Colenso. — Bush Jottings. 315 



belief was that in such spots I was fossicking for gold), vented 

 his disappointment in that way — by striking a match or 

 matches and setting fire to those tree-ferns out _ of mere 

 wantonness. Several such instances had occurred in former 

 years during my sojournings at Norsewood, some of them 

 having been caused by so-called "picnic" parties, and some 

 by teetotallers — judging from the labels on the bottles left 

 behind ! 



Before, however, that I quit this pre-eminently pleasing 

 and loved subject of our New Zealand ferns, I would call your 

 attention, and especially that of the young-lady portion of 

 my audience, to an interesting, novel, and elegant sight I 

 have several times seen and admired while residing in the 

 bush ; this, too, being an artificial and neat method _ of 

 preserving them. To me, indeed, it was unique, never having 

 before noticed anything of the kind. 



A bunch or small bundle (I might almost term it a bouquet- 

 dc-plumcs) of an assorted few of our larger ferns — viz., Poly- 

 podium pennigerum, Lomaria fluviatilis. Asplcnium lueidum, 

 Adiantum cunningliaviii (the handsome species of maidenhair), 

 Hymenophyllum dilatation and H. demissum, and Pteris 

 (Litobrochia) pcndula (my new fern) — were loosely bound 

 together much after the fashion of a sheaf of wheat, with 

 the tips of the longer specimens gracefully drooping, and 

 placed so as to stand erect on a black stand under a tall 

 cylindrical glass with closed dome-shaped top. These were 

 all perfect, pure-white — dead or frosted white like silver or 

 tissue-paper, with every tiny leaflet fully expanded, and with 

 the veins and seed - receptacles and capsules clearly and 

 beautifully shown. The leaves, moreover, of some of them 

 are thickish and obscure in their living state (as of Aspdenium 

 lueidum), but now they were equally thin and semi-transparent 

 like those of the others. 



I saw this elegant and peculiar specimen of art-decoration — 

 so chaste and simple and yet so strikingly lovely — at the Club 

 Hotel, in "Woodville, in the larger parlour upstairs ; I often 

 admired it. There it stood, conspicuous among other orna- 

 ments, on the top of a high dark-coloured piano. I do not 

 know how the remarkable change, which seems to be per- 

 manent, was effected ; I made inquiries of the proprietor, but 

 he being newly entered did not know. I am aware that very 

 great alteration can be caused by bleaching vegetable fabrics 

 with the fumes of burning sulphur, and this may have been so 

 effected. Be that as it may, it seemed to me to be a new and 

 easy mode of admirably and more completely displaying the 

 hidden natural beauties of our lovely New Zealand ferns, and 

 so I bring it to your notice. 



One other little-known plant must not be omitted from 



