2 I I 



the peat from a possible *^cvistata'' in my possession, or 

 in my neighbourhood. I think I am able to prove con- 

 clusively my non-complicity in the " design " on the 

 unadorned simplicity of P. aquilina. At the time my 

 seedling appeared in the greenhouse, some five years ago, 

 I had not a single plant of varietal bracken in my possession, 

 nor am I aware of any in neighbouring gardens. The 

 nearest place I know, also, as a local haunt of the wild 

 P. aquilina is some miles away from my garden. 

 Personally, I feel convinced that this is another instance 

 of a big jump in varietal character from a practically 

 normal stock. My patch of this plant has produced spores 

 freely for some years now, so I have been enabled to raise 

 seedlings. Amongst them, the *' gnmdiceps " type forms 

 a small percentage. The latest raised plants also shew a 

 tendency towards ramose fronds, so I am hopeful of 

 obtaining from this stock counterparts of most of the 

 crested forms already known to us, 



Fras. W. Thorrington. 



SPLEENWORT CULTURE. 



The successful cultivation of the British Spleenworts 

 under glass presents difficulties which are not experienced 

 with most of the other genera, and a few words, therefore, 

 on a chance discovered method by the writer may be 

 welcome. Some years ago, after a visit to my collection by 

 some friends who evidently did not grip the fact that 

 variation was an essential therein, one of them sent me from 

 Scotland a bunch of quite normal Asp. tvichomanes. On 

 receipt I was somewhat in a quandary, as I did not want 

 them and did not like to throw them away. They came 

 in a bundle tied up with the roots in moss, and having a 

 tumbler handy I crammed them into the tumbler, moss 

 and all, so that some of the loose moss just reached the 

 bottom. Naturally, I watered the moss, and a little water 

 percolated through and remained at the bottom of the 



