Fern Allies. 133 



will not readily perceive these distinctions, but look at a 

 fresh, branch of Selaginella with the aid of a lens, and 

 you will see that between the evident leaves which 

 stand right and left there are smaller tooth-like leaves 

 arranged in the manner of bracts ; such leaves as these 

 you will never find in a true lycopodium. The distinc- 

 tions that depend upon fructification are more subtle, 

 and to describe them would render these pages weari- 

 some. Better is it to quit this part of the subject at 

 once and consider the several families named above as 

 subjects for cultivation. 



Lycopodiums. — The British Lycopodiums are scarcely 

 worth cultivating, for the simple reason that the best 

 endeavours have invariably failed. They are not 

 without beauty j indeed, when we meet with a large 

 patch of L. clavatum, forming a green mat two or three 

 yards over on a tract of heath, we are compelled to 

 admire, and can scarcely fail to be tempted by the wish 

 to grow the plant to a similar state of perfection in our 

 own gardens. So, again, L. annotinum, the most dis- 

 tinct of all ; and L. alpinum, a charming evergreen tuft 

 that may be mistaken for a savin, are well worthy of 

 further attempts at their domestication. I must con- 

 fess that I have tried them all and failed with all except 

 L. inundatum, which I have had no trouble with, for it 

 grows freely with me in the simple way I manage it, 

 which is to bring home with me some of the soil from 

 the bog I find the plant growing in, and having potted 

 it in this, I keep the pot always standing in a pan of 

 water. Plenty of fresh air it must have, or it will not 

 last. 



