A FERNERY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue II, 29 November 1889, Page 3

A FERNERY.

— .'-..•.■..-♦.- — The-- following dsseriptJon Fernery at the Dunedin ia given in the official catalogue : - It presents a tray .fj w 2'eaiam sylvan scene. Ir A (fe» centre aw turesque rile of work •which every (iT^ 0Q m X oranu aro otJloW f t3f rome Mv f pr ; .and' ver«\ ant VTlosg? wtilat fvom . fc summit, there descends by small eas •cadf^ and ri' jp ing rills a ennstan ißrfeam of failing water, which ftndi -^ resting p] acG i v a raimature poo Tiejow. O.u this rock cairn and « ■many otb ,er parts of the fernery inaj be iqunfj. the most beautiful of filmj ferns. The curiously- shaped Mdnej ferns, slendei'-steromedmaid^n-hairs, nnd ma ty others of varied form and shade. Turning away from this iftiry fountain, the visitor may stroll A'ound thy winding paths amidst groves of,, srately 'ree-ferns of di ere species.. lacluding the umbrageous silre^ f?ee-fern, whose fai-reaohing fro»'3a-.tp»f the brightest green are linf jd with a silverynue, intermingled wi'fh numerous plants of other ''Sf tides,- as well as a few specimens of * ne manii'fa of tho South Island Jtfaories, which utilised by them r before the advent, of the pakeha as a i source of food supply. Benoa'-h tbte mdespreading fronds, of tbo iTet>ferns, and on rocky banks*, there grows a profusion of ferns of. lowlier statue of many species and diverse hue : and habit. In a tiny glade near the south-eastern angle, the lover of ferns may feast his e\os on - richly beautiful fronds of double crape or Prince of Wales' feather fern, where, as well as hv a little waterfall nea-. he may see ttiiq lovely fern growing as if in its native habitation. To one who never had the good fortune to bchokL aoni A tichlv decked 'ferny gully *. ft jg m Zealand hush this little a de will convey some idea of tj c ral^ beauty of onr forest deSs jrfeai 'c ferns the bush Sftora is repre^ eu t 9 a by lycopod^ fete , - while on $.aa naosscovered walls and posts Amongst the epiphytic fern - such 'plants as the commoner orchids . aiVj small, yet as they grow in masses they form a striking feature of the I forest vegetation, and at least on some species have a very sweet per* i fume. " {