50 



A FERN BOOK FOU EYEEYBODT. 



In a fern-case tliis plant will thrive well, and is much 

 better calculated for such a situation than for the open- 

 air fernery. Its slender, graceful form, small size, and 

 drooping habit, all tend to render it a favourite for indoor 



Oak Feen {Polypodium dryopteris.) 



cultivation. In its native localities it evidently seems to 

 prefer a damp situation, growing luxuriantly amid the 

 ■noisture which percolates through the rough stone walls, 

 or beneath the spray of waterfalls. In such situations, 

 barren fronds are by far the most common, for when very 

 luxuriant, it is often difficult to find a fertile frond. 

 When growing in a large patch under the shadow of 

 rocks, it is exceedingly handsome. 



It is a smaller and more delicate plant than the Lime- 

 stone Polypody. 



