299 



PoJystichum anquJave and its splendid varieties. For 

 ease of culture the Polystichums are easily first, and the 

 beauty of such aristocrats as P. a. plnmosiim laxtim (Fox), 

 or P. a. plumosuni (Esplaii) can be exceeded, if at all, by 

 nothing but the most perfectly developed Athyriums. 



OUR HOBBY. 



There is apparently an enormous gap between the study 

 of the progress of events on the several fields of the great 

 and unparalleled war in which we are engaged and that 

 of the ferns which form our special hobby, but it is 

 precisely this great difference which must have rendered 

 that hobby a veritable boon to those who pursue it with 

 the interest it deserves during these troublous times. 

 There can be hardly any one amongst us who is not 

 personally troubled by the fact that relatives and friends, 

 including, it may be, one's own offspring in many cases, 

 are away at the front, either in the Army or the Navy, 

 and that at any moment we may learn of their loss in 

 some one or other of the valiant struggles in which they 

 have been called upon to take part. Ordinary literature, 

 and particularly the newspapers and other channels of 

 information, fails either, as regards the first, to distract 

 our attention, and, as regards the other, tends mentally to 

 obsess our minds with warlike ideas alone, and thus to 

 add to our worries. The man or woman devoid of a 

 natural hobby like ours, and precluded, for any reason, 

 from doing something tangible in the way of aid to our 

 defenders, is, indeed, in a bad case, but with such, and we 

 speak from personal experience, a quiet stroll amongst 

 our ferny pets, particularly at this present active season 

 of growth, becomes one of the greatest solaces and mental 

 reliefs that can be conceived. 



In a good collection, probably every plant has its distinct 



