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THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



of retaining its foliage all the year round. The foliage of both these plants 

 is of a light and cheerful green, and it is also distinguished by the shining 

 ebony-black colour of the stalks, peculiar to Maidenhair Ferns in general. 

 The other proliferous species of this genus, A. caudatum, is an evergreen plant, 

 with pubescent, pinnate fronds, about 1ft. in length, and of a dull greyish 

 colour, which is quite distinct from that seen in any other Adiantum ; the 

 stalks, which are very flexible, and of a brittle character, are densely clothed 

 with short, brownish hairs, which greatly help to produce the pubescent character 

 to which allusion has been made. In the variety ciliatum (Edgeworthii) the 

 fronds are longer and broader than in the type ; they are also of a much 

 more pleasing colour, the pinnae are more deeply cut, and the plant shows 

 altogether a most robust constitution, and is less liable to the depredations of 

 thrips, which are very partial to the foliage of A. caudatum. The last-named 

 variety, although the dwarfest of the four known Proliferous Adiantums, is 

 probably the most interesting, if not also the most decorative : its delicate, 

 pubescent, simply -pinnate fronds are, when young, adorned with a lovely 

 pinkish hue which none of the others possess, and which gradually shades off 

 into a pale greyish-green, thus greatly enhancing their beauty. The two 

 species and their two varieties are all well adapted for growing in hanging 

 baskets of small dimensions. Thus treated, the graceful habit of the plants, 

 as well as the way in which the young ones are produced at the ends of the 

 fronds, is shown to perfection. These four Proliferous Maidenhair Ferns 

 need stove temperature, and are all shallow rooters, requiring, to attain 

 their full development, but little soil, and that of a very light nature ; peat 

 and sand, or, better still, sandy leaf-mould, being the most suitable compost in 

 which to grow them. Although particularly fond of a moist atmosphere, the 

 fronds of these Adiantums must not be wetted, as they become black, and 

 show unmistakable signs of decay, if in immediate contact with water for any 

 length of time. 



Among the most interesting kinds of Proliferous Ferns belonging to this 

 " one-bulbil group," we find the North American Walking Fern, Scolopendrium 

 {Camptosorus) rhizophyllum, a species with simple fronds from Sin. to lOin. 

 long, lanceolate and running out to a point, which arches over, and attaches 

 itself firmly to the ground : hence its popular name. Fadyenia prolifera 

 is another very interesting and highly curious Fern, which has two totally 



