191 



CASSELL'S rOPCLAU GAKDEXIXG. 



whereon they grow in a dense, thick, spongy mass, 

 among vrhieh the roots insinuate themselves and re- 

 ceive nourishment.'" 



1'. (Ptlilop'iC'Aiu is a native of the Guinea Coast and 

 Angola : it has twice-dichotomous pendulous fertile 

 fronds two to three feet in length. 1'. alc.cornc is per- 

 haps the most generally cultivated of all the Stag's- 

 horn Ferns ; it is found in the tropics and in tem- 

 perate Australia. Like the last-named species, the 

 under surface of the frond is covered with a thin, 

 white, cottony down, hut the divisions are frequently 

 more numerous in F. rdclcorne. P. riroude. from tropi- 

 cal Asia and Xorth Australia, is much the hnest of 

 all the Flaft/rer'udiis. In a wild state it attains an 

 enormous size, and an excellent idea of its aspect in 

 its native forests can he obtained from the picture 

 No. 420 in the " Xorth Gallery" at Kew. The pen- 

 dent fertile fronds often grow to a length of from 

 four to six feet. 



Cn't'iraihu. — Perhaps the best way in which to 

 grov,- F'o.tiiccrhiiRs is to fix them on cones of tibrous 

 peat in pans, the front portion of which has been cut 

 away. If the pan has a flat back, so that it can 

 readily be fixed against the wall of the warm fernery 

 near the glass, so much the better. At Kew the col- 

 lection of Stag's-hom Ferns is grown in pots made 

 specially for the pui-pose ; these are six or eight inches 

 deep, with a flat, not rounded back, and a semicircu- 

 lar portion cut away from the front nearly to the 

 bottom. Draining material is first put in, arid then 

 a mound of peat is fastened inside, and the plant 

 firmly attached to the front on the peat. Very soon 

 the barren fi'onds clothe the naked peat, and indeed 

 the whole of the pot, and when once established, no 

 further trouble in the way of re-potting is required. 

 Care must be taken not to allow too continuous a 

 supply of water to lodge amongst the overlapping 

 shield-lili.e barren fronds, or these will often become 

 discoloui'ed and unsightly. F. oIclcoiDeiBthe hardiest 

 of the group : it withstands several degrees of frost, 

 and is the only one which will thoroughly succeed in 

 the cool fernery. In the warmer atmosphere of the 

 stove it will, however, grow much more quickly. 

 Xone of the species like bright sunlight, and all like 

 abundance of moisture at aU times in the sirrrounding 

 air, and a copious sunplv of water at the root duiing 

 the period of growth. F. grande makes a splendid 

 exhibition plant : it may either be gi^o-s\Ti as recom- 

 mended above, or treated as a basket plant, or 

 attached to a block of any hard durable wood -a 

 little fibrous peat being placed behind the convex 

 barren fronds. 



The Scolopendriums.— The genus Scrdopcn- 

 di ium, as understood by the authors of the "S^^lopsi3 

 Pilicum," comprises about nine species, and is the 



only representative of the tribe ScoIopendri(e. The 

 arrangement of the sori is similar to that which ob- 

 tains among the AsjjhidKV, except that the involucres 

 are in pairs, and open towards each other. The name 

 of the genus is an ancient Greek word, and is so 

 called because the numerous parallel lines of fruit 

 resemble the feet of the Centipede or Scolopeudra 

 According to the authority adopted tkroughout these 

 papers — %iz., the "Synopsis Tilicum" — the genera 

 Anti'jramyiie, (yn/ipfosor/fs/dhd Schoffneria are included 

 in that wlrich forms the subject of this notice. 



S. Hemionitis, a native of Spain, South France. 

 Italy, and the Mediterranean IsLmds, is, with the ex- 

 ception of the widely-distributed .':>. vulgare, the only 

 Eiiroi^ean member of the genus. It has slendei. 

 slightly fibrillose stipes four to six inches long, and 

 fronds — thinner in texture than those of S. vulgare — 

 about the same length as the stipes ; in outline these 

 are oblong-lanceolate, the base being between heart- 

 shaped and spear-shaped, with short and rounded, or 

 jn'ominent and almost acute lobes. 



iS'. rhlzoplnjUum, an inhabitant of Jamaica and 

 Cuba, is also found (but is rare) on shaded calcareous 

 rocks in AVest Xew England and elsewhere in the 

 I7nited States. Like om: native Hart's-tongue, it 

 has evergreen fi-onds growing in tufts ; the naked 

 compressed stipes are one to two inches long, and 

 the fronds four to nine inches long, and about three- 

 quarters of an inch in breadth. In outline these arc 

 lanceolate from an auiicled heart -shipped or often 

 hastate base, tapering above into a slender prolonga- 

 tion like a runner, which often roots at the apex and 

 gives rise to new fronds, and these to others, hence 

 the popular name of TTalking Leaf. 



S. -vulgare is too well known to need description. 

 Its glossy, bright green fronds contrast markedly 

 \\-ith the feathery aspect which is so genei'al among 

 ferns. Either in a wild state or cultivated, it is a 

 imiversal favourite. In ancient times it was in great 

 repute for its medicinal jiroperties, and in rustic 

 practice at the present day it is used as an asti'ingent 

 in dian-h(jea, and also as an extemal application in 

 cases of erysipelatous eruptions. Countless forms 

 are cultivated in gardens, the long strap-shaped fronds 

 occurring in a monstrous state in ahnost every con- 

 ceivable form. One of the handsomest and most 

 remarkable is the variety crup^im^ which is nearly 

 always quite barren, that is to say, does not produce 

 spores. This has large fronds, with beautifully- 

 waved margins. Considerably more than a himdred 

 and fifty distinct forms have received names, and 

 mav be procm-ed fi'om those who make hardy ferns a 

 specialty. 



Cidtivation. — S. Bcmionitis and S. rhizophylhi.m, 

 although growing in the oi^en in m^any places in this 

 country where suitable conditions have been pro- 



