THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 293 



The common wild British Ferns and their varieties heing the 

 most adaptable and easiest obtained, will be the ferns we will take 

 principally under our notice, although to be sure there are several 

 greenhouse ferns admirably suited for the same purpose. I will 

 specify them in another paper. 



The natural haunt of the fern tribe is in the leafy solitudes of the 

 forest, on the free open breadth of heath and common, among the 

 rocks by the sound of falling waters and crystal streams, and in the 

 fields, hedgerows, and shady lanes of the healthy open country. 

 There the merry skylark cleaves the air with fluttering wings, pour- 

 ing forth his flood of melody, and the woods and copses echo with 

 the thrush and blackbird's notes, while the golden sunshine fills the 

 air with the hum of insect life. When the long happy summer days 

 come round, and every thing is gay, then is the time for taking a 

 holiday and going fern- hunting in the country ; and to enable you to 

 know at once the best ferns to gather for your purpose, I will select 

 the most suitable, and describe their several distinctive characteristics 

 as plainly as I possibly can. In the country you will discover plenty 

 of ferns nearly everywhere you go ; the most common being the male 

 fern, Lastrea Filix-mas, the triangular buckler fern, Lastrea cemula, the 

 mountain buckler fern, Lastrea montana, and the lady-fern, Atliyrium 

 Filix-foemina. But these have such a strong robust habit of growth that 

 they are unsuitable for window cultivation, unless during the first year 

 or two of their existence. The dwarf-growing kinds are the most suit- 

 able for the confined space in your window or miniature greenhouse. 

 However, the larger-growing ferns may suit those of my readers who 

 have a rockery, or small conservatory, so for their sake I will enter 

 them in our list. When collecting ferns in the lanes and heathy 

 commons, take care to lift them with good roots, and wrap them up 

 from the warm air and sunshine. When you get them home stand 

 their roots over night in water to freshen them up before you pot them. 

 Give them always good drainage, and soil composed of equal 

 parts of peat-earth, loam, leaf-mould, and silver sand, with a lew 

 small lumps of sand or broken brick amongst the soil, which helps to 

 keep it open, giving the water a better chance of percolating freely 

 away, and thus giving the soil less chance of becoming sodden or 

 sour. After potting, stand them in the shade for two days or so 

 till they recover their wonted freshness. We will notice the most 

 suitable ferns first ; the large-growing kinds we will notice briefly 

 afterwards. 



Aspleniuvi viride, or green spleenwort, is an elegant little ever- 

 green tufted fern, the fronds varying from two to eight inches in 

 length, supported on short dark-coloured stems or stipes, the rachis 

 or midrib entirely green throughout. The pinna?, or divisions of 

 the frond, are very small, and ranged nearly opposite to each other, 

 attached to the rachis by little stalks of their own. The pinna) being 

 distant from each other, and gradually lessening towards the point, 

 give the fronds a narrow, elegant appearance. 



It is a pretty little fern for pot culture or the shady moist part? 

 of rockwork. It requires good drainage and protection from the 

 hot summer sun. 



August. 



