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CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



deltoid, tripinnatifid, dark, glossy green, leathery 

 frond measures from one to two feet in length, by 

 nine to fifteen inches in breadth. There are a 

 number of well-marked varieties of this fine species 

 occurring in a state of nature, and one, at least, of 

 garden origin. Under the former category must 

 come elata and dissccta, and under the latter poly- 

 dactyla, in which, instead of the pinnae and pinnules 

 terminating in a narrow point, they dilate and sub- 

 divide, and thus form a strikingly handsome crested 

 form. D. elegans has a remarkably wide geographical 

 distribution, being found in Ceylon, the Malayan 

 Peninsula, China, Java, Borneo, the Poljmesian 

 Islands, tropical Australia, INIadagascar, Angola, 

 Fernando Po, and Johanna Island. The species 

 with the most finely di-vaded fronds of all the true 

 Davallias — i.e., the species which by universal consent 

 are always placed under DavalUa, and not imder any 

 of the sub-genera which by some authorities are looked 

 upon as constituting distinct genera {microlepia, steno- 

 loma, &c.)— is I). Fijiensis, a very beautiful fern that 

 has been introduced into this country within a very 

 recent period. It has dark green, very elegant, 

 somewhat leathery fronds, which when cut keep 

 fresh for a considerable time. As implied by the 

 name, it is a native of Fiji, where it is very common; 

 two well-marked varieties, from a garden point of 

 view, are already to be met with in nurseries, var. 

 plumosa and ""^r. major. In J), hcterophijlla, from the 

 Malayan Archipelago and the Polynesian Islands, 

 the wide-creeping rhizome is scaly, and the short- 

 stalked, smooth, leathery fronds are from three to 

 six inches long by an inch in breadth. This 

 species is remarkable by reason of the barren 

 fronds being entire, and the narrower fertile ones 

 more or less deeply cut — the contrast between the 

 two being so striking as to make a casual observer 

 believe two distinct species are represented. 



D. hirta is a huge species with stout stipes 

 from one to two feet long, and triangular fronds 

 three to four feet long by one to two feet broad. 

 It is a native of the North of India, Ceylon, the 

 Malayan and Polynesian Islands. The recently 

 introduced D. Mariesi is a dwarf-growing, very 

 graceful species, and an excellent subject for small 

 baskets, or for covering small rustic ornamental 

 portions of the rockery. In Japan various designs 

 are made with curved pieces of wood, &:c. ; these are 

 covered with moss, and the slender rhizomes of 

 B. Mariesi are then attached to the sui'face by means 

 of wire. To produce a profusion of fine green fronds, 

 only an abundance of moisture is needed, and if 

 this is granted, the designs — cro^ms, vases, wi-eaths, 

 &c. — may be suspended in any warm-house near 

 the glass. After being well established these succeed 

 for some time in an ordinary dwelling-room. During 



the past year a number of different fern designs have 

 been imported from Japan, some of them a good deal 

 more curious than artistic. A crested foi-m of D. 

 Mariesi is also in cultivation. One of the finest and 

 most popular of exhibition ferns is D. Mooreana, from 

 Borneo, a rapid grower, and one which readily de- 

 velops its beautifully arched, delightfully pale gi-een 

 fronds even in small pots. Full- sized fronds grow to 

 about thi-ee or foui' feet in length by from eighteen 

 to thirty inches in breadth. 



The New Zealand D. Xovce Zela)tdice, with its 

 creeping rhizome clothed with filiform scales, has 

 finely-cut deltoid tripinnate fronds, of somewhat 

 leathery texture, twelve to eighteen inches long 

 by four to eight inches broad, the firm erect stipe 

 being from four to eight inches long. D. par- 

 vnla, from Singapore and Borneo, is an exquisite 

 little plant, only an inch or two in height ; in its 

 native habitats it affects the trunks of trees and 

 similar situations, which it clothes with a carpet of 

 its tiny dark green fronds. In order to grow this 

 well, a shallow pan with perfect di-ainage is best, th? 

 very slender rhizomes clothed with bright brown 

 scales being allowed to creep over the raised surface. 

 For cool conservatory decoration, especially when 

 planted out, or otherwise allowed plenty of root- 

 room, one of the most striking of ferns is B. platy- 

 phylla, a common species in Hindostan; this has 

 stout creeping, scaly rhizomes, and stout, fii'm, erect 

 blackish stipes, two or thi'ee feet long, and tripinna- 

 tifid somewhat leathery sea-green fronds, three to 

 foiu' feet long. Another excellent gi'een-house species 

 is the New South Wales D. pyxidata, w^hich in habit 

 and textui'e comes somewhat near D. Canariensis, but 

 is rather more finely cut and veined. D. siriyosa, 

 although doing well enough in a warm-house, is 

 thoroughly at home, especially if planted out, in the 

 cool conservatory ; it has a stout creeping, pubescent 

 rhizome, the strong erect stem being six to twelve 

 inches long (both it and the rachis being hairy 

 throughout), and lanceolate bipinnatifid pale green 

 fronds, one to three feet long by six to twelve inches 

 broad. This species has a somewhat wide geographi- 

 cal distribution, as it occurs in a wild state in North 

 India, in Ceylon, Japan, the Malayan Peninsula and 

 Islands, the South-east of China, and in the Sand- 

 wich and Fiji Islands. Both for exhibition as well 

 as for general decorative pui'poses, D. tenuifolia is 

 very useful ; the lively green fronds, from twelve to 

 eighteen inches long by six to nine inches broad, are 

 borne on strong, erect, dark brown, polished stipes, 

 six to twelve inches in length. This species is 

 widely distributed throughout the tropics of the 

 Old World. D. Tyermanni, supposed to be a native 

 of western tropical Africa, is one of the most dis- 

 tinct and useful of green-house ferns; the wide- 



