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THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



arborescent kind, with fronds more delicately divided than in most other 

 Tree Ferns. Dicksonia squarrosa, with its very slender stem, and fronds 

 disposed in a nearly horizontal position ■ I). fibrosa, which appears to be 

 simply a crisp form of D. antarctica ; and the less-known D. lanata, whose 

 stalks are densely clothed at the base with large, white, chaffy scales, are 

 also natives of New Zealand, where they form the bulk of the forest 

 vegetation as regards arborescent Ferns. 



Although the majority of the most popular Tree Ferns are, as we have 

 shown, natives of these comparatively cool regions, other kinds are equally 

 numerous in more tropical countries. In the East and West Indies, in the 

 Eastern Archipelago, and in South America, they are plentiful enough, and in 

 the majority of cases they are only found growing at high elevations ; they 

 are, therefore, nearly, if not quite, as hardy as those from Australia and 

 New Zealand, and their scarcity in collections can only be attributed to the 

 difficulties attending their importation into this country. In some cases, the 

 stems of certain species are so slender that they mostly arrive in this country 

 when already dead, all the substance having been dried out of them ; 

 whereas, in other instances, the crowns are formed of such a pulpy substance, 

 that long before the stems have reached their destination decomposition has 

 already taken place, and the plants are virtually dead. Besides the nature 

 of the stems, a great deal also depends on the time of year at which these 

 plants are taken up from their native places. It is by far the best way 

 for the collector to send them soon after they have matured their growth, 

 following, in that respect, a general rule which allows us to take up 

 successfully any of our own trees and shrubs when they are at rest. 



Provided Tree Fern stems arrive in good condition, they rapidly become 

 handsome plants, and do not require the amount of attention which most 

 people imagine they do ; for, although deprived of their original roots, the 

 structure of the stems, with veiy few exceptions, is such that, when under 

 the influence of constant moisture, and, in some cases, subjected to a little 

 heat, fresh roots soon make their appearance all around the stems. Tree 

 Ferns should, as soon as they arrive, be put in pots or tubs proportionate 

 to their size, and be fixed firmly into these, the stems being put sufficiently 

 deep to ensure their being held securely by the ramming of the soil, 

 which should consist of a mixture in equal parts of rough fibrous peat 



