136 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



provided the divisions can, for five or six weeks, be kept in a warm, close 

 place ; but it is, nevertheless, best to perform the operation when possible 

 between March and August. 



We have in Nejihrolepis Duffii another beautiful and distinct, entirely barren 

 Fern, a native of the Duke of York's Islands, in the South Pacific. Its mode 

 of growth and its general appearance are so very unlike any other member of 

 the same genus that it is impossible to determine of which species this may 

 be a variety. Its fronds, which are densely crowded, grow from 15iu. to 20in. 

 in length, and are slightly or heavily crested according to the temperature to 

 which it is subjected : the higher the temperature, the larger the crests. The 

 pinnaB (which are small and produced in pairs, one overlapping the other, 

 those above being the largest) present an arrangement entirely different from 

 that observed in any other Nephrolepis. Their predominant form is semi- 

 circular, and they are all slightly toothed at the edges. The compact, elegant 

 habit of this Fern, and its bright colour, coupled with excellent lasting 

 qualities, render it a desirable plant for house decoration. Its propagation is 

 comparatively easy and rapid, as it produces in abundance stolons from which 

 young plants spring up in all directions. The same may also be said of the 

 Fijian N. rufescens trvpinnatifida, undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the 

 strong-growing kinds in cultivation. The fronds of this exceptionally fine, 

 plumose, and, consequently, totally barren Fern, which reach quite 3ft. in 

 length, are of a lovely light green colour, and possess a particularly massive 

 yet feathery appearance, produced by the broad pinnae being regularly and 

 constantly tripinnatifid, their margins being on both sides deeply cleft, and 

 covering each other in a most graceful and effective manner. Being, like all 

 other Nephrolepis, provided with numerous stolons, this variety is readily 

 propagated by the same means as is employed for N. Dufjii and N. davallioides 

 furca?is, which consists in planting them in a bed made of rough fibrous peat, 

 chopped sphagnum, and coarse silver sand, in about equal proportions. In 

 this compost the stolons should be allowed to run freely, and they should be 

 pegged down firmly as soon as they have attained 6in. in length ; upon these 

 young plants will develop and root freely, and can then be taken up without 

 difficulty and put into single pots. This is by far the best way of increasing 

 all Ferns provided with proliferous stolons, and all Nephrolepis, whether fertile 

 or barren, can with advantage be propagated in this way. 



