NA TIVE 



are entirely distinct, although coming from the same 

 root-stock ; they are covered with cinnamon-colored 

 sporangia, and when four or five of these tall spikes are 



Fig. 2. OsMUNDA Claytoniana. 



encircled by the glossy green of the sterile fronds, the 

 effect of the plant is both unique and beautiful. 



OsiiiKuda Claytoniana (Fig. 2), is the least attractive 

 of the three ; tall and handsome it surely is, growing 

 somewhat after the manner of the ostrich-fern, but one 

 cannot but feel that somehow nature made a mistake in 

 placing the fertile pinnae in the middle of a sterile frond ; 

 but there they are, dry and brown in the mass of green, 

 giving the plant the appearance of having been smitten 

 with a blight of som.e sort, and looking not in the least 

 like a special design of Providence. 



Adiantuin peJatuni, an old time favorite, speaks for 

 itself ; every one loves the maiden-hair, and it is not, as 

 many suppose, difficult of culture. Contrasting finely 

 with the delicate foliage of the maiden-hair are the 

 grass-green fronds of Onoclea sensihilis. Just why such 

 a coarse-looking fern should receive such a name was 

 puzzling until we learned that the fern wilted almost as 

 soon as picked, and that the segments have a tendency 

 to fold themselves together face to face, hence the name 

 st'nsitii'e-fern. The fertile fronds are not very com- 

 mon ; they look like dense clusters of diminutive grapes, 

 are nearly black in color and dry up in winter, but re- 

 main standing for a year or two. 



Nearly all of the aspidiums are easy of culture, and I 

 have some half dozen or more species : among them I 

 consider A. acrostichoides very valuable. (Fig. 3.) It 

 is the smooth glossy fern, improperly called rock-fern. 

 The evergreen wood-fern, A. iiiarginah\ is also a good 

 fern, and one to be depended upon to grow under ad- 

 verse circumstances. 



This strip of moss, thickly dotted with pert little ferns, 

 one frond in a place, is none other than Pofypodiiirn vul- 



FERNS. 659 



garc (Fig. 4) ; the fronds are evergreen, smooth, from 

 four to six inches high, and are simply and deeply pin- 

 natifid ; indeed one could fancy them all cut with a 

 pair of scissors from a paper pattern. 



One of the secrets of fern culture is to simulate nat- 

 ural environments as far as possible. For instance : 

 the polypodium just mentioned was peeled from the top 

 of a rock, where it usually grows in large mats or sheets; 

 therefore I placed flat stones by the side of the house 

 where I wished the fern to grow, dusted them over 

 lightly with leaf-mould, packed the moss and fern upon 

 them, and gave a thorough wetting. Likewise ferns 

 which grow in the crevices of calcareous rocks are 

 easily wedged in between bits of rock and stone; hence 

 my success in naturalizing rare and difficult ferns. That 

 long, slender, lace-like fern which has draped itself so 

 gracefully against the gray building stone is Cysiopteris 

 hiilbifera, or bladder-fern ; this is the only fern in my 

 collection which bears tiny bulblets on the underside of 

 the rachis and pinnae ; these bulblets falling off grow 

 rapidly, causing the great abundance of this fern in its 

 natural haunts. At the base of this please notice the 

 bluish-green foliage of Pelhca atyopitrpiirea pushing its 

 way from among the stones. I am proud of this fern, 

 for it is fully naturalized, as this is its third year under 

 cultivation. By the side of this is its sister fern, I't'iiica 

 giacilis (Fig. 5), the most fragile fern that grows. It is 

 much smaller than /'. atjopiirpm-e'a , although similar in 

 form, the recurved edges of the fertile fronds conclu- 

 sively proving kinship. The foliage is deciduous and of 

 pale green color. The plant is often found hanging like 

 a fringe along the seams of rocks. Eaton tells us that 

 it is rarely secured by collectors, because the root- 

 stock is so hidden in such crevices ; all of which goes to 



Fig. 3. AspiDiUM acrostichoides. 



prove how little mankind knows of " what woman's wit 

 when put to proof can do." Having seen fine speci- 

 mens successfully fished out with a hair pin, I would 

 suggest that such articles be added to the outfit of all 



