FEEXS. 81 



TODEA. 



A very interesting genus of lovely ferns, of which T. Fraseri 

 and T. superha are the best for eshibition of those that form 

 arborescent stems. T. superha, when in its finest form, is per- 

 haps the most graceful of all ferns, and is a most valuable 

 exhibition plant. It is seldom possessed of a stem of the 

 necessary height to entitle it to compete in the tree-fern class, 

 where, at its best, it is liable to be dwarfed by the stately 

 Dicksonias, Cyatheas, and Alsophilas ; but with a well- grown 

 head of perfect fronds three feet or more across, it is generally 

 a more meritorious plant than its bulkier neighbours. Todeas 

 thrive well in a cool temperature, but they grow fastest and 

 lengthen their fronds more rapidly when grown in a close 

 moist stove. They delight at all times in a close humid atmos- 

 phere, well shaded, and the plants kept moist by frequent 

 sprinklings overhead with soft, clear, tepid water. A compost 

 of fibry peat, silver sand, and nodules of charcoal, all well 

 mixed and firmly pressed into pots one-third filled with drain- 

 age, grows them well. 



5. SELAGIXELLA. 



This is an extensive and singular genus of plants, very 

 much diversified in appearance. Some kinds are short, thick, 

 close, and as flat as a carpet, while others have long trailing 

 stems reaching out several feet from the root. A dozen of 

 the best kinds for exhibition are <S'. africana, S. apoda, S. 

 caulescens, S. erythropus, S. grandis, S. hcematodes, S. Krauss- 

 iana, S. Lyallii, S. Martensii, S. ■uncinata, S. WalUchii, and 

 .S'. Wildenovii. With the exception of Martensii and Wilde- 

 novii, which grow well in a greenhouse, the others require a 

 stove or an intermediate temperature and a moist atmosphere 

 to grow them well. They should be planted in well-drained 

 pans in fibry peat, leaf-mould, silver sand, and small chips 

 of charcoal and sandstone, with some turfy loam added to the 

 compost for the stronger-growing kinds. For the production 

 of large exhibition specimens, various modes of growing and 

 training have to be resorted to. The low-growing, dense, 



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