31 



obliquely on the rachis, and extending nearly to its base, which is 

 rather densely clothed with red dish -brown chaffy scales : they are 

 somewhat crescent-shaped, auricled at the base on the upper side, 

 oblique below, and so closely disposed as to overlap each other 

 when pressed flat; the margin is deeply serrated, the serratures 

 terminating in sharp spinous processes, which, added to the rigidity 

 and almost leather-like character of the leafy texture, and its ever- 

 green habit, renders the English name " Holly Fern" very appro- 

 priate. The lateral veins are alternate, generally three-branched, 

 the upper branch bearing the sorus ; on the auricle, the venation 

 is more complex, and the production of sori indefinite. The fruc- 

 tification is most frequently confined to the upper part of the frond, 

 but is sometimes irregularly scattered likewise over the lower pinnae 

 even to the base. The sori are disposed in a regular series on 

 each side of the midvein, and often become confluent in maturity. 

 The indusium is circular, opening all round, and remaining attached 

 to the venule by a short central stalk, the distinguishing character 

 of the genus. 



The cultivation of the Holly Fern is not attended with very satis- 

 factory results in the eastern parts of England, especially about 

 London, where few persons have succeeded in keeping it for any 

 length of time, unless as a potted plant, and sheltered in the 

 greenhouse or in a cool frame; and, even under these circum- 

 stances, it is exceedingly liable to " damp off," an expression that, 

 like " blight," is often applied to denote the action of causes we 

 do not understand. In potting P. Lonchitis, or any other alpine 

 fern, the natural condition of the plant should never be lost sight 

 of; however moist that may be, it is always well drained; a rill 

 may constantly lave its roots, or a cascade perpetually sprinkle its 

 leaves, but the water never stagnates, and even the scanty soil is 

 changing from time to time, by the addition or rather substitution 

 of new particles, as the older are washed away to maintain the 

 fertilization of the valley below. In order to insure drainage, the 

 pot should be large, and at least one-fourth filled with broken 

 stone or shards mingled with charcoal and pieces of turfy peat. 

 The ordinary compost will suffice; but fragments of slate or sand- 

 stone placed perpendicularly around the rhizoma, though not in 

 immediate contact with it, the soil being firmly settled between 

 them, afford an imitation of at least one important circumstance 

 belonging to the natural site that will be found serviceable to the 

 possessor. In the open air I once had a small specimen of this 

 species growing for four years, but it died during the next winter 

 after removal ; and it is a very general complaint, that although it 

 will live and apparently flourish for a season, it rarely survives the 

 winter and spring when exposed to their influence. The absence of 

 the snow cover, that in their native habitats shelters the alpine plants 



