56 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



glass. Gymnogramma leptopliylla is 

 by no means an attractive fern, but, 

 as it is found in Jersey, it is classed 

 as British, and is the only British 

 Gymnogramma known — that is to 

 soy, according to the classification 

 which is now accepted. The only 

 safe way to grow this fern is to allot 

 it a small place in a shady part of a 

 warm greenhouse, and take care that 

 it is never disturbed winter or sum- 

 mer, and is always kept moist and 

 free from snails and woodlice. This 

 fern is an annual, and, having matured 

 and dispersed its spores, it perishes. 

 But if the soil is left undisturbed, 

 the spores germinate, and the nest 

 season there is a batch of plants where 

 there was but one the year before. 

 When grown in pots, the pots should 

 be set aside and legibly labelled, and 

 in spring, when the plants are large 

 enough, they should be separately 

 potted or planted in groups in large 

 pans, A light sandy peat soil suits 

 it best. ffymenophyllum Tunbrid- I 

 gense can only be grown under glass. 

 The best way to deal with it is to 

 appropriate to it a small case or a ' 

 pan and bell-glass. The bed on 

 which it is planted should consist 

 of a substratum of small crocks, with | 

 a thin crust of fibry peat broken 

 small, mixed with an equal bulk of 

 silver sand, and an equal bulk of 

 small nodules of brick, soft sand- 

 stone, or tile. I have always found 

 that the common hearthstone used 

 by housemaids is an excellent ma- 

 terial for ferns of all kinds that like 

 to push their fibres among damp 

 stone. As to ventilation, it is alto- 

 gether unnecessary. I find it is the 

 best rule to dispose of this question 

 in the management of all filmy ferns, 

 including Triclunnanes radicans, Todea 

 pellncida, etc., by saying, "Give no 

 air at all." Though a slow grower, 

 UymenopJiyllum Tunbridgense soon 

 forms a fine patch, if encouraged with 

 Warmth and moisture. The specimen 

 on the table was a scrap not much 

 more than an inch square in February 

 last ; it now measures about six square 

 inches. It is, as you see, planted on 

 a crust of peat and nodules of hearth- 

 stone, and it so happens that a 

 number ot seedling Cystopteris have 



sprung up in the peat, the conse- 

 quence of having used for filling the 

 pan a piece of peat that had been 

 stored iinder a shelf on which some 

 pot specimens of Cystopteris were 

 kept. Trichomanes radicans requires 

 nearly the same treatment as llymeno- 

 fhyllum Tunbridgense. It is, however, 

 altogether unnecessary to use soil of 

 any kind. It does better and has a 

 finer appearance when grown on a 

 block of sandstone, and it will grow 

 on a brick or on any kind of stone, 

 provided the rhizome is securely 

 pegged down in the first instance, 

 and it is protected with a bell-glass 

 and kept well supplied with water. 

 ! In the stove or warm greenhouse the 

 ; filmy ferns grow superbly. Fix a 

 ; piece of rhizome on a perpendicular 

 1 surface of damp brickwork under a 

 stage, or in some other warm and 

 much-shaded nook, and it will soon 

 spread and form a lovely sheet of 

 felting, so that it may, in some cases, 

 ' take the place of Lygodiums as a 

 true climbing fern. 



Books on Ferns. — I must abstain 

 on this occasion from any considera- 

 tion of the characters and uses of 

 fern varieties, and avoid many other 

 subjects that would demand considera- 

 tion were it possible to treat at further 

 length on the British ferns. But 

 allow me, in conclusion, to say one 

 word upou fern books. There are 

 many works on the British ferns, 

 some good and some bad ; the ma- 

 jority are bad. Amongst the few 

 good ones, the " Handbook of British 

 Ferns," by Thomas Moore, published 

 by Messrs. Groombridge at five shil- 

 lings, stands alone and pre-eminent 

 for accuracy, comprehensiveness, and 

 the autbor's mastery of his subject, 

 and delightful for its perspicuity of 

 description and direction, and ren- 

 dered elegant by the beauty of the 

 figures. Another excellent work is 

 the "Descriptive Catalogue of British 

 Ferns," by Mr. Sim, of Foot's Cray, 

 Kent, and which may be had from 

 the author for sixpence. It is one of 

 the best trade lists extant, the work 

 of a real enthus-ast, and one of the 

 most successful fern-growers in the 

 country. For those who can afford 

 luxurious fern books, Mr. Lowe's 



