260 THE FERN PARADISE. 



lobes are thick and leathery in texture, and of 

 a dark shining green colour. When the spores 

 ripen they usually become confluent, so that in 

 the autumn the backs of the leaflets are thickly 

 covered with rich brown masses of seed. Ever- 

 green in habit, the fronds of the little fern endure 

 through the winter. 



Some difficulty is experienced by amateur fern 

 growers in the cultivation of the Wall-rue, a 

 difficulty which it is to be feared arises chiefly 

 from want of care in sufficiently studying the 

 natural conditions under which it thrives. Too 

 frequently the fern is not properly transplanted. 

 Perhaps only a third of its little fibrous roots 

 are secured when it is taken from its natural 

 habitat. In such a case failure in growing it is 

 almost inevitable. It is often very difficult to 

 transplant it without doing injury to crown or 

 root, and, indeed, it is generally impossible to 

 obtain it entire and uninjured without removing 

 the stones amongst which it is growing. But this 

 difficulty overcome, and the tiny plant secured 

 intact, it will be generally found comparatively 



