46 A TEEX BOOK TOK EVERYBODY. 



growth of this hardy fern. It will endure dryness much 

 better than the majority of species, and should be planted 

 in a light soil. No outdoor fernery would be complete 

 without it and some of its varieties. 



BEECH EEEN.* 



The root-stock of this fern is wiry and creeping. The 

 fronds have an elongated triangular outline, are from 6 to 

 12 inches in height, and surmount brittle foot-stalks, which 

 are nearly twice the length of the leafy portion of the 

 frond. The upper portion of the frond is divided nearly 

 to the mid-rib, in a feathery or pinnatifid manner, whilst 

 the lower portion forms distinct leaflets, which are again 

 deeply notched into lobes. The lowest pair of leaflets 

 (pinned) are directed downwards and outwards. This 

 gives a peculiar character to the frond, distinct from that 

 of any other British species. (Plate II., fig. 2.) 



This fern is plentiful in favourable localities, damp 

 rocky places, under the spray of waterfalls, in mountain- 

 ous districts, and is not uncommon in Wales, the south 

 and north of England, and in Scotland. Occasional in 

 Ireland. 



The natural habitat of this plant should be remembered 

 in all attempts at its cultivation. In the chinks of the 

 large stones piled one upon the other, by the roadside in 

 "Wales, it flourishes. These walls keep up the soil on one 

 side, where it reaches to the top of the wall. On the 

 other grows the Beech Fern, amidst the percolation of 

 water which is continually draining from the higher land 

 and trickling through the chinks of the wall. Such con- 

 ditions should be imitated if the plant is to be grown in 

 the open air : it has always succeeded with us in a Wardian 

 case, under the usual conditions, and is a desirable plant 

 for such purposes. 



* Polypodium phegopteris, LlNN. 



