THE FERN PARADISE.*
A FERN paradise !—how exquisitely cool and refreshing is the very name ! suggestive of stately and luxuriant tropical growths, of great, straggling lianas hanging from tree to tree, with here and there a wreath or a mass of gorgeously bright or brilliantly white flowers, and in the dense, shady underwood, tall, verdant plumes springing from a massive brown stem, like the capital from a grace- ful column ; and beneath them, great glossy leaves and fronds of every variety of growth and form, luxuriating in the fertilising influences of moisture, heat, and shade. Or again, the fern para- dise may suggest, as it does to Mr. Heath, the more modest and easily attained glories of the Devonshire moorland and delicious "green lanes," where grow in rich profusion so many English varieties of the lovely flowerless plants inviting the wanderer not merely to admire, but to study and cultivate these, the easiest of all nature's children, to transform into happy denizens of our houses and gardens. For given proper soil and treatment, the fern, in most cases independent of breeze and sunshine, will not droop like an exile when removed from its favourite haunts, and placed amid the bustle and grind and worry of modern city life ; nor does it need the fostering care in despite of which too often our floral beauties will pine and die ; but in the garret or cellar, as in the stately mansion, will flourish and look green, refreshing the wearied spirit and resting the tired brain, suggesting many a thought of woods, green fields, and sweet wild flowers, to those whose destiny is rarely, perhaps never, to taste the delights of a health-giving country ramble.
With the view of promoting fern-culture, it is that Mr. Heath has produced his charming little volume, which in the pressure of increasing claims upon our notice has reached a second edition
* The Fern Paradise: a Plea for the Culture of Ferns. By Francis George Heath. Second Edition. London: Hodder and Stoughton. without having chanced to come under review, his object being more especially to brighten the homes of the poor, by teaching them that a new source of pleasure is within their easy reach. As it is not, however, likely that the Fern Paradise will make its way among our poorer classes, who would be as unlikely to read and understand as they would be unable to purchase such a volume, the information must come to them at second-hand, through those who take an interest in them ; and no doubt, in many cases, with a little teaching, and by the force of example, fern-culture might be a source of pleasure, although when need presses heavily and the struggle for daily bread already overtasks the failing energy, there will be but little capacity for sentiment, few thoughts to bestow upon ferns or flowers. Still we grant that more might be done, and as there has been a great advance in window-gardening amongst the working-classes, mainly through the stimulus of competition, and by the annual gifts of flowers from the Royal parks and gardens, fern-culture might, in like manner and with greater ease, be developed. Mr. Heath is at pains to divest his writing as much as possible of all tech- nicalities, and to describe his favourites in simple instead of scientific language, so that if his directions are adhered to— and they are neither many nor complex—success in fern- culture will be assured. An enthusiast on the subject on which he writes, the author would have our houses, our gardens, and even our places of business filled with his verdant favourites. He would put them " on tables and sideboards, on mantel-pieces and on window-sills, hanging from window- rods, on the landing of the stairs, in the hall, in the bed-rooms, everywhere, in fact." Further on, he says, " Nothing less, it will be seen, than a revolution in domestic ornamentation will realise the author's ideal ;" we must, however, be pardoned if we remark that it is an ideal which, from its general suggestion of drippiness, seems more suitable to the Naiads than to the matter-of-fact people of the nineteenth century. Though all ferns do not need much moisture, and some will live quite happily upon rocks, walls, and ruins, still a damp situation is, in most instances, their delight, and dew and spray and trickling rills are, as a general rule, to be found in nature's fern paradises ; in some rooms, of course, miniature fountains would not be out of place, and fern-cases and glass shades are excellent substitutes, and look very pretty in suitable situations, but as to the red flower-pots standing in saucers of water which Mr. Heath would distribute about our dwellings in such liberal abundance, we should scarcely be in- clined to welcome them without restrictions. The fact is, the first thing to cultivate is a genuine love of the objects selected, with some persons, indeed, the love of ferns amounts, as Mr. Heath himself says, to a passion, and in such cases, no doubt, all possible and impossible places will be turned into a greenery, and the pretty things will flourish, as all creatures do, unless in very ex- ceptional cases, when lovingly tended; but imagine a house decor- ated with ferns, and left, as would be often the case, to the care of domestics, or of persons too busy to attend to them, and think of the picture of faded, dusty forlornness which the late inhabitants of the beautiful fresh Devonshire lane would present within a week ! Again, we think that Mr. Heath leaves out of his consideration one of the most important adjuncts to beauty,—namely, contrast. Why do we admire so greatly the ferny growths, wherever we see them ? Not merely on account of their intrinsic beauty, but because of their surroundings. In the glowing heat of the tropics, it is a delight to plunge into the stillness of the forest and to re- pose the eye with the contemplation of the lush greenery, that seems as if it revelled in its own teeming, vigorous life ; and in our woods and lanes, and by our waterfalls, we admire the tender hues of the grass and ferns, caused by the glinting of the sunlight through the trees; or the fronds of darker colour, which grow in the shady nooks into which we are so pleased to retire out of the noonday heat,—we have left the sunlight and the flowers for a time, and we revel in " cool grot and mossy cell," but we do not mean to stay there. Now, if any one has observed ferns growing on a rockery in a little dark court, or in a tiny strip of garden, tvhere nothing else will flourish, especially if he looks at them in the gloomy weather which is the portion of Londoners for the greater part of the year, we appeal to him whether the sight has not added to his melancholy. Nay, if a steady increase of this kind of thing were to take place, we should fear an equally steady development of the suicidal mania which seems to be gain- ing ground upon us only too readily, without further assistance. For our parts, we would cultivate the ferns certainly, but always where practicable we would unite them with flowers. In this way, they are invaluable. A plant-case, for instance, or even a window-box, can be kept beautiful at very small expense, by being filled, in the first instance, with ferns, with a carpet of moss, spaces being made here and there by the insertion of an empty pot of sufficient size for the reception of a flowering plant or two in its season, which will look doubly beautiful, from its verdant surroundings. These little window gardens, too, need not be costly, especially where either a tiny bow-window or a broad window-seat may happen to exist ; and if on a ground- floor, with a little outside space, however small, a rustic raised bed against the window, planted with ivy or hardy ferns, and filled up with something gay, will make even a mean suburban villa look charming.
But Mr. Heath's book, which is written, it is needless to say, con amore, will not only enchant the fern-lover, and probably snake a great many converts to his way of thinking, it will also please and instruct the general reader. It is divided into two parts, respectively headed, "Fern-Land" and "Ferns and Fern- Culture." The latter, of course, contains only descriptions of the various families of the fern tribe, with directions for their growth, and a few words as to their habitats and the soil and sur- roundings most suitable to them ; but the former is full of the most charming descriptions, first of Fern-land and the Fern Paradise, and then of rambles in South Devon, over the moor- lands, and down a green lane, and finally, of the author's ideal, a fern paradise at home. The writer seems to love Devonshire as much as he loves its ferns, and his little sketch of Totnes and its neighbourhood is so inviting that a portion of it must be trans- ferred to our pages, so that the fern-loving reader, if not already acquainted with the locality, may be incited to bend his steps thither without delay :— " Totnes pays homage to the ferns. Everywhere in and about the little town these beautiful plants hold sway. How can we describe the place? We shall not even attempt any exact description. It is on a hill, and yet in a valley. Climb the road that forms its main street, extending from the Dart Bridge, which divides Totnes from Bridge- town, to 'the top of the town,' and you will say that Totnes is built on a steep bill. But just climb through the delightful lanes which mount to Totnes Down Hill, and look at the lovely little town I It appears to nestle in the extreme depth of a valley. But the explanation is here: Totnes is built on the hillocks, and the hills soar above it. And these hillocks are charming, small as they look when viewed from the heights above. Imagine a series of little hills, or rather a mingling of little hills and little valleys. Imagine a cluster of houses built upon this combination of hill and valley. Imagine an intermingling of paved streets and green lanes, of houses, delightful villas, and fruit gardens. Imagine walking out of old-fashioned streets filled with old-fashioned houses, into paved ways which seem to go everywhere, np hill and down dale, between high walla covered with wall-ferns, wall-flowers, and mosses. Imagine yourself walking along all sorts of terraced roads, at every conceivable height above the river-level, houses being above you, beneath you, around you. Imagine bricks and mortar placed at a disadvantage in a contest with sites that are so charmingly rural as to make you feel that they could never have been intended to be built upon. Imagine, finally, a queer intermingling of town and country, with ferns growing on the houses and on the garden walls, and meeting you at every corner wherever you turn. Such is Totnes, and from every part of the little town—at the top, at the bottom, and on each side—you may get away into the most delightful country."
But perhaps the ramble down a green lane will delight the reader even more, at all events, it will show the fern-lover what a wealth of his favourites lies hidden beneath the arching trees and pic- turesque undergrowth upon the hedge-banks. And then you get a glimpse of the winding Dart and a peep up the valley, and you look across the upland and hill-top to the rugged peaks and barren tors of Dartmoor, while all around you are meadows, villages, and copses. Certainly Mr. Heath's Fern Paradise is a charming book for the summer, one to be lazily studied in one of his favourite nooks, leaning against a granite boulder, almost hidden by ferns and mosses, with graceful, drooping trees above you, and a companion of kindred tastes with whom to share your enjoyment.
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