FLORA AND SYLVA, 



244 



the constant sprinkling needed may not do harm 

 before the new roots start. If space can be 

 given, Tree-ferns do best planted out, their 

 growth being finer and more rapid ; should 

 they grow too fast for their quarters when fully 

 developed, a yearly root-pruning in early spring 

 acts as a harmless restraint, a circle being cut 

 with a sharp spade some 30 inches or so from 

 the stem. If kept constantly and evenly moist 

 many kinds will stand without injury far more 

 sunlight than is usually allowed, but if the 

 stems dry the fronds suffer. To guard against 

 searching winds is the main care in their use 

 for gardens ; it is well not to put them out till 

 the new growths are fairly hardened. While 

 active, a little weak liquid manure will do no 

 harm, and give a richer green to the foliage ; 

 a mixture of soot-water and diluted blood is 

 often so used in the south of France. Where the 

 naked stems are an objection nothing is easier 

 than to clothe them with certain of the climb- 

 ing Asparagus, or such Ferns as Lygodium, 

 Davallias, or Polypodiums. A large choice may 

 be grown under glass, but as being the best for 

 all uses we mention only the hardiest kinds in 

 each group. 



Alsophilaaastralis. — A noble plant and one 

 of the best known, showing a straight and slen- 

 der trunk 15 to 20 feet in height and gracefully 

 proportioned. The thrice-divided leaves are 

 of a leathery texture and 1 2 or even 1 5 feet in 

 length, light green above and slightly glaucous 

 beneath, the leaf-stalk and mid-rib rough and 

 covered at first with dark scales. It makes a 

 beautiful object in the garden during summer, 

 its leaves being less liable to injury than those 

 of some Tree-ferns, while there is something 

 majestic in the way the great fronds come roll- 

 ing out from the centre. It should not be ex- 

 posed too late in autumn ; even on the Riviera 

 its fronds are often destroyed by frost though 

 the stem remains uninjured. Tasmania and the 

 mountains of Southern Australia. 



A. Colensoi. — Asmall growing kind with a 

 stem of only 4 or 5 feet and leaves short in pro- 

 portion. A cool-house plant from the hill- 

 country of New Zealand. 



A. Cooperi. — A fine greenhouse variety, 

 easily known by its very straight and slender 

 stem, devoid of aerial roots. The thrice-divid- 

 ed leaves are bright green, their ribs densely 

 clothed with scales. Queensland. 



A. exce/sa.—A large and vigorous kind 

 nearly hardy in mild western districts. It is a 

 rapidgrower,quickly developing a trunk,which 

 in its native haunts reaches a height of upwards 

 of 60 feet. Its fronds are broad and very light 

 in appearance despite their size. Young plants 

 are readily raised from fertile spores and grown 

 into useful size for market, the garden, or the 

 house. Norfolk Island. 



A. frigida. — A rare but very hardy kind 

 found at a great elevation in the Andes; small, 

 with a short stem, leathery leaves, and woolly 

 leaf-stalks. 



A. Leichardtiana. — A plant akin toaustra/is 

 and one of the noblest of the group of "grove- 

 loving " Tree-ferns. Its stem is slender, 20 to 

 30 feet in height, bearing a luxuriant crown 

 of fronds, gracefully arching, and some 8 to 

 10 feet long, dark green above, lighter beneath, 

 firm in texture and smooth on the ribs. The 

 leaf-stalk is of a dark purplish black, spiny and 

 powdered when young. Fine specimens of this 

 splendid plant are to be seen in gardens on the 

 Riviera, some of them nearly 20 feet in height 

 and doing well in full exposure. 



A.Loddigesii. — A handsome localised kind 

 from New South Wales, and like austra/is, save 

 in its shorter fronds, broader leaflets, and some 

 other botanical details. 



A. lunulata. — Avery variable species from 

 the South Sea Islands. Reaches at maturity 

 20 to 25 feet, and is found in several distinct 

 forms. 



A. pruinata. — A distinct kind, which, 

 though very rare, is found to succeed well 

 either in stove or greenhouse ; conspicuous for 

 its graceful habit and the silvery under-surface 

 of its fronds, which make it a beautiful and 

 easily-known kind. The stem not infrequently 

 breaks into several heads, making division an 

 easy matter. Tropical America and the West 

 Indies. 



A. Rebecca. — A plant of marked habit, 

 bearing short fronds on a low, smooth trunk; 

 the leaves very graceful, firm, and tough in 

 texture. Queensland. 



A. Scottiana. — From the eastern Himala- 

 yan region ; a plant with large, thrice-divided 

 fronds and smooth tissues. In addition to the 

 foregoing there are several greenhouse spe- 

 cies imperfectly known, but from their native 

 haunts (often at a considerable altitude) in 



