OTHER CRYPTOGAMS IN CULTIVATION. 153 



displaying , choice roses, rhododendrons, &c., in 

 bottles inserted in wooden frames, cases are pre- 

 pared four feet by eighteen inches, with a depth of 

 eight inches at the back, and four in front The 

 whole surface being evenly covered with moss, 

 a certain number of tin cups are sunk in it, and 

 hidden beneath the moss ; and in these the flowers 

 are arranged with an effect impossible to attain 

 with the old wooden stands. 



This brings us, in the table, to the ferns ; and, 

 passing them, we ascend the scale above. 



Among the Equisetums, the common species, E. 

 arvense, may be successfully cultivated in moist 

 soil. The finest of all is the " Wood Horse-Tail," 

 E. sylvaticum. Shirley Hi bberd, in "The Fern 

 Garden," speaks most enthusiastically of this spe- 

 cies : " If the reader can imagine a nine-inch pot 

 with about fifty of these stems crowded together 

 in it, all of them arching over with exquisite grace 

 like the feathers from the tails of birds-of-para- 

 dise, the color the most tender shade of emerald 

 green, no apology will be needed for calling atten- 

 tion to it in these pages ; for it is, in fact, one of the 

 most desirable plants for the fern garden." With 

 us this species is common at the North, and is 

 certainly a most graceful plant. Another, the 

 " Scouring Rush," E. hyemale, is an attractive and 

 curious example, growing in situations similar to 

 those chosen by Pteris aqttilina. 



