Gardening for Amateurs 



837 



best known are japonicum, palmatum, 

 reticulatum and scandens. 



Microlepia. A small group, of which by 

 far the most ornamental is M. hirta cristata, 

 that reaches a height of about a couple of 

 feet. The wide spreading, much divided 

 fronds are crested at the tips. 



Nephrodium. The different Nephro- 

 diums are easily-grown ferns. The best- 

 known Nephrodium is molle, a rather 

 upright-growing kind, with divided fronds. 

 There are some remarkable crested forms of 

 it, notably corymbiferum and grandiceps. 



Nephrolepis. No other fern has within 

 recent years aroused so much attention as 

 Nephrolepis exaltata, popularly termed the 

 Ladder Fern and the Boston Fern. This, 

 which was introduced over a century ago, 

 forms a free-growing plant, with rather 

 erect ladder - like fronds. It showed no 

 divergence from the normal form until a 

 few years since, when it " sported," both 

 in this country and in the United States of 

 America, into varieties with much-divided 

 fronds. Varieties of a more plumose char- 

 acter made their appearance, until in the 

 highly- developed forms now in cultivation 

 the fronds are divided and subdivided to 

 such an extent that a well-grown specimen 

 resembles a mass of moss. The limit in this 

 respect is at present reached in the varieties 

 Marshallii compacta and Willmottiae. Other 

 varieties of Nephrolepis exaltata are Amer- 

 pohlii, elegantissima, furcans, Piersonii, 

 superba, super bissima and todeoides. Apart 

 from these some good and distinct species 

 are Bausei, cordifolia, canaliculata, Duffii, 

 pectinata and rufescens. 



Onychium. There are but two kinds of 

 Onychium in general cultivation, namely, 

 O. auratum, a spreading plant with much- 

 divided fronds about 18 inches long, which 

 needs a warm structure for its development, 

 and 0. japonicum, one of the most useful of 

 greenhouse ferns. It forms a dense plant 

 a little over 1 foot in height, the plumose 

 fronds being of a bright green tint. 



Osmunda. Besides the British Royal 

 Fern (Osmunda regalis) there are some 

 tender kinds remarkable for their beauty. 

 Chief among them are japonica, japonica 

 corymbifera, palustris and palustris Mayi. 



Platycerium. An absolutely distinct 



genus of ferns, to which, from the remark- 

 able character of their fronds, the name of 

 Elk's Horn and Stag's Horn Ferns have been 

 applied. In a state of nature they are all 

 epiphytes (living upon the surface of other 

 plants), and are most effective when planted 

 in the fork of a branch or in a large pocket 

 made of cork. The compost for the roots 

 should consist of about equal parts of 



Climbing Fern (Lygodium scandens). 



fibrous peat and sphagnum moss. Care 

 must be taken not to allow them to become 

 dry. With the exception of the Australian 

 P. alcicorne, all require a warm house. The 

 best known are oethiopicum, Angolense, 

 grande and Willinckii. The above-mentioned 

 P. alcicorne will succeed perfectly in an ordin- 

 ary greenhouse temperature of about 50. 



Polypodium. A very large group of 

 ferns, representatives of which are to be 



