1900 SUPPLEMENT—RECENT INTRODUCTIONS, &C. 17 
Adiantum—continued. 
the roots than the majority of Adiantums, is very partial 
to lime rubbish, and should be grown in a somewhat dry 
part of the house 
F.G. 22. 
PORTION OF FROND OF ADIANTUM TENERUM 
FARLEYENSE. 
A. tenerum Farleyense (see Fig. 22) is a kind with 
which the grower’s difficulties are more imaginary than 
real. Heat and moisture are the essential requirements 
of this plant, and it will not succeed where either of 
these is deficient, thongh it may be safely wintered in 
a house with a temperature of 60deg., occasionally falling 
to 55deg. In structures where this minimum temperature 
cannot be maintained in winter, the plants do not die 
off altogether, but they suffer so severely that several 
months of careful nursing are required to restore them 
to their former strength. As regards soil, this Adiantum 
is not so difficult to please as is supposed. ‘Two parts of 
good fibrous peat and one of fibry loam and coarse silver 
sand together form a compost in which it will succeed; 
but plants in no way inferior have been grown entirely 
light fibrous loam, commonly called “yellow 
If in some places in England failure has attended the 
attempt at acclimatising A. pedatum outside, it is due to 
the fact that the underground rhizomes are generally 
kept too close to the surface of the ground, and that they 
are not protected in winter by either leaves or snow, and 
thus feel more keenly the effects of cold, though less severe 
than that of its own country. Although it is a perfectly 
hardy Fern, yet, like the other so-called hardy Adiantums, 
it never grows so luxnriantly out of doors as it does in 
the greenhouse. Some of the Continental growers yearly 
produce remarkably handsome plants of this species in 
large quantities by inserting in early spring, round the 
edges of their rhododendron beds, small specimens of it, 
which form good clumps during the summer season. These 
are lifted from the ground about January, put in 5in. or 
6in. pots, and placed in houses or frames in which the 
temperature is between 40deg. and 60deg. The crowns 
soon start into growth, and produce a crop of foliage which, 
on account of its pleasing light green colour and elegant 
shape, makes the Fern one of the most effective in the 
conservatory, as it is later on for the rockery or for a shady 
nook outside. 
Although classed among our native Ferns, the British 
Maidenhair (A. Capillus-Veneris) is too tender to bear a 
very cold temperature: the least frost injures it, and a 
severe frost kills it. It is a very accommodating plant, and 
not at all fastidions in its habits, for it grows equally 
well in a heated frame, in a greenhouse, or in the moist, 
shady part of a stove. In Europe, it is essentially a 
coast plant, being found growing exclusively in caves 
Vol. V. 
Adiantum—con!inued. 
and fissures of rocks near the sea-level, generally in a 
shady situation where there is an abundant supply of 
moisture. When grown in pots, an abundant drainage is 
essential, and the soil which it prefers is a compost of 
turfy peat, leaf mould, and lime rubbish, in equal parts; 
it is also necessary that the rhizomes should be kept on 
the surface of the soil. And what has been said of the 
type holds good with the interesting and handsome 
varieties which have been produced. 
Just as there are some rather difficult species to 
manage in the genus Adiantum, so are there some whose 
culture is of the easiest. Such is A. cwneatum, which 
requires less attention than almost any other Fern, and 
thrives in almost any soil, although it prefers a rich, 
light compost. It is not very particular as to tempera- 
ture, and, provided regular moisture at the roots be kept 
up, it will produce all through the year an immense 
quantity of its useful fronds from a tufted crown. It is 
so readily propagated from spores that wherever it is 
grown a stock of young plants spring up. Also of easy 
cultivation is A. Henslovianwm, but, being entirely de- 
ciduous, it requires a period of rest from November to 
February, when it is almost, if not entirely, leafless. 
To the species and varieties described on pp. 24-9, 
Vol. I., the following should be added: 
A. asarifolium (Asarum-leaved). A variety of A. reniforme. 
A. assimile cristatum (crested). fronds elegantly crested. 
1887. Garden variety. 
Fic. 23. ADIANTUM BIRKENHEADII, 
A. Birkenheadii (Birkenhead’s). fronds tripinnate, about 
24ft. long and lft. broad, deltoid, acuminate ; pinne alternate, 
distant and long-stalked towards the base, closer together and 
sessile near the apex, the lower ones bipinnate, the upper ones 
pinnate; pinnules obtusely oblong-trapezoid, cut on the upper 
edge into shallow lobes. 1886. A fine garden Fern, of tufted 
habit. Intermediate house. See Fig. 25. 
A. Bournei (Bourne’s). A variety of A. cuneatum. 
A. brasiliense (Brazilian). A form of A. curvatum. 
A. bulbiferum (bulb-bearing). A variety of 4. Capillus-Veneris 
D 
