53 



pinnae, mostly opposite, vary in distance, and are of a roundish oval 

 form, sometimes nearly rhomboidal; they are of a deep glossy 

 green colour, slightly crenated on the margin, and attached to the 

 rachis by a very short stalk formed by the attenuation of the 

 wedge-shaped base. The lateral veins divide about midway into 

 two or rarely three branches, the upper one bearing a sorus near 

 its extremity, obliquely pointed towards the apex of the pinna. 



The fronds are occasionally forked or even multifid at the apex ; 

 but this is not a character sufficiently permanent to constitute a 

 variety. Plants having the pinna? of a thin texture, and more or 

 less deeply pinnatifid, are sometimes met with, and such have 

 retained this character under cultivation, constituting the variety 

 incisum of some botanists. It is generally barren. 



The common Spleenwort is very easily cultivated, and is among 

 the most elegant of the smaller ferns, and, above all, admirably 

 adapted for the decoration of shaded rock-work. Of course we 

 must be guided in our treatment by bearing in mind, as in regard 

 to other species, the conditions of its natural growth. Many 

 persons think that if they put the root of a plant into soil, and 

 water it, they have done all that is necessary, and are surprised and 

 disappointed when their expectations are not realized. Now, the 

 wall and rock ferns require something more than this, or they will 

 not grow to please us. The thin succulent extremities of the wiry 

 roots, insinuating themselves into every crevice, and absorbing on 

 all sides the scanty moisture retained by the coarse material upon 

 which they vegetate, are in removal generally left behind; and yet 

 the plant is expected to live and nourish, for the simple reason 

 that, as it must have been half-starved upon the dry wall, and now 

 has plenty to feed upon, it ought to do so. The decayed mortar 

 and the mouldering brick, while they afford the potash, lime, and 

 other mineral substances necessary to fern-structure, ensure the 

 grand requisite of drainage, and admit no accumulation of moisture 

 beyond that which is essential to vegetable life. Stagnant water, 

 and especially when lodged in soil abounding in decomposing 

 organic matter, is fatal to most of the species of this genus ; and 

 though A. Trichomams will flourish under shelter in almost any 

 kind of compost employed by the fern-grower, I have never found 

 it succeed so well in the open air, under exposure to the alternate 

 wet and frost of winter, as when planted in old mortar mingled 

 with a very small proportion of sandy peat. It may be grown in 

 pots in the green-house or in a cold frame, but does not like con- 

 finement for any length of time ; and though the shelter of a bell- 

 glass is favourable to its full development within-doors, frequent 

 change of air will alone prevent it from eventually becoming un- 

 healthy. 



