THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 241 



is the only species of the true maidenhair fern belonging to Great 

 Britain, and is very rare. It is a pretty, graceful evergreen fern, 

 with delicate, rather drooping fronds from six inches to a foot in 

 height. The stipes and rachis of the fronds are black and shining ; 

 the fronds themselves of an irregular ovate form, much divided, 

 rising from a short creeping stem clothed with small black scales. The 

 entire plant has a delicate feathery appearance, from the much divided 

 state of the fronds. The ultimate p inn as or leaflets are small, roundish, 

 or wedge-shaped, of a thin, delicate texture,and pretty pea-green colour. 



This is a lovely fern for the miniature greenhouse or a Wardian 

 case, and a favourite with every one. It requires shelter, being too 

 tender to stand outside or exposed. 



jBlechnum spicant, or common hard fern, is a very common one, 

 occurring in almost all situations, very plentiful on heaths and com- 

 mons, but flourishing best in damp woods. It well deserves the 

 name of common hard fern, being of a hard, rigid texture. It is 

 one of the prettiest and most distinct of wild ferns, having, like the 

 preceding, both barren and fertile fronds. The fertile fronds rise 

 straight from the centre, varying from six inches to two feet in 

 length, supported on thinly-scaled dark brown stipes, towering 

 rigidly above the barren fronds, which cluster around them with a 

 drooping, rigid gracefulness, supported by short dark-coloured 

 stipes. The fronds are narrow and lance-shaped, the barren ones 

 being broader and about half the length of the fertile ones, and both 

 divided to the midrib, having a comb-like appearance. The entire 

 plant has a peculiar graceful foliage. 



It is a very suitable fern for rockwork, growing freely without 

 much trouble, and does very well in pots. 



Ceterach officinarum, or scaly spleenwort, is a very pretty 

 diminutive fern found in the crevices of old walls, growing in tufts. 

 The fronds are from two inches to six inches in length, and are of a 

 deep green on the surface, and covered with a profusion of brown 

 rust-coloured scales on the under side, contrasting prettily with the 

 deep green of the upper side, especially when the under side of the 

 young fronds are exposed to view. The fronds are lanceolate in form, 

 and divided into blunt roundish lobes. It is very difficult to establish 

 this fern when under cultivation. It should be potted high, and kept 

 rather dry and cool. 



Cystopteris fracfilis, or the brittle bladder fern, is a very graceful 

 fern, of a tufted spreading habit of growth, not evergreen, the frond 

 appearing in spring and dying down in autumn. It tends to form 

 itBelf into several small crowns from which the fronds rise, varying 

 from six inches to a foot in length, supported by very brittle stipes or 

 stems of a shining greenish colour. They are lance-shaped and 

 much divided ; the divisions, placed separately in pairs along the 

 rachis or midrib, are of a lanceolate pointed form, much divided, 

 serrated, and lobed round the margins. The entire plant is of a 

 graceful habit and a pleasing green colour. 



It is a common fern in some districts, preferring moist rocky 

 situations, and is quite a gem for pot culture or rockwork, and oi 

 very easy management. 



August. 16 



