THE POLYPODIES. 193 



moist and shady nook, whether on the open rockery, 

 or indoors in pots, or under glass. It must have 

 a soil very similar to that in which the Common 

 Polypody delights. But with the leaf-mould some 

 peat may be mixed with advantage, together with 

 sand. Indeed, all soil for ferns needs an admixture 

 of sand to keep the composition sufficiently light 

 and porous. Peat is never found in the situations 

 chosen by the Common Polypody; but the Beech 

 Fern, growing at lower elevations, comes within the 

 range of peat. Hence the desirability of an ad- 

 mixture of peat in the compost used to grow this 

 fern in cultivation. But leaf-mould is the chief 

 vitalizing element in its growth. 



3. THE THREE-BRANCHED POLYPODY. 

 Polypodium dryopteris. 



THE charming colour of the Three-branched 

 Polypody, or, as it is also called, the Oak Fern, 

 is its most marked characteristic a kind of 

 light golden green that is most refreshing to look 



13 



