Story oF A Fern GAarRDEN—II 83 
The Lady fern, most amazing in its varieties, is an- 
other obstreperous plant. To say that this fern thrives 
is a decidedly mild statement. I may truthfully state 
regarding this species that it has shown the character- 
istics exhibited by a young cow-bird in a summer yellow- 
bird’s nest—a tendency to absorb the giant’s share of 
the nourishment and to elbow the other fellow out of 
house and home. It spreads rapidly. 
The Brake, Lady fern, Sensitive fern, and also the 
Marsh fern and Dicksonia should all be planted away 
from the others. 
The Silvery Spleenwort is quite a thrifty fern, al- 
though it does not grow as large and fine here as in its 
favorite haunts in the woods. However, it does very 
well, putting out fertile fronds that sometimes measure 
nearly three feet-in length. It suffers rather severely 
some seasons by being badly eaten by shell-less snails. 
The Maidenhair Spleenwort has grown beautifully 
in a rockery specially constructed for it. It appears 
to do best in moist pockets under shelving rocks, where 
the sun never shines. It insists on good drainage. 
I have no luck with Asplenium angustifolium. It 
lives, it is true, but its fronds are spoiled each year by 
a brown blight which absolutely destroys their beauty. 
The Maidenhair is not only a wonderfully handsome, 
graceful fern, but it takes readily to the garden and 
increases each year if given a congenial soil. Its habit 
of putting up new fronds all during the season is parti- 
cularly pleasing. The only drawback is that unless 
one is looking after it very carefully all the time it is 
apt to get eaten to a mere skeleton by slugs before one 
realizes that these miserable creatures are about. 
Three colonies of the Lygodium palmatum are on 
their third year with me, and, up to this time, have 
done very nicely. They were all quite young plants 
when I received them, so that they are as yet rather 
immature. 
