120 WINDOW AND PARLOR GARDENING 
the smaller kinds can be grown in baskets and are very pretty. 
The best are: D. canariensis and D. stricta. For these plenty 
of peat should be used with the soil. 
The Gold- and Silver-ferns ; Gymnogramme. ‘These are 
remarkable on account of their foliage being powdered with 
white or yellow dust on the lower side. ‘They are strikingly 
beautiful when well grown. During their period of rest in win- — 
ter, water must be given very sparingly. 
Lomaria gibba is a fern commonly seen in green-houses ; it 
has long pinnatifid fronds of a bright green. Good, rich soil, and 
liberal watering are necessary to a fine development of this plant. 
The Sword-ferns; Nephrolepis. These do well in a house, 
and are the most common ferns in American green-houses. 
They can be grown either in pots or hanging baskets. Long 
cord-like runners or s/o/ons are produced from the base of the 
stem ; these produce plantlets by which all sword-ferns may be 
increased. 
Nephrodium is a very large genus, of which N. molle is the 
most common representant. There is a fine-fringed variety of 
this. Both are easily increased by means of spores. 
Onychium, a little Japanese fern, is very hardy, and feels 
quite at home in a shady corner in a room. ‘The foliage is 
finely divided, dark green, and firm in texture. | 
The Eagle-ferns; Pteris, are quite numerous, some have 
large, rich foliage, others have pinnate leaves with strap-shaped 
segments. Pt. argyrca and Pt. tremula are both very orna- 
mental. The first has foliage variegated with silvery gray, the 
tremula has deep green, triangular leaves. Pt. serrulata cristata, 
Pt. cretica, and albo-lineata are all neat, and of firm texture 
and graceful habit. These are well adapted for planting in 
vases, baskets, or inside window-boxes, 
