194 



CASSBLL'S POPULAR GAEDENINa. 



■whereon they grow in a dense, thick, spongy mass, 

 among which the roots insinuate themselves and re- 

 ceive nourishment." 



P. athiopicum is a native of the Guinea Coast and 

 Angola ; it has twioe-dichotomous pendulous fertile 

 fronds two to three feet in length. I", aloieorne is per- 

 haps the most generally cultivated of all the Stag's- 

 hom Ferns ; it is found in the tropics and in tem- 

 perate Australia. Like the last-named species, the 

 under surface of the frond is covered with a thin, 

 white, cottony down, hut the divisions are frequently 

 more numerous in P. aloieorne. P. grande, from tropi- 

 cal Asia and North Australia, is much the finest of 

 all the Platyoerimyis. In a wild state it attains an 

 enormous size, and an excellent idea of its aspect in 

 its native forests can he obtained from the picture 

 No. 420 in the " North Gallery " at Kew. The pen- 

 dent fertile fronds often grow to a length of from 

 four to six feet. 



OiiUivation. — Perhaps the best way in which to 

 grow Platyoeriums is to fix them on cones of fibrous 

 peat in pans, the front portion of which has been out 

 away. If the pan has a flat hack, so that it can 

 readily, be fixed against the wall of the warm fernery 

 near the glass, so much the better. At Kew the col- 

 lection of Stag's-hom Ferns is grown in pots made 

 specially for the purpose ; these are six or eight inches 

 deep, with a flat, not rounded back, and a semicircu- 

 lar portion cut away from the front nearly to the 

 bottom. Draining material is first put in, and then 

 a mound of peat is fastened inside, and the plant 

 firmly attached to the front on the peat. Very soon 

 the barren fronds clothe the naked peat, and indeed 

 the whole of the pot, and when once established, no 

 further trouble in the way of re-potting, is required. 

 Care must be taken not to allow too continuous a 

 supply of water to lodge atnongst the overlapping 

 shield-Kke barren fronds, or these will often become 

 discoloured and unsightly. P. aloieorne iBtiie hardiest 

 of the group ; it withstands several degrees of "frost, 

 and is the only one which will thoroughly succeed in " 

 the cool fernery. In the warmer atmosphere of the 

 stove it will, however, grow much more quickly. 

 None of the. species Uke bright sunHght, and aU Uke 

 abundance of moisture at all times in the surrounding 

 air, and a copious supply of water at the root during 

 the period of growth. P. grande makes a splendid 

 exhibition plant; it may either be grown as recom- 

 mended above, or treated as a basket plant, or 

 attached to a block of any hard durable wood- a 

 httle fibrous peat being placed behind the convex 

 barren fronds. 



The Scolopendriums—The genus Soolopen. 

 dnum, as understood by the authors of the "Synopsis 

 Fihcum," comprises about nine species, and is the 



only representative of the tribe Soolopendriee. ITie 

 arrangement of the sori is similar to that which ob- 

 tains among the Asplenia, except that the involucres 

 are in pairs, and open towards each other. The name 

 of the genus is an ancient Greek word, and is so 

 called because the numerous parallel lines of fruit 

 resemble the feet of the Centipede or Seolopendra. 

 According to the authority adopted throughout these 

 papers — viz., the "Synopsis FiKcum" — the genera 

 Antigramme, Cifmptosorusjand Schaffneria are included 

 in that which forms the subject of this notice. 



S. Hemionitis, a native of Spain, South France, 

 Italy, and the Mediterranean Islands, is, with the ex- 

 ception of the widely-distributed <S. valgare, the only 

 European member of the genus. It has slender, 

 slightly fibrillose stipes four to six inches long, and 



fronds — thinner in texture than those of S. vwlgare 



about the same length as the stipes ; in outline these 

 are oblong-lanceolate, the base being between heart- 

 shaped and spear-shaped, with short and rounded, or 

 prominent and almost acute lobes. 



S. rliizophyllmn, an inhabitant of Jamaica and 

 Cuba, is also found (but is rare) on shaded calcareous 

 rocks in West New England and elsewhere in the 

 United States. Like our native Hart's-tongue, it 

 has evergreen fronds growing in tufts ; the naked 

 compressed stipes are one to two inches long, and 

 the fronds four to nine inches long, and about three- 

 quarters of an inch in breadth. In outline these are 

 lanceolate from an auricled heart-shaped or often 

 hastate base, tapering above into a slender prolonga- 

 tion like a runner, which often roots at the apex and 

 gives rise to new fronds, and these to others, hence 

 the popular name of Walking Leaf. 



8. vulgare is too well known to need description. 

 Its glossy, bright green fronds contrast markedly 

 with the feathery aspect which is so general among 

 fenis. Either in a wild state or cultivated, it is a 

 universal favourite. In ancient times it was in great 

 repute for its medicinal properties, and in rustic 

 practice at the present day it is used as an astringent 

 in diarrhoea, and also as an external application in 

 cases of erysipelatous eruptions. Countless forms 

 are cultivated in gardens, the long strap-shaped fronds 

 occurring in a monstrous state in almost every con- 

 ceivable form. One of the handsomest and most 

 remarkable is the variety crispum, which is nearly 

 always quite barren, that is to say, does not produce 

 spores. This has large fronds, with beautifully- 

 waved margins. Considerably more than a hundred 

 and fifty distinct forms have received names, and 

 may be procured from those who make hardy ferns a 

 specialty. 



Cultivation.—S. Bemionitis and S. rhizophyllum, 

 although growing in the open in many places in this 

 country where suitable conditions have been pro- 



