CHEILANTHES. 



31 



The genus Cheilanthes^ which embraces plants suitable for growing in the 

 cool-house as well as others adapted for the tropical Fernery, is very closely 

 related to NotJiocMmia and also to Pelloea, both of which, though very similar 

 in general appearance, are possessed of sufficiently distinct characters to be 

 separated from it. 



Culture. 



This most interesting genus, of which there is no British representative, is 

 strikingly distinct, and includes some of the most elegant and beautiful forms 

 of Ferns in cultivation. They are all of an evergreen nature, and, although 

 coming principally from tropical countries, the majority of them thrive best in 

 a house where the temperature seldom exceeds 60deg. with artificial heat ; 

 a good many of them are even suited with a greenhouse temperature of 

 45deg. minimum in winter. This is no doubt owing to their being found in 

 their native habitats at great elevations and in dry, rocky, exposed situations. 

 Anyhow, wherever Cheilanthes are seen at a disadvantage and in bad condition, 

 it is invariably due to their being kept in an over-heated, close stove, 

 and frequently syringed — treatment which produces shapeless, emaciated plants 

 deprived of all beauty. They should be grown as near to the hght as possible, 

 either on shelves against the glass, or in hanging baskets suspended from the 

 roof, for which purpose some of them are very well adapted. No overhead 

 watering or syringing should at any time be allowed, as this is quite as 

 injurious to all of them as any extra heat ; but they should be supplied 

 with an abundance of water at the roots, and for this purpose they must 

 be either potted or basketed in good fibrous peat and sand, with their crowns 

 kept well above the rim of the pot. The compost should be very porous, 

 and to that effect a small portion of sandstone and charcoal broken up into 

 little pieces should be added to it. For the successful management of these 

 charming Ferns, the two great evils to be avoided are strong, close heat and 

 overhead moisture, and the points most beneficial to then" welfare are 

 abundance of water at the roots, an open, porous compost for them to 

 grow in, a somewhat airy atmosphere, and plenty of light overhead. Most 

 of the Cheilanthes, if not all, reproduce themselves freely and true from 

 spores, which germinate very readily and form young plants in a comparatively 

 short time. 



