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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



red, with every conceivable tint between. Of Palms we have but 

 few examples, but many of them are of imposing appearance. 

 These are chiefly confined to the eastern colonies. Even in 

 the desert interior, however, travellers have occasionally come 

 across stately species which mark out veritable oases. 



Of OrchidecB we possess hardly 300 species, many of them 

 exhibiting the grotesque but nevertheless superb beauty which 

 characterises this order. We have about half a hundred genera, 

 many of which, however, are here represented by a single species. 

 Of these exquisitely beautiful plants the genera possessing most 

 species are Dendrobium, Prasophyllum, Caladenia, Pterostylis 

 (often with sensitive labellum and greenish flowers), Thelymitra, 

 Sarcochilus, and Diuris, the pretty little " double - tailed 

 Orchids." Many of these are small but of rare and delicate 

 beauty and rich perfume. Of Ferns we can boast not only a 

 number of species, but large areas in our enchanting " fern- 

 gullies," profusely covered with the exuberant growth of many 

 handsome and stately as well as delicate varieties. Fern-trees 

 of graceful palm-like habit grow in great profusion in humid 

 forest glens, and represent the genera Alsophila, Dickso?iia, and 

 Cyathea, while the dwarf but massive trunk of our Osmunda 

 (Todea) barbara, endemic to the southern part of the eastern 

 hemisphere, has frequently been known to attain a weight 

 of considerably over a ton. 



The lofty stems of some of our Fern-trees are clothed with 

 a living mass of verdure, consisting of filmy and other tender 

 ferns, representing the genera Trichomanes and Hymenophyllum, 

 amongst which the cosmopolitan Hymmophyllum Tunbridgensc 

 may frequently be seen. Draping also the spongy trunks of 

 these graceful Tree-ferns are exquisite examples of the genera 

 Tolyvodium, Aspidium, Glcichenia, and others. In my " Census 

 of Plants of the Cape Otway Forest " I have recorded from that 

 romantic region forty-three species of these interesting and 

 shade-loving plants, all of which are well worthy of cultivation. 

 An Australian fern-gully presents a truly magnificent sight. 

 Overhead the tops of gigantic Eucalypts form an interlaced 

 canopy and filter the rays of the summer sun. Beneath these 

 the undergrowth forms another and a denser canopy. This 

 shelters the majestic palm-like tree ferns, whose graceful feathery 

 fronds form again a grateful shade for humbler and more tender 



