THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 277 



p. a. pteropliorum. — Fronds broadly lanceolate, pinnules large 

 and crowded, beautiful and distinct. 



P. a. stipatum. — Fronds lanceolate, pinnules broad and over- 

 lapping, and appearing crispy, fine, and distinct. 



P. a. jparvissimum. — Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, and Co., of Exeter, 

 supplied me with a small plant of this variety two years ago. It is 

 now a fine specimen, remarkable for its dwarf habit, and the imbri- 

 cated or overlapping arrangement of the pinnules j certainly one of 

 the prettiest varieties in cultivation. 



To cultivate any of these varieties successfully, a little more than 

 the ordinary care required by hardy ferns must be bestowed upon 

 them. In many positions where the common male fern would 

 thrive, the angular prickly fern would quickly perish. Shade, 

 moisture, and a rich soil are the principal requisites, but the drainage 

 must be at all times perfect. They may all be grown well in sandy 

 peat, but a mellow, hazelly loam, with a fourth part of rotted turf 

 or leaf-mould added, is preferable. A pasty soil will never do; 

 therefore, if the staple is not naturally gritty, add sharp sand, or 

 fragments of broken sandstone in sufficient quantities to render the 

 soil granular and porous. They will all thrive when their roots can 

 freely penetrate rotten or decaying wood ; hence they are well adapted 

 to plant amongst roots and butts of trees in shady places. They are 

 all well adapted, too, for ferneries under glass, and, if judiciously 

 distributed, add very much to the interest and beauty of the 

 scene. S. H. 



LASTEEA F. M. YAR. GEANDICEPS. 



MONGST several new fern varieties sent me by Mr. 

 Sim, of Foot's Cray, Kent, three years ago, was a plant 

 of the grandiceps variety of Lastrea filix, onas. In the 

 summer of 1866, a sketch w^as made of one of the fronds, 

 with a view to its being placed in our select list " some 

 day." But I bring it forward now with a special recommendation 

 to all collectors of varieties to secure it, for I find that as it acquires 

 age, new and splendid characters are developed ; and my best plant 

 is now so densely crisped and tasselled, as to present quite a remark- 

 able appearance. The figure shows the first form of the variety, the 

 apex being elegantly forked and tasselled, and the pinnae terminate 

 in tasselled tufts. Every year these forks and tassels increase in 

 number and density, and the plant at last becomes a most fit and 

 proper companion to that grandest of the series, L. f. m. cristata. 

 All our best plants of the crisped varieties of hardy ferns are 

 grown constantly under glass, a method which secures richer de- 

 velopment and unchangeable brightness and beauty. S. H. 



