134 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 15, 1878. 
named is restricted to a few localities in the North Island. 
The delicate members of this extensive division are greatly 
prized by cultivators in the old country ; they make pets of 
them, they take an infinity of trouble to ensure their successful 
growth. To show this fully let us jot down a few instances 
trom well-known writers concerning but one species, and that 
perhaps one that we should consider one of the least interest- 
ing. Concerning the almost cosmopolitan Tunbridge Fern, 
tar more common here than in England, Shirley Hibberd 
writes thu’ :—“ A cynosure, a paragon, a paradox.” We wish 
this enthusiastic Fern-grower could see our H. scabrum, dila- 
tatum, polyanthos, or demissum, some of them in broad 
spreading masses covering perches of ground, and forming 
colonies by ascending and annexing neighbouring tree stems. 
The author of “Select Fems and Lycopods” incidentally 
roves how much the Filmy tribe is appreciated. Writing of 
the same species that called forth praises from Shirley Hibberd 
he states as follows :—“We have had Hymenophyllum tun- 
dridgense growing in a very small glass case—in fact, in a 
bottle, for the last two years, in a little silver sand at the 
bottom, and the bottle corked up tightly so that no air can 
get at it, except when the cork is removed to give it a little 
moisture.” H.tunbridgense is found in many parts of Europe, 
Asia, Africa, South America, as well as Australasia. Here it 
may be collected from the coast to the backbone of the interior, 
covering rocks damp rather than wet, on the roots and stems 
of trees, amongst moss where any great amount of moisture is 
carried off by rapid drainage. We have seen it growing on the 
dry clay or cob in a Fagus forest, where it has drooped perpen- 
dicularly. In the Alpine country it may be noticed nestling 
in sheltered nooks of gullies, where during winter months the 
cold is most intense, the locality often above 2000 feet over 
the sea level. Here it may be grown without much difficulty 
either indoors or out by the cultivator who will afford it abun- 
dance of shade and put his faith in sandstone. However, we 
must leave this elegant toothed species, and turn to others 
which have greater claims on us from their greater beauty. 
H. bivalve, another member of the group that have their 
margins toothed, is indeed a lovely species. It grows in the 
densest masses: fond of moisture, its beauty is displayed to 
the greatest advantage in spots where a mountain spring 
amoistens well-shaded rocks. A few wecks since, in a bush 
that shuts in the head of one of the secluded bays of the Banks 
Peninsula we saw a grand mass of this delicate plant. On 
the slope of the hillside glistened a patch of the deepest ver- 
dure, measuring some 70 yards in length, with a width varying 
from 3 to 10 yards ; this was one continuous mat of H. bivalve. 
In all probability this lovely example of this Fern has been 
since destroyed, as bush fires have been raging on the Penin- 
Sula, settlers taking advantage of the present extraordinarily 
dry season to effect wide clearances. H. multifidum does not 
Tequire much remark after the preceding species, which it 
tesembles pretty closely, but it has the margins more sharply 
toothed ; like H. bivalve it has a wide distribution over both 
islands. The little pendulous H. rarum differs very much in 
habit according to the locality in which it is found. Near 
Christchurch some of the dwarfer forms may be observed near 
the top of the small patches of bush that dot the native reserve 
at Ruapaki; it enjoys plenty of light and air, yet requires 
shelter. It is found to grow very well in moss on sandstone. 
It is a beautiful object in the fernery, and well repays the toil 
of collecting and some expenditure of trouble in making it 
grow freely. From H. rarum we follow Dr. Hooker’s arrange- 
ment and next take H. pulcherrimum, one of the most beauti- 
ful of the genus ; in fact, the learned author of the “ Handbook,” 
in his description of this Fern, writes thus :—“ Tall, stout, 
bright green, very handsome.’ It owes much of its loveliness 
to the glossy wings which are continued to the base of the 
stipe ; pendulous from trees, it is indeed a gem amongst Ferns. 
In the depths of the West Coast bush it grows luxuriantly, 
reaching in length some 20 inches. Perhaps we have no 
nearer locality than the Otira to give as an habitat; amidst the 
wild picturesqueness of that far-famed gorge, in some favoured 
nooks may be collected the lovely H. pulcherrimum. 
The broad Filmy Fern, H. dilatatum, occupies the first 
position as regards size, and in the opinion of some collectors 
ts claim for beauty entitles it to the first rank amongst the 
group under consideration. Its large almost transparent fronds, 
often carried erect or only slightly decurved, differ greatly in 
form ; some are oyate, broadly ovate, or oblong. In the great 
Westland bushes, or amongst the woods that fringe the deep 
fiords and inlets or sounds of the west coast of the Middle 
Island, the area covered by some of these beauteous species 
(such as H. dilatatum, demissum, or T. reniforme), must be 
reckoned or guessed at possibly the square mile ; yet who has 
eyer felt sated with gazing on their verdant forms, so varied, 
yet all solovely? Their rhizomes creep along the surface of 
the ground, their transparent foliage covering rocks and gnarled 
roots ; wide-spreading, aspiring, they ascend the stems of lofty 
trees whose expansive branches are gaily and thickly festooned 
with elegant garlands of those delicate Ferns. What woodland 
beauty can surpass that of a gigantic Rimu (Dacrydium), the 
resort of numerous parasites? From every branch sway vines 
and cords of climbing shrubs, its own pendulous foliage in 
itself a very fountain of verdure, its drooping limbs arrayed 
with these graceful green trappings, the sunlight excluded, 
subdued, or dimmed with the dense masses of translucent 
fronds gently waving from aloft like tiny bannerolles amidst 
the glow of crimson Rata and the scarlet trumpet bloom of 
Loranthus, the long leaves of Freycinetia, as it twists like a 
huge boa around some mighty stem with{close embrace. Ah! 
think of a scene like this, and then in fancy turn to peer in on 
the poor Tunbridge Fern imprisoned in a close-stopped bottle! 
But in truth it must be said this incident of the little prisoner 
has often lent a keener relish to the enjoyment of some deli- 
cious bit of woodland scenery, and we have often wished it 
possible that this good enthusiastic Fern-grower could share 
the delight of rambling through some fair paradise of Ferns 
where the Filmy tribe luxuriated in all their lavish beauty. 
H. crispatum or jayanicum is sometimes found with a yery 
tufted habit. It is very hardy, as we have had it from the 
Havelock River over 2000 feet above the sea level; we have 
collected it nearer Christchurch in the Malvern Hills, growing 
sparingly in company with Polypodium australe and P. gram- 
mitidis. It is easy of cultivation, and grows fairly well on 
soft sandstone, good drainage indispensable. H. polyanthos, 
another hardy Filmy, which would probably grow well in the 
west of England or Ireland, enjoys a most extensive range 
both within the colony and also abroad. A large proportion 
of the Canterbury district is, either from its lack of forest land 
or from its dryness of climate, but an indifferent habitat for 
Cryptogams, still there are places where some thrive, and 
certainly amongst the prettiest of these must be included 
H. polyanthos or H. sanguinolentum (by-the-by the latter 
synonym is derived from the peculiar odour given out by the 
plant in a dried or half-dried state). To see this Fern at home 
let us cross the wide Canterbury plains, whence the wicked 
squatter has been driven, and where industry and energy hus 
compelled the tussock-clad wilderness to yield its golden crops 
of grain; from the plains as we ascend the hills we ramble 
amongst creeks that sweep over the famous coal beds of the 
Malvern Hills. Now for our Ferns; we follow the devious 
course -of a small but rapid river, whose shallow stream is 
specked with many a jotting rock, or here and there shelved 
by ever-shifting gravel spits, over the edges of which the swift 
stream rattles noisily. After a long tramp we enter the 
welcome shade of a Fagus bush lying somewhat high amongst 
the hills. On the outskirts everything looks dry and un- 
promising for Ferns; we pass battered Ti Palms, prickly-leayed 
Cyathodeas and brownish Dracophyllums. Soon we reach a 
different scene. Under the broad-foliaged Panax, Griselinia, 
and berry-bearing Coprosma which shade the water-worn 
banks, where broad-topped Fagus trees, black-stemmed and 
lichen-mottled, stand somewhat thinly scattered, on dryish 
clayey banks, over rocks and stones, more rarely on stumps 
and boles of trees, we may find the thickly matted masses of 
our Fern, fronds of medium size, let us say 6 to 8 inches in 
length, in patches of many yards extent; it forms a close-set 
velvet pile, mostly of darkest emerald hue, shining and bright. 
Under the hot breath of the desiccating nor’wester it becomes 
crisp, even brittle to the touch, its brightness has departed, the 
fronds curled up assume the appearance of dried seaweed— 
apparently it is destroyed ; yet see it under the reviving in- 
fluence of a soft shower or heavy mist, and own its beauty. 
Dew glides along the winged rachis, gathers into a lustrous 
drop with shifting lights and rays of colour like the sparkling 
fires of a fine opal, it weighs down the point of the glistening 
frond ere it falls dispersed on the translucent foliage of the 
matted Ferns below. 4H. polyanthos is an unfailing weather 
gauge, giving a faithful record of atmospheric changes which 
the obseryant may readily interpret ; its vitality should make 
it valuable to the Fern-grower, as it will survive much ill 
treatment. From our own experience in the open air fernery 
its most persistent enemy is to be found in that Ishmael 
