190 



-splendid robust form ; T. r. dissectum, very finely cut; T. v. 

 ■ densuw, a congested form ; and one rather small-growing 

 variety, T. v. pvoliferuin, was sent the writer from Dublin 

 some years back, which bore little plants freely on the 

 fronds like Asplenium bulbifevmn, but although we raised 

 several plants from these bulbils, no persuasion, either by 

 ourselves or by our friends, has induced them to follow the 

 parental lead. 



In Conclusion, 



although it is not a Britisher, we cannot ignore the 

 wonderful filmy fern, Todea superba, which is equally 

 hardy, and forms a charming companion, where room is 

 available, for its much larger growth. The same treat- 

 ment fits it exactly, except as regards planting, which is 

 done in the ordinary way, as it is of the shuttle-cock per- 

 suasion, growing in a circlet round a central crown. A 

 brick pit sunk with a northern aspect and closely glazed 

 would accommodate this and the others splendidly. 



C. T. Druery. 



FERN VARIATION IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



Up to a comparatively recent date, the departures from 

 the normal type of ferns which were found growing wild 

 under perfectly natural conditions received little or no 

 attention from professional botanists, but were simply 

 dubbed "monstrosities" and left for amateurs to collect, 

 cultivate, and observe. Eventually, however, the dis- 

 covery that "sports" did not always merely involve a 

 superficial change of form, but also that this change was 

 in some cases correlated with hitherto unknown modifica- 

 tions and abridgments of the normal life cycle, led to a 

 .greater interest being taken, with the result that theories 





