138 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



of their beauty and their value as decorative plants. First comes the magnifi- 

 cent plumose form of Pteris serrulata cristata known, on account of its 

 origin, as the " Chiswick " variety, but usually sold in the trade under the 

 name of P. serrulata cristata major. This splendid variety forms plants 

 4ft. high, and as much through ; its fronds, rendered beautifully pendulous 

 and elegant through the weight of their crests, are usually apparently fertile ; 

 but, although spores appear to be present in abundance, we very rarely hear 

 of any seedlings of it being raised, and we must confess that, although 

 carefully-selected spores of it have been repeatedly sown by us for the last 

 fifteen years, we have never raised a single plant equal in habit and in 

 vigour to the original subject, the propagation of which is exclusively effected 

 by means of division of the crowns. In Davallia (Microlepia) hirta cristata 

 we have a plumose and gigantic crested form from the New Hebrides, in 

 the South Pacific, partaking of the barren character to about the same degree 

 as the Pteris above mentioned. It is a grand plant, with the spreading habit 

 of the normal form, from which it materially differs in having its handsome, 

 feathery fronds, frequently 4ft. long, heavily tasselled at their extremities, 

 and the rachides of the pinnas branched and subdivided at their ends. 

 On account of the few seedlings raised from spores produced accidentally 

 being very variable, the propagation of this remarkable plant is generally 

 effected by the division of the crowns — an operation which may be per- 

 formed with safety at any time of the year, as the plant is in active growth 

 in all seasons. Davallia fijiensis, an evergreen plumose form of Haresfoot 

 of comparatively recent introduction, is the last Fern which we shall mention 

 as partaking of the character of occasional fertility : it has been casually 

 known to produce spores, but there is no existing record of any young 

 plants having been raised from these. Its finely-divided and beautifully 

 glossy fronds, which grow from 2ft. to 3ft, in height, are compoundly divided, 

 the whole of them being split up into lanceolate pinnules of a firm and durable 

 texture and bright green colour. These are abundantly produced from creeping 

 rhizomes, which exhibit a great dislike to being kept underground. Its 

 propagation, therefore, though somewhat slow, is comparatively easy, as every 

 piece of rhizome, with a frond or two attached to it, and provided with 

 rudimentary roots, will, by being detached and kept close for the space of 

 a few weeks, produce young plants in all respects like the parent. 



