374 



CASSELL'S POPULAK GAEDENIisG. 



be grown to maturity in a six-incli pot, and witli 

 this amount of root-room will often produce a 

 beautiful column of foliage ten feet or more in 

 height. The pinnules are herbaceous in texture, 

 four to eight inches in length, and nearly as broad ; 

 the terminal segment is pinnatifid or hastate, and 

 the lateral ones — of which there are two or thi-ee on 

 each side — are very unequal in size and ii-regular in 

 outline, the lower ones being long-stalked and pin- 

 nate in the lower part, with the divisions entire or 

 crenulated. L. palniatum, the Climbing Fern of the 

 Northern United States, is one of the most desirable of 

 all the species, as well as one of the most elegant and 

 graceful of all ferns. The slender, flexible, straw- 

 coloured stalks measure from two to thi-ee feet long, 

 and are produced from slender running root-stocks : 

 the short alternate branches are two-forked, each 

 fork bearing a round heart-shaped, palmate, four 

 to seven-lobed pinnule ; the fertile pinnules are con- 

 tracted and several times forked, forming a terminal 

 panicle. In the United States the pressed fronds of 

 this species are largely used for decorative purposes, 

 and command a high price. To such an extent was 

 the collection of these fronds carried on a few years 

 ago that there was a danger of the species being- 

 exterminated, and to prevent this the aid of the 

 Legislature was invoked. One of the largest dealers 

 wrote a few years ago that he employed bet\\-ecn two 

 and three hundred hands in collecting and jireparing 

 the fronds for market. The ones with fi'uctification. 

 being more finely cut and forming with their rich 

 brown colour a striking contrast to the delicate, pale 

 glaucous-green, bari-en pinnules, are the most highly 

 prized. The time of gathering lasts from about the 

 middle of August until about the last of November. 

 In pressing, the fronds are put between the leaves of 

 large books, where they are allowed to remain for a 

 couple of days ; they are then transfeired to dry 

 paper under pressure, and changed again and again 

 until all moisture is absorbed. They are then 

 fastened in bunches containing thirty "strings" 

 each. As before stated, the fruited specimens com- 

 mand the best price. In a wild state L. pahnatum is 

 confined to the New World, where it occurs fi-om 

 Massachusetts to Florida. L. scandois is another 

 very handsome species, with a much more extended 

 geographical range than the last-named ; it is found 

 in South China and the Himalayas to Queensland, 

 the Malayan Archipelago and Ceylon, and is also 

 found on the Guinea coast. The pinnules are a light 

 glaucous-green in colour, four to eight inches long- 

 by two to four inches broad, with a terminal seg- 

 ment, and four or five on each side ; these vary very 

 considerably in shape : they are usually simj)le, ovate 

 or ligulate-oblong, with a rounded or heart-shaped 

 base, sometimes spear-shaped or even slightly pin- 



nate below. The texture is firm, and the surfaces 

 are naked, or nearly so. 



Ctdtivation. — The best soil in which to grow all 

 the Lygodiums (except perhaps L. pabuatiiin) is 

 a mixttire of equal parts of good fibrous loam, leaf- 

 mould, and peat, to which may be added a little 

 coarse sand. All require an abundance of moisture, 

 but dislike water-logged soil, so thorough drainage 

 is essential in order to prevent such a condition from 

 obtaining. They like frequent syringing ovei'head, 

 and such a course of treatment will tend to keep 

 down thrips, the only insect pest which troubles the 

 grower of Lygodiimis to any extent. Fumigation, 

 too, is effective with thrips, and this should be 

 repeated at short intervals until the thrips have been 

 entirely got under. If kept clear of insects, and pro- 

 vided with suitable conditions in other respects, the 

 fronds last for a long time from top to bottom in a 

 perfectly fresh and gTcen state ; should, however, 

 they become rusty and discoloured from any cause, it 

 is better to remove these entirely and start the 

 plants afresh. They will soon make new growths, 

 and cutting off the whole of the fronds in order to 

 induce new ones to develop does not appear to 

 injure most of the species. L. scandens makes a 

 beautiful screen to hide unsightly walls, and for 

 this purpose it is best to strain a series of perpen- 

 dicidar wires from the top to the bottom of the 

 siu'face it is desired to hide, and to allow the fronds 

 to climb them. Tlie plants, too, are best planted out 

 in a well-di-ained i)repared border, as with an abun- 

 dance of root-room they furnish a good supply of 

 cut fronds, which are most usefid for innumerable 

 decorative purposes, such as wreathing roimd large 

 epergnes, &c. For lightly arranged arches few 

 plants form such elegant objects as some of the 

 Lygodiiuns, and the smaller- growing ones may be 

 used to hide the suspending wires of large hanging 

 baskets. Several also make beautiful specimen 

 plants trained to balloon-shaped trellises. Light — 

 provided the direct rays of the smi be excluded — is 

 enjoyed by the Lygodiums, and with no more shade 

 tban is necessary to attain this object they thrive 

 admirably. 



L. pahxatidii has proved itself thoroughly hardy 

 in some places in this coimtry, and there is no doubt 

 that with suitable conditions as regards soil, shade, 

 and moisture, it would be found to be hard}* in very 

 many localities. A well-drained but constantly 

 moist peat bed, such as is found best for some of the 

 North American Cypripediums, suits this species. 

 The plants should be put out early in the season so 

 as to become established as well as possible before 

 the apjjroach of winter : and it is desirable, the first 

 winter at any rate, to shelter by means of Bracken 

 fronds or Spruce branches. It is to be hoped that 



