254 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 



which we have from time to time procured the subterranean 

 stems, to grow with freedom. The plan we have adopted 

 has been to pot them in loamy soil, and simply to place the 

 pots in a cold frame, among a collection of hardy Ferns ; 

 or, in the case of some of the aquatic species, to sink the 

 pots just beneath the surface of a tank of water. 



There are, it should be remarked, two sets of Equise- 

 tumSy which may be called the evergreen and the deciduous 

 groups ; and this is a distinction of some importance in re- 

 ference to their cultivation. Under the head of evergreen 

 should be classed the " rough " group, consisting of K 

 hyemale, Mackayi, and variegatum. All the remaining 

 species come under the head of deciduous, by which is 

 meant that the fronds die down annually in autumn, and 

 are renewed from the underground stems in spring. 



The evergreen species are desirable plants for damp, 

 shady rock-work, requiring no peculiar care or culture ; and 

 though they cannot lay claim to any considerable elegance 

 of growth or habit, yet, from their peculiar form and cha- 

 racter, they must be looked upon as interesting plants, no 

 less for their own sakes, than for the mere pictorial effect 

 which their distinct appearance may help to bring out in 

 such situations. ' . 



