated with it in the same genus D. punc-
ttlobula, one of our commonest native ferns, with a
creeping stem, and with the whole plant rarely
reaching three feet in height. The Blechnum
Brasiliense (see frontispiece) has among its con-
geners species which are seldom more than six
inches high.
Williams, in “Select Ferns,” gives a list of forty
Tree-Ferns which have been successfully grown in
the greenhouses of England, so arranged as to
show the species which require a temperature
averaging 70° Fah. in summer and 42° in winter,
and those whose average summer temperature
128 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
must be 75° and their winter 65°. As these
plants have so much longer been the subjects
of experiment in England than in this country,
we can do no better than to examine this list, a
portion of which is here given.. Among the
former are ;
Alsophila australis, Br., S. America.
Alsophila Coopert, Hk., Queensland.
Alsophila excelsa, Br., Norfolk Island.
Dicksonia antarctica, Labill., Australia.
Dicksonia arborescens, L’ Herit., St. Helena.
Dicksonia fibrosa, Col., New Zealand.
Dicksonia lanata, Col., New Zealand.
Dicksonia squarrosa, Sw., New Zealand.
Dicksonia (Cibotium) Barometz, Link, China.
Dicksonia (Cibotium) Menztesit, Hk., Sandwich Islands.
Cyathea dealbata, Sw., New Zealand, &c.
Cyathea medullaris, Sw., New Zealand.
Thyrsopteris elegans, Kunze, Juan Fernandez.
Among the latter which require the warmer
temperature he mentions
Alsophila aspera, Br., Tropical America.
Alsophila procera, Kaulf., Brazil.
- Alsophila radens, Kaulf., Brazil.
Alsophila pruinata, Kaulf., West Indies.
Alsophila ferox, Presl (aculeata of some authors), West
Indies, &c. .
Alsophila armata, Presl, Tropical America.
Aisophila glabra, Hk. (gigantea of some authors), East
India.
PLATE XVI,
ASPLENIUM RUTA-MURARIA, L.
(WALL RUE, SPLEENWORT)
=
a u
TREE-FERNS. 129
Cyathea arborea, Smith, West Indies.
Cyathea canaliculata, Willd., Mauritius.
Cyathea excelsa, Sw., Mauritius.
Cyathea Serra, Willd., West Indies.
Cyathea sinuata, H. and G., Ceylon.
Hemitelia grandifolia, Spr., West Indies.
flemitelia horrida, Br., West Indies.
flemitelia Karsteniana, Kaulf., Venezuela.
Flemitelia speciosa, H{k., Tropical America.
As very few plates give much more than the
botanical characters of the species, no references
to figures are given for species of Tree-Ferns.
Blechnum Brasiliense, illustrated in the frontis-
* piece, is an excellent fern for a small house. Al-
though old plants form quite tall stems, it is rarely
seen more than six feet high. Lomaria gibéa and
L. ciliata are very beautiful ferns. They form
small stems one to two feet high, and spread fif-
teen to thirty inches across the top. They are
likely to be attacked by ¢#rzps if kept in too warm
a place.
CHAPTER Xie
GOOD FERNS FOR CULTIVATION,
w=ve=ay TTS chapter contains lists of ferns suitable
6 244 for cultivation in the tropical and temper-
atx} ate houses and the fern-case. References -
to Souniened figures, and brief hints at the char- ~
acter of these ferns, are added. The size of the
plants is also given, that selections may be made
for fern-cases, according to their dimensions or the
owner’s fancy. It is, however, to be noted, that
no hard-and-fast line can always be drawn between
plants for the two houses, as many species will
flourish in either. |
Good Ferns for the Tropical House.
Adiantum amabile, Hort. (Gardener’s Chronicle, 1868).
Seems to be A. Jooret, Baker, S. America. Fr. 10-20
inches long.
A. caudatum, Linn. (Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 104). Fr. 8-18 inches
long, I-2 inches broad, often rooting at the tip.
A. concinnum, H. B. K. (Lowe, B. and E. Ferns, vol. iii, Pl.
1). Tropical America. Fr. 12-20 inches long,6-ginches
130
GOOD FERNS FOR CULTIVATION. 131
broad. Another form of this beautiful fern is the var.
latum.
A. Farleyense, Hort. “appears to be an abnormal form of
A. tenerum, Sw., of garden origin.” It is undoubtedly,
when well grown, one of the most magnificent of A dan-
tums, perhaps of any of the lower-growing ferns. It
never bears fruit. Mr. Such, of South Amboy, N.J.,
had in 1875 plants of this fern three feet in diameter.
A. macrophyllum, Sw. (Hk., Fil. Ex., Pl. 55, and H. and G.,,
Pl. 132). Fr. 12-30 inches long, 4-8 inches broad. The
segments are large, and the color of the young fronds is
a beautiful pink.
A. Peruvianum, Klotzsch (Hk., Sp. Fil., vol. ii., Pl. 81, C).
Fr. and segments large.
A. Sancte Catherine, Fort., does not very much differ from
A. trapeziforme, Linn., of which it is a variety.
A. velutinum, Moore (Gard. Chron., 1866). Fr. 18-24 inches
long, 10-15 inches broad. A fine fern.
eeeerieris evecta Hoffm. (H. and G., Pl. 36, and Hk., Fil.
Ex., Pl. 75).
150 FERNS IN THELR T1ONLS ANDVOCKS.
investigation by microscopists, who use their sili-
cious cases as test-objects for high-power objec-
tives.
The parallel group of Fugit is generally very
uninteresting as presenting objects for collection,
although much investigated by patient scientists.
Many species among the larger ones are edible;
and the mushroom (Agaricus campestris) is fre-
quently seen at horticultural exhibitions, though
it is seldom that this excellent vegetable reaches
the suburban markets. Old specimens of Polypo-
rus, the shelf-like, woody fungus which grows
upon old trees, may be easily converted into a
bracket upon which to place a pot-plant or a vase.
The JLichens are very tempting to collectors, ~
in the hope that they may be made to flourish in
the fernery; but they soon mould, and spread
trouble among the ferns. One of the most beau-
tiful, the Evernia vulpina of California, is a fine
object to use for house decoration in company
with the 77//andsza, and, like most of the pendent
Lichens, may be washed when dusty.
Of the Characee many species may be found
in ponds and rivers, sometimes growing in quite
deep, but more frequently in shallow water. Some
have a very unpleasant smell, resembling sulphu-
retted hydrogen, when first collected ; and some are
covered by a deposit of carbonate or phosphate
of lime, which is secreted by the plant, and hence
—s'.7 +-— +.” =
——_——.
OTHER CRYPTOGAMS IN CULTIVATION. 151
considered by botanists as analogous to the sili-
cious particles in the stem of Lguzsetum. The
Charas and WVitellas may be kept a long time in
water with a little earth at the bottom, and are
very interesting. Their large cells, under the
microscope, are excellent objects to illustrate the
rotation or circulation of the protoplasm. Charas
are reproduced in two ways, — by an odsphere after
fertilization, or by bulblets analogous to the buds
of other plants. Charles Johnson, Esq., in “ Ferns
of Great Britain,’ London, 1859 (almost the only
English work illustrating the common species of
Chara and JWVitella), says, “Young plants may be
easily raised of all the species.”” He had grown
many, especially C. aspera, himself. Later works
than this, however, should be consulted for the
structure and development of these plants.
Among the fHefatice the Marchantia is very
interesting in cultivation; and on the trunks of
trees, and creeping over rocks, will be found many
species of Frullania, Fungermannia, Madotheca,
Ptilidium, &c., many of them in appearance re-
sembling the Zzchens, for which they are often
mistaken by young botanists. Of course these
plants only come into our collection as accessories
to the ferns; but they will repay our attention and
care. :
Of the growth and development of the Mosses
much might be said. In the out-door fernery they
152 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
are useful to assist in keeping moist the earth
about the ferns, and to hide the bare surfaces
of rocks. For the fern-case they are not to
be strongly recommended: they harbor insects
which will devour the young fern-fronds as they
unroll. But in the open fernery, or out of doors,
they can be made of inestimable service, and add
much to the appearance of the collection. If
grown by themselves during the winter in a shal-
low glazed case, they are very interesting. The
writer once had a mossery instead of a fernery ;
and with care taken to keep it cool, and give it
enough ventilation, the plants were in excellent
condition the season through, both growing well,
and fruiting. Many of the larger species of /Zyf-
num are beautiful, and the close-growing species
of the same genus are valuable for a lining to
hold the earth in place in the wire baskets for
hanging plants. The Polytrichums and Dicranums
of the larger mosses, and Bryums, Mniums, and
Atrichums of the small ones, can be used in the
out-door fernery among the rocks and ferns. The
Sphagnum (bog-moss) is always in demand with
the gardener, on account of its usefulness in pack-
ing plants for transportation, and the many ways
in which he can turn its spongy structure to
account in his business. A very pretty fashion of
European origin has recently come to prevail at
horticultural exhibitions in Boston. Instead of
PLATE XIX.
i)
BOTRYCHIUM
LUNARIA, SWARTZ BOTRYCHIUM BOREALE, MILDE.
OTHER CRYPTOGAMS IN CULTIVATION. 153
displaying choice roses, rhododendrons, &c., in
bottles inserted in wooden frames, cases are pre-
pared four feet by eighteen inches, with a depth of
eight inches at the back, and four in front. The
whole surface being evenly covered with moss,
a certain number of tin cups are sunk in it, and
hidden beneath the moss; and in these the flowers
are arranged with an effect impossible to attain
with the old wooden stands.
This brings us, in the table, to the ferns; and,
passing them, we ascend the scale above.
Among the Aguzsetums, the common species, £.
arvense, may be successfully cultivated in moist
soil. The finest of all is the “ Wood Horse-Tail,”
£. sylvaticum. Shirley Hibberd, in ‘The Fern
Garden,” speaks most enthusiastically of this spe-
cies: “If the reader can imagine a nine-inch pot
with about fifty of these stems crowded together
in it, all of them arching over with exquisite grace
like the feathers from the tails of birds-of-para-
dise, the color the most tender shade of emerald
green, no apology will be needed for calling atten-
tion to it in these pages; for it is, in fact, one of the
most desirable plants for the fern garden.” With
us this species is common at the North, and is
certainly a most graceful plant. Another, the
“Scouring Rush,” £. Zyemadle, is an attractive and
curious example, growing in situations similar to
those chosen by Peris aquilina.
154 FERNS [IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
In Chapter II. it was noted that the Ophzog/os-
sacee had been found so to differ from the true
ferns, that they were now placed apart from these,
and considered only as fern allies. Of these
forms, O. vulgatum can seldom be kept under
cultivation longer than two years. Of the South-
ern Ophioglossums little or nothing can be said.
Botrychium Virginianum is by far the most grace-
ful of all, and the most easily cultivated. The
fronds of this perfect themselves in June, while
the various forms of B. ¢ernatum do not appear at
all till August. The Lotrychiums require a deep,
firm soil, and do not bear disturbance very well.
They usually grow in damp places; but varieties
of 4. ternatum and some of the smaller species
are frequently found on high pasture-land. Little
can be said of the minor forms; but probably they
cannot be cultivated with much success.
Among the Rhzzocarps, Marsilea quadrifolia is
frequent in cultivation near Boston. It is a pretty
little plant, growing in rather shallow water. The
leaves, which resemble ‘those of an Ovxalzs, float
upon the surface, while the large spore-cases are
borne along the creeping stems at the bottom.
The plant spreads so rapidly, that, in ponds where
it has been growing but a few years, it has every
appearance of being indigenous. The habitat
given for it in. this country is Bantam Lake, Litch-
field, Conn.; but the characteristics of its growth
P a
ee
OTHER CRYPTOGAMS IN CULTIVATION. 155
are such, that it may be an introduced species even
there.
The Lycopodiacee are highest among Crypto-
gams. Ihe order contains the genera /soétes,
Pstilotum, Tmesipteris, Lycopodium, Selaginella,
and Phylloglossum. Even a superficial examina-
tion of them will suggest resemblances to plants
of higher structure among the Phanerogams.
Some of the Lycofodiums.remind us of a pine-
tree, and the fruit-spikes of many resemble pine-
cones. Humble as they now are, they can boast
of noble ancestors among the Lepzdodendrons of
geologic antiquity, whose towering stems during
the Carboniferous Period reached a height of six-
ty feet, and which were plants closely connected
by the Szgz/lartas to the Conifers. We have in
America Pszlotum, a plant which grows in Florida,
and resembles the beech-drops (£pzphegus Ver-
gintana); and /soétes, which is an uninteresting
grass-like plant growing in shallow water, and hav-
ing its spores at the bases of the leaves. |
_ The species of the genus Lycopodium are diffi-
cult to establish in cultivation; and so many
writers allude to this fact, that it must have been
proved by multiplied and fruitless experiments
everywhere among horticulturists. Of our common
species, ZL. dendroideum, complanatum, lucidulum,
and annotinum are beautiful plants, and much in
demand for use as evergreens in all kinds of deco-
ration.
156 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
The genus Selaginella is, of all the Lycopods,
most frequently met with in cultivation; and more
frequently, indeed, than all the other Cryptogams,
except the ferns. Its graceful habit, and the ease
with which its species are grown, at once recom-
mend it to every one for the Wardian-case, green-
house, or stove. Some Selaginellas will thrive in
the air of an ordinary living-room. Even in New
England two of the smaller species are indigenous,
while in California and the South-western States
the number of hardy species is much. increased.
So important are they among cultivated Crypto-
gams, that wé shall devote an entire chapter to
their consideration.
CHARLER. XVI.
SELAGINELLAS.
AMONG the Selaginellas are plants of very
different type, from the solid, carpet-like
S. densa, to the extensively climbing S.
levigata. Between these extremes are such as
S. Martensiz, one of the commonest in cultivation,
which rises six or eight inches, dropping roots
from the stem to support itself as it grows; and
the frond-like species, which have a very fern-like
aspect, and are perhaps more delicately cut than
any fern. Among these last are S. v7¢zculosa and
S. pubescens. The fern-like Selaginellas increase
by underground stems, and are, therefore, more
difficult to propagate.
Selaginellas all thrive in the tropical, and many
species do well in the temperate house. They
endure, in fact like, deep shade. Hence they are
invaluable for in-door ferneries. The low-growing
species, as S. denticulata, the commonest of all,
make in a wonderfully short time a green carpet
157
158 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
in the fern-house wherever they are allowed to
grow, whether on sand or on earth. It has been
the writer’s practice to allow this pretty Selagznella
to take its own course, and to cover all the spaces
between the pots on the sanded shelves, the earth
among the larger pots in a central bed, and what-
ever space it might find on the greenhouse paths.
The professional gardener would doubtless think
this a “weedy” proceeding: but we do not all
care to see the unrelieved primness of a too well-
ordered house; and besides, those of us who have
but a small place at best prefer to keep it, as it
were, as a large fern-case which we can enter and
examine, rather than to arrange it more exactly as
a collection, and provoke the comparison of its
minuteness to the magnificent establishments of
our wealthy neighbors.
Selaginellas may be divided, or their cuttings
rooted, at any time. Many species will be found
to come up freely from the spores in spring and
fall. The fruit-spike, bearing its two kinds of
spores, may be discovered at the tips of the little
branches on the older fronds. They are of the
same green color as the ordinary divisions of the
frond, only more dense and angular. Figures
illustrating the fruiting and reproduction of Se/a-
ginellas may be referred to at p. 400 of Sachs’s
“ Text-Book of Botany,” and p. 90 in LeMaout and
Decaisne’s large work mentioned in Chapter IV.
SELAGINELLAS. 159
With nearly every species it is best to renew
the plants annually, as a year suffices to render
them irregular and misshapen. The climbing Se/a-
ginellas and those from a creeping stem may be
put in larger pots, however, as they increase. As
most of them do not root deeply in the earth, a
shallow soil is enough; but the drainage of the
pans must be provided for most carefully. Of the
dense-growing species little tufts may be taken,
and distributed over the surface of the soil, which
should be light and quite sandy, then pressed in
slightly, carefully sprinkled, and placed one side
in a moist and shady corner. Of the taller-grow-
ing species, such as Martensit, Galeottit, &c., cut-
tings for single plants may be rooted in the
cutting-bench of the greenhouse; but for larger
specimens they may be distributed, one to every
inch, over a nine or ten inch pan, which will in
a few months yield beautiful plants. They can be
trimmed as freely as desired.
The following suggestion is offered by Smith in
“Ferns, British and Foreign,” p. 328 :—
“ If, however, good species are desirable, with an arrange-
ment on a bench or low shelf, square pans about twice as
high at the back as in front are in every way preferable.
These are at Kew arranged alternately with the cases of
Hymenophyllum, with which they harmonize.”
Owing to the multitude of synonymes in use in
naming collections of Selaginellas, great trouble
160 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
is experienced in ordering any particular species
from a catalogue. The names given below were
taken from a named collection at the Botanic
Garden, Cambridge, Mass., and may therefore be
relied upon as correct. The plants themselves,
when the list was made, were in a most beautiful
and healthy condition.
I. CLIMBING SPECIES.
S. levigata, Spring. Sometimes known as Lycopodium (not
Selaginella) Willdenovit, S. cesta, S. altissima, &c.
From East India. When trained in a pot as a climber,
or left to itself in the fernery, it is a beautiful plant.
When in good condition, the fronds are of a fine metallic
blue. It needs the warmest place.
S. Wallichtt, Hort. From Penang. Has fern-like fronds,
and is well adapted for pot-culture.
S. caulescens, Spring. From the East Indies. May be
trained into a most attractive exhibition-plant.
S. inequalifolia, Spring. From East India. Is also a fine
species.
II, ERECT SPECIES.
S. Lyall, Spring. A tall-growing species of oy handsome
form. Needs warmth.
S. viticulosa, Klotz. From Columbia. Fronds quite large,
light green. A fine pan-plant.
S. Parvillet, Spring. Fronds larger and darker than the
last.
S. hematodes, Spring. Fronds larger and taller still, dark
green, delicate, and very handsome.
S. erythropus, Spring. From Tropical America. Similar
to above, but not so large as the last. It approaches the
next species.
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SELAGINELLAS. 161
S. pubescens, Spring. This, when well grown, is one of the
most beautiful of Selaginellas. It is often found under
the name S. Wilidenovit. The fronds frequently are
two feet high.
Ill, PLANTS DECUMBENT, OR INCLINED TO BE SO.
Galeottii, Spring. Sometimes known as S. Schotti.
From Mexico. This is a fine plant for baskets or for
walls in the greenhouse. Is also excellent for the fern-
ery; but it is difficult to keep it within the limits of a pan,
as the numerous stems often shoot out to a great length.
. atroviridis, Spring. From East India. A rather stiff
species, with somewhat large fronds. Is interesting
from its ruddy appearance.
S. Martensit, Spring. From Mexico. This is one of the
most common as well as most useful species in cultiva-
tion. It is found under the names Lycopodium stolontfe-
vum and L. Brasiliense. Its habit is to continually
throw off roots from the backs of the fronds, like a min-
’ jature banyan: hence one of its names (stoloniferumnt).
This species has been made to vary considerably. The
var. compacta is more dense than the typical form, mak-
ing quite bushy little plants when single. The var. d-
varicata is more delicate: the fronds are tipped witha
light, almost golden, point; and the whole appearance of
the plant differs widely from the other varieties. Var.
variegata seems to bea variegated compacta. The fronds
are often half white. By selecting the whitest from which
to propagate, the variety may be kept for any length of
time; but, if the cultivator is not careful, the green
fronds will predominate, and the variety return to its ori-
ginal type. Like almost all variegated plants obtained
by modifying species, there is in this variety an abnormal
condition of existence: although this particular Se/agz-
162 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
nella does not follow very closely the law that such varie-
gated plants are less healthy than others, for its fronds
are but slightly smaller than the ordinary green ones.
The varieties of this species are just the plants with
which to fill the shallow pans, or to use as undergrowth in
ferneries. They will endure quite a cool temperature,
and flourish ina hot one. They like shade, but will not
die in full light.
So far, the species enumerated under the head
“Decumbent” are those of larger-and more erect
habit. Among the creeping, low-growing sorts,
are
S. uncinata, Spring. Called also S. cesta. From China.
A plant adapted to pot-culture or the fernery. The
longer stems are stiff; and in the fall the plant has a
beautiful color; but by spring the whole will have become
withered, and look badly. It may then be cut in quite
closely, and new shoots will soon develop.
S. Kraustana, var. A delicate plant, with a golden tip to
each segment of the fronds. Somewhat like S. J7Zar-
tensit, var. divaricata, but more delicate.
S. delicatissima, A. Br. From Columbia. Also called 5S.
microphylla, and is well described by either name. Like
the last species, it is more adapted to pan-culture than for
the fernery with other plants. In a small fernery, Bae it-
self, it can be managed without trouble.
S. denticulata, Link. A European species, the commonest
in cultivation. It is even a weed in most fern-houses.
It is very useful to cover any damp spot, and, for a
fernery, is always pretty.
S. Apus, Spring. A native of N. America. It grows in
damp, shady hollows. Is considered the same as the
cain tes
SELAGINELLAS. 163
more closely-growing S. dewsa so much cultivated. But,
whether there are two species or one, the plants are
charming. .S. densa, when well started, forms a solid
turf on a pan ina short time. Little tufts may be pricked
out in different parts of the pan, and will grow together.
This species does not generally thrive in the fern-case
with other plants.
IV. PLANTS WITH FRONDS SPRINGING FROM A CENTRAL
POINT.
S. convoluta, Spring. From Tropical America. Often
called Lycopodium convolutum and L. paradoxa. A
dark-green species, with rather rigid fronds.
. nvolvens, Spring. From India. More circular in form.
This and
. cuspidata, Link, from Tropical America, are dry-looking
species. In fact, all the Se/aginel/as in this section ap-
parently grow in countries where there is a dry season
at some time of the year. If not watered sufficiently,
they will curl up rather than wilt as other species do.
S. pilifera. Another of the same general habit.
S.
lepidophylla, Spring. From Mexico. This is the cu-
rious ball-like plant which in its dead and dry condition
is peddled in the streets of Boston and other cities as
the “resurrection-plant.” When this dry ball is placed
in water it soon unfolds, looking as if it were alive;
but it is not, and many have been the disappointed
persons who have vainly endeavored to make a speci-
men grow. The water is absorbed in a purely mechani-
cal way by the plant, just as oil is drawn up into lamp-
wicks by capillary attraction. The true “resurrection-
plant,” or “rose of Jericho,” is the Axastatica hiero-
chuntina of Syria, which is supposed by the superstitious
to unfold yearly at the day and hour of Christ’s birth.-
164. FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
The Selaginellas of the last division are rather
hard to manage, and are only desirable as curious
plants. :
There are very few works available for the de-
termination of the species of Se/agznella. Spring’s
“Monograph of the Lycopodiaceze”’ is the authority
most in use. A few plates of different species
of Selaginella are given in some of the works
of Sir W. J. Hooker: others may be found in
the horticultural publications. For investigating —
the structure of these plants, Sachs, Hoffmeister,
and LeMaout and Decaisne, may be consulted.
™ ran ee Oy cae ne
as.
CHAPEER XVII.
FLOWERING-PLANTS TO GROW WITH FERNS.
am|O extended lists of plants will be attempted
RWS} in this chapter; but suggestions will be
3 given as to the classes of plants most
suitable for cultivation with ferns.
In house-culture, particularly in the tropical
house, the various species of Palms are frequently
grown with fine effect. The catalogues of dealers
in rare plants, either on this or the other side of
the Atlantic, will give the prices and sizes of these;
and a reference to such books as Martius’ “ Genera
and Species of Palms” will enable the purchaser
to form some idea of the shape of their fronds and
their mode of growth. It also is frequently the
case that the dealers’ catalogues are themselves
well illustrated.
The Avozdce contain many plants, especially the
highly-colored Caladiums, well adapted to grow
with ferns.
One of the most magnificent plants that can be
165
166 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
cultivated is one of the bananas, —the Musa En-
sete; but it could: only, of course, be grown in a
large greenhouse.
The Legonias, especially those after the pattern
of B. vex, are always desirable. They are easily
managed in the greenhouse or fern-case.
The moist air of the fern-house seems exactly
what is required for the treatment of Orchids ;
but the expense which these plants involve pre-—
vents their cultivation becoming common. But
where the owner of the house has time to tend
and watch them, or a gardener is always in at-
tendance, they should not be omitted. ‘The first
thing to be done by any one who proposes to grow
Orchids is to obtain Williams’s ‘‘Orchid-Grower’s
Manual;” or “Orchid Culture,’ by Edward S.
Rand, jun. (Hurd and Houghton, 1876). The
latter is slightly the more expensive. . These books
contain descriptions of the best Ovchzds, and in-
formation concerning their management.
Among the smaller plants suitable for ferneries
are the /zttonzas, the very pretty variegated Pant-
cum, various JMJarantas, and, until it outgrows its
quarters, the Coccoloba platyphylla. The Ficus
repens Will in a short time form a beautiful cover-
ing on the wall of the greenhouse, and will also
thrive in the fernery.
Reference has already been made to plants
which may be grown in the out-door fernery.
eae
ag
FLOWERING-PLANTS TO GROW WITH FERNS. 167
This is one of the places which should be devoted
to experiments ; one of its greatest charms being
the discovery, as spring opens, of plants in good
condition which had been placed there the season
before, with some misgivings as to their survival.
It is possible, at very little expense of money
or trouble, always to bring something to the fern-
ery from our short journeys or country walks;
and the experiments thus tried serve both to in-
terest us at the time, and add to the plants to be
watched for and hailed with pleasure as other
seasons come.
CHAPTER XVI
FERN-PESTS.
> AVERY one who cultivates ferns, whether
7a, in doors or out, in pots or in ferneries,
will, sooner or later, find that his pets are
liable to trouble from animal or vegetable pests,
and that some of these are only with great diffi-
culty to be exterminated.
The common plant-lice (Aphzs, Pl. 22, Fig. 9),
of which there are at least two species, collect on
the young fronds, and, owing to their gemmipa-
rous method of reproduction, increase with aston-
ishing rapidity. Dr. Packard, in his ‘Guide to
the Study of Insects,” states that it has been
shown, that, by this process, nine generations may
be produced, and in one case eleven generations
were obtained, in seven months. Ants, which do
no particular harm themselves, are very fond of
the sweetish secretions of the Aphzdes, sometimes
guarding them for future use.
The Aphis may be destroyed by tobacco-smoke,
168
2 es oe e
‘I mo het ae
Ken To = ce
Pee XXI. CHINESE STAND.
FERN-PESTS. 169
In fact, if the greenhouse is smoked lightly every
week, as it should be, very little trouble will be
experienced from this source. When house-plants
or ferneries are attacked by them, the Aphzdes may
be readily removed by using a soft brush.
The Zhrips (Heltothrips hemorrhotdalis, Pl. 22,
Fig. 2) is much harder to manage. These insects
generally collect unobserved on the under side of
the fern-fronds, where they increase greatly, and
injure many plants before their presence is sus-
pected. They live upon the cuticle of the frond
or leaf, causing it to turn brown or whitish. The
insects in the larval state are white, the adults
black or dark brown. These are so small, — being
only about the sixteenth of an inch in length, —
that they are hardly noticeable without a glass,
and are with difficulty removed by mechanical
means. Smoking which will keep the Agfzs in
check will not dislodge the Zrzps, while smoke
sufficiently strong to kill the 7rzps will be sure
to injure the more delicate plants. The best.
method is to select some time when dull weather
is expected, and give the house, three evenings in
succession, as much smoke as is safe. This will
usually dispose of the Z/rip~s ; but, if unsuccessful,
repeat the operation soon. One gardener says
that he judges of the necessary quantity of smoke
by tasting the leaves of several plants: if the
tobacco is perceptible, he feels that the 7hrzps
must have been killed.
170 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OUKS.
The mealy-bug (Coccus, Pl. 22, Fig. 6) is sel-
dom found in the fern-house, as the dampness
required for the health of the ferns is too great
for its well-being; and as the males are winged,
and are destroyed by smoke, the females seldom
increase sufficiently to do any harm. Should they,
however, become troublesome, a smart syringing
will usually dislodge most of them: the rest can
be destroyed by a small stiff brush or little pine
stick. Kerosene is frequently recommended for
killing the mealy-bug; but, in the hands of a be-
ginner, it is a dangerous remedy.
The various scale-lice (Lecantum and Aspidto-
tus) are usually found on the stipes and rachis of
the fern. They cannot be made to relinquish
their hold by any such mild treatment as will dis-
pose of the mealy-bug. It will generally be found
necessary to remove each plant attacked to some
suitable place, out of doors if possible, where the
scale-lice must be carefully removed either with
a little stick or the finger-nail. The plant must
afterward be washed with soap and water, to re-
move any eggs that may adhere to it. Dr. Pack-
ard speaks of several species of these insects
which have attacked the plants in the Amherst
and Cambridge greenhouses. The Lecanium /il-
tcum preys on the strong-growing ferns. It is
shown, highly magnified, in Pl. 22, Fig. 8, as
seen from above, and in Fig. 7 from underneath.
Oe iis eae
| 7
FERN-PESTS. 171
L. platyceriz (Pl. 22, Fig. 5) is found on the Stag’s-
Horn Fern (Platycertum), where it does much
mischief. The Aspzdiotus bromelit is another of
these pests. The scale-lice are themselves some-
times attacked, as is the Apfzs, by parasites. A
minute ichneumon-fly pierces the outer shell of
the scale, and deposits its eggs within. These are
hatched, and the larve, feeding on the scale-con-
tents, soon destroy their host. When perfected,
the little ichneumons fly away to repeat this pro-
cess on other scales. Dr. Packard, judging from
his observations, thinks that‘a great many scale-
lice are thus destroyed.
The red spider (Zetranychus telarvius) ought not
to be found in any fern-house, as its presence
plainly shows that the temperature is too high,
and that the atmosphere of the house is not
sufficiently moist. ‘The red spider, as well as the
Thrips, will first attack plants which are not in
their most healthy condition, as is the case when
plants which naturally require a-temperate heat
are kept in the tropical house. Among the ferns
most frequently assailed are Pellea hastata, Lo-
maria ciliata, L. gibba, and Aspidium falcatum.
The red spider belongs to the family of mites.
It can hardly be seen without a glass; but, when
collected in quantities, the insects give the fronds
a rusty appearance; and, if the fingers are drawn
over the fronds, they will be stained a reddish
172 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
color. We can soon rid ourselves of this pest
by sprinkling the plants, particularly the under
side of the fronds, with water, at evening, or in
the day-time during cloudy weather.
Among larger pests are the snails. Both the
felix, and the soft, shell-less, slimy Lzmax, some-
times called “slug,” quickly eat the new fronds
and young plants, and will cause much trouble in
a short time if suffered to increase. They are
found in both the in and out door fernery. They
may be detected, inside, by their shining trails
of slime where they have marched across the
glass or plant-stems. All of these snails are very
fond of apple or potato, and can be trapped by
leaving in their way slices of these or other juicy
morsels to attract them. If such baits are put at
evening under the moss or leaves, or on the green-
house shelves, the snails or other vermin which
have collected to feed upon them may the next
morning be killed.
The sow-bug (Porcellio), one of the Crustacea,
frequents places where ferns are cultivated. This
creature lives upon dead organic matter, and prob-
ably does no harm to the plants. Sow-bugs may
be caught by inverting flower-pots with moss or
leaves in them to serve as traps: they will col-
lect under these covers. Or they may be hunted
under boards or loose stones.
Among fern-pests in the New-England States
PLATE XXII. FERN PEsTs.
4
+
+
“a
,
pace
”
i
oe
a SS
my
i,
a
' FERN-PESTS. P73
is one European snail (Velix cellaria), which, like
many of our garden nuisances, has been transported
from across the ocean, very probably with some
choice plants, around which an unusual amount
of packing had been placed for more complete
protection.
The earth-worm (Lumbricus), when confined to
the narrow limits of a flower-pot, causes considera-
ble trouble by its tendency to turn things upside
down, but in the larger spaces of the greenhouse,
and out of doors, does probably more good than
harm.
The larva of a saw-fly (Adza caprifolit, Pl. 22,
Fig. 3), which feeds upon the honeysuckles, and
also the currant-worm, have attacked the fronds
of Oxoclea and Osmunda in the writer’s open-air
fernery, causing much damage. As they are
quite large, they can be easily seen and picked
off; or, better still, perhaps, the plants can be
dusted with hellebore or some of the so-called
Turkish insect-powders.!
English'works complain of the ravages of beetle- .
grubs, especially that of the Otzorhynchus sulcatus,
which infests ferneries; and Dr. Packard states
that “a weevil somewhat like Otzorhynchus infests
1 While the writer has been at work on this very chapter, two beautiful
specimens of Botrychium Virginianum in his collection have been de-
stroyed by a cut-worm, their withered fronds lying on the ground to tell
the tale. :
174. FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
the plant-house at Amherst.” According to Smith,
in England “few plant-houses are exempt from
the ravages of the cockroach;” but they are not
often found in greenhouses on this side of the
Atlantic. If, however, they should be discovered,
traps may be set for them in the same manner as
for the snails. ‘Another insect, the AJléurodes
vaporarium, feeds on the cuticle of the fronds, dart-
ing off, when disturbed, like a flock of pigeons.”
This insect has been observed in Salem. It be-
longs to the mealy-bug family, and is shown at PI.
22, Fig. 4, in the young or larval condition; Fig.
1, full grown. hs
Under certain conditions various leaf-fungi attack
the ferns. Among them is the “sooty mildew,”
which quickly covers the fronds of large species.
The Uredo filicum Desm. assails different species
in the open air, as well as in the greenhouse ; and
frequently the fronds of Pters aguzlina will be dis-
figured by patches of Dothidea pteridis, Fr., which
so much resembles the fructification of ferns, that
it is sometimes mistaken for this by inexperienced |
persons. The same thing occurs with Aspzdium
marginale. Only the first of these fungi does
much injury to the ferns. The treatment advised
to destroy this is “‘ dusting with sulphur, or wash-
ing and syringing.” Sulphur must be always used
with care in a greenhouse; for should even a very
small quantity fall on the flues, and ignite, the
+
FERN-PESTS. 178
fumes evolved would be sure destruction to the
plants in the collection.
Rabbits are in England complained of as inter-
fering with the out-door cultivation of ferns. But
the writer has found his chief trouble to arise from
the midnight revels of the cats of the neighbor-
hood, which seem in the spring (the time when
most damage can be done by breaking down the
new fronds, and uprooting the young plants) to
consider the “wild corner ” a particularly favorable
place for their frolics. A box-trap, followed by a
short course of hydropathy whenever a patient
presents himself, has greatly alleviated this annoy-
ance; and the evil, when dead, becomes a blessing
in the shape of a stimulant at the roots of pear-
trees and grape-vines. A friend has lost a fine col-
lection of out-of-door ferns by the ravages of hens,
which seemed to consider the young crosiers very
delicate food. All these and many other annoy-
ances must be met with good-temper, patience, and
mother-wit by every one who would be successful
in the culture of ferns.
CHAPTER XIX.
CONCLUSION.
%aya\ NN conclusion, the writer has but a word to
i say. There is a large class of persons
44} who are so fortunate (or unfortunate, ac-
cording as they use or abuse the privilege) as to
have nothing to do; or, to speak more exactly,
have to do only what they choose. This class
must have a hobby, or they will vws¢ out. Another
class are engrossed by incessant professional
work which leaves them every day cross and
tired. These should have some outside hobby,
or they will become one-sided and crabbed, and
wear out.
Dr. Jacob Bigelow of Boston, being a hard and
earnest worker in his profession, determined, for
his own good, to select some sensible form of
recreation; and chose the study of botany, as
necessitating long walks and refreshing thoughts. —
The result was the publication, in 1814, of his
“ Florula Bostoniensis,’’ which, enlarged and im-
176
CONCLUSION. eat ae
proved in later editions, became the standard ref-
erence-book for all botanists in that portion of the
country, and for more than the third of a century
held this ground undisputed, until the larger and
more modern works of Dr. Gray superseded it.
- Dr. Bigelow published other works ; and, although
these are not now in use as text-books, they still
hold an important place among books of reference.
All this came from a hobby.
Without an object we walk aimlessly, we read
aimlessly, we think aimlessly. Without a hobby
no great man would be great. The child who
collects postage-stamps learns something of geog-
raphy ; and the coin-collector must acquire some-
thing of history, that he may properly arrange his
coins. Too little attention is given, in our sys-
tems of education, to particular tastes. Our pub-
lic schools turn out children of the first, second,
or third degree of education, as our cotton-facto-
ries do their qualities of cloth; or they are as-
sorted, as we screen coal or stones, by the size of
‘the mesh in the netting over which they are
thrown. To pay any such attention, even in a
small degree, to the individuality of scholars,
would demand an indefinite increase in the num-
ber of our public teachers; and perhaps all that
can be hoped for is, that we shall find some pro-
vision for it in our best private schools and col-
leges. But every person, old or young, outside of
178 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS.
an asylum for the insane, should have some one
thing in which an intellectual interest is taken, —
some hobby, or something that may grow into
one. Forced to study what we detest, and what
we can see no use in studying, we shall inevitably
neglect such studies; but taken at the point on
which their interest is concentrated, and led by skil-
ful hands and a clear head, those whose lives would
otherwise become dull or trivial can be indirectly
guided to much higher aims and attainments.
The writer will not claim that the fern-mania,
which may be traced from its beginning across
the ocean to its recent development in this coun-
try, is a hobby superior to most others: but he
does claim, that, properly guided, it can be the
means of stimulating pure and healthy exercise
and study; and that, whether pursued in a scien-
tific way or only as a pastime, it can, in any
event, do no harm, but may be the cause of great
and permanent good. : |
If this little book shall in any way conduce to
the love of the graceful plants of whose culture it
treats, or aid any beginner in the study of the
ferns, the writer will feel that another pleasure
has been added to that which he has already ex-
perienced in its composition.
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