Ferns and Fern Culture. 119 
gracile, fronds narrow, slender, graceful, divided into 
two near the bottom; A. F.f, Frizelle ramo-cristatum, a 
very pretty variety, fronds branched and crested ;' A. F.f. 
gemmatum, very beautiful, fronds two feet long, rather 
narrow, each pinna and the frond at the tip bearing crisp 
crests; A. F.f. Girdlestoneii cristatum, a handsome de- 
pauperated crested form, light and graceful; A. F.f. 
Kalothrix, a lovely variety, the foliage very thin in 
texture, delicate green in colour, finely cut and possessing 
quite a Filmy-Fern appearance; A. F.f, plumosum ele- 
gans, a most beautiful variety, the fronds, one-and-a-half 
to two feet in length, very pale green, cut into exceed- 
ingly fine segments; A. F.f. plumosum multifidum, 
exceedingly pretty, the fronds light green, finely divided, 
plumose, and heavily crested; A. F.f. regale, a variety of 
very handsome appearance, the fronds erect in habit, 
feathery, and crested; A.- F.f. setigerum capitatum,,a 
dwarf variety, possessing the bristly character of seti- 
gerum, and bearing a small dense crest at the apex of 
each frond ; A. F.f. setigerum percristatum, a strikingly 
beautiful variety, cristate throughout the whole frond, 
the crests at the tips of the pinnze and the end of the 
frond all arranged in regular order. A. F.f. Victoriz, 
often styled ‘‘ The Queen of the Lady Ferns,” is certainly 
unique. Its fronds attain a length of three feet; the 
pinne arranged along the midrib are very narrow, crested, 
and in pairs on each side of thestem. They branch at an 
angle of 45°, one upwards, the other downwards, so that 
there is a continual series of crossing pinnz from bottom 
to top, forming a delicate lattice-work of green frondage. 
The apex of each frond is crested, the plant has a sym- 
_metrical graceful habit, and is very beautiful. 
Among these Lady Ferns there are some of the most 
beautiful Ferns in cultivation, and they will bear com- 
parison with any of the Exotics. Their beauty is most 
highly developed when cultivated in a cold greenhouse. 
Blechnum spicant concinnum, very narrow crimpy 
fronds; B. s. cristatum, a pretty crested variety ; B.s. 
lineare, fronds long and very narrow, being regularly 
contracted and neat in appearance; B. s. Maunderii, a 
densely ramose, crested variety, grows like a green ball. 
