FERNERIES. 



381 



Fig. 877. — Athyrinm Filix-fcemina. 



Of all ferns perhaps the Lady Fern {A thyrium Filix-fcemina, fig. 877) 

 is one which we grow for effect in the greatest profusion : not only 

 the large white and the red stalked varieties, but numerous kinds 

 and seedlings, are also cultivated in quantity. Lady-ferns like plenty 

 of moisture and abundance of 

 light, and then they are truly 

 beautiful, especially in seasons 

 when late frosts do not impair 

 the foliage. Frequently spots 

 attributed by gardeners to the 

 rays of the sun arise from the 

 action of cold, and I have 

 known the hottest summers to 

 produce the greenest fronds. 

 Many of the varieties of lady-ferns so far deviate from the natural 

 type as hardly to be recognizable, and I point out to my visitors that 

 they are similar to the eccentric dresses which some ladies adopt 

 when they patronize a fancy ball, being not one whit less uncouth 

 and quite as extravagant. 



One of the most important ornaments in our outdoor fernery is the 

 Osmunda regalis : I have a splendid specimen from Ireland, another good 

 one from Brentwood in Essex, and others from Devonshire. This fern 

 requires plenty of moisture, but does not like its crown to 

 be actually in the water ; it requires also plenty of light. 

 Its spores do not appear to ripen with me out of 

 doors, though in the fern-house young plants readily 

 grow from the spores. I have figured the sporangia 

 (fig. 878). A variety called the O. regalis cristata is a fig. 878.-spor.,, 

 splendid greenho'use fern, rivalling its parent. ^'^ ° " ^^^^ '^' 



There are two other interesting little species of ferns, which we 

 appear to have thoroughly acclimatized, the common Moon Wort 

 {Botrychiiim Lunaria, fig. 879) and the Adder's Tongue {Ophioo-lossum 

 vulgatum, fig. 880). Both are deciduous and pretty, but much too 

 small to produce any striking effect. 



